R.E.M. - Green - It's easy to forget that this was the first time that many people heard R.E.M., as this was their major label debut. Led by the single "Orange Crush," Green would find its way out into a much wider audience than IRS Records could ever have given them, and cemented the bands place in the annals of alt-rock history, but what a strange record to plant your flag with. It's not surprising that irony-dripping pop numbers like "Stand" or "Pop Song 89" would also come out as singles, because in 1988 it was easier to lead with that smirking irony than the open-heart vulnerability of tracks like "You Are The Everything" or "I Remember California." Green also finds the band branching out musically with mandolin, cello, accordion, and lap steel guitar, adding a lush sound to their bruised and arty rock. Green is stronger than many critics are willing to admit, and remains an oddly affecting snapshot of a band poised on the edge of stardom.
Todd Rundgren - Something/Anything - I have listened to a LOT of music, and still there are sounds on this double album that I've never heard anywhere else. Rundgren is in full "pop songcraft wizard" mode on this record, and the attention to detail is staggering. It takes a while for it to appear, because the songs are so direct and deceptively simple in places, but there are whole tiny environments built inside these tracks. I admit that it took me a while to respect this record; parts of it may sound dated at first, or schmaltzy, or overly poppy, but let it sink in and you'll see what's really there.
Björk - Homogenic - For the longest time I was not a fan of Björk, but for the past couple of years, her work has been creeping into my listening habits bit by bit. Her albums are extrememly varied, and though I have a certain respect and use for each of them, Homogenic is the album that I turn to most often. It's bolder than the whispering Vespertine, more direct than Medulla or the recent Biophilia, and emotionally weightier than Debut. Homogenic seems to play to Björk's strengths in a specific way where other albums sometimes sacrifice that essential feeling to further their concepts. It's a challenging, engaging record, and I'm glad it finally found a place in my brain.
Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray - Every time I listen to this record, I'm struck by how successfully Evan Dando mixed the acoustic and electric guitars. It's a small touch, but it gives it a much more intimate, personal feel compared to the prickly, aggressive guitar work of his peers at the time. The fact that the record is filed with simple, catchy songs and flies by in under half an hour no doubt accentuates that friendly quality. Dando's tales about outcasts' and losers' everyday tribulations makes it seem like a bunch of songs that your buddy recorded that turned out to be surprisingly good.
Deftones - White Pony - This album came out just as I was graduating high school, and it still positively glows with the weird energies of summer for me. This is the Deftones' most powerful statement, a record that knit all their abilities as musicians together and injected it with a surprising amount of art and grace. The imagery can be dark, but it remains nuanced; the Deftones found a way to temper their already successful aggression with their artsier side, and it really boosted them up off the plateau created by their first two releases. They managed to find a dynamism that no one really expected, and they use it to pull the listener into the album's own world. For me, White Pony succeeds at everything it attempts, and I can't think of anything that would really improve upon it.
Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See - The perfect soundtrack for a gentle descent, Mazzy Star were an intersection of sorts between 90's alt-rock sensibility, gothic spookiness, and folky acid haze. The drifting guitar work wraps you in purple velvet and smoke rings while the somnolent vocals of Hope Sandoval do weird things to your head. "Fade Into You" remains their most well-remembered statement, and with good reason, but highlights abound on this record. "Mary of Silence" revels in dark acid rock, "Wasted" is the blues on downers, and "Bells Ring" delivers a head-nodding shuffle with Sandoval's voice sounding both close-miked yet far away. These are lullabies for the weird kids, and there have been few bands that have done it as well.
As a public service to music lovers, I'd like to take this opportunity to point people toward Archive.org's Live Music Archive. It's a vast collection of bootlegged concerts provided in lossless or mp3 format for free streaming and download. I like the way they've set this up, as everything is given away for free, so there's no shady profit being made off of other people's work, and the only bands that go up in the archive are bands that have sent the site official word that they're okay with recorded concert trading. And even though it consists only of bands that give their approval, you might be surprised at who is cool with the idea. There are almost a thousand shows by the Smashing Pumpkins up for download, a well as shows by Hum, Soul Coughing, Cracker, Elliott Smith, Against Me! and thousands more. So check it out, and if you have any bootlegs that might be worthy additions, see about uploading them. The more that go up, the better the archive.
