― Stevie Nixed, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― tarden, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
"Influential" -- sure, it's a pretty word -- isn't always a good thing. Alanis Morrisette's JAGGED LITTLE PILL is certainly influential. I rest my case.
― alex in nyc, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― mark s, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Could *never* scale it down to five myself, I'm afraid.
― Robin Carmody, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Five plucked from thin air. . . "Ritual De Lo Habitual", Janes Addiction "Nevermind", Nirvana "Maxinquaye", Tricky "OK Computer", Radiohead "Leftism", Leftfield
Not to mention Wu Tang Clan: "36 Chambers", Primal Scream: "Screamadelica", Massive Attack: "Blue Lines", Beck: "Odelay", Portishead: "Dummy". . . . .
― Dave, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
thats personal preference.. but would tricky kid be tricky without the influence of massive attack? would he have had the same style? i dunno, i think there is a lot to be said for being the first.. for being the pioneer.
>So that would be Maxinquaye, Selected Ambient Works II, K+D Sessions, >Programmed and idunno Homework?
yah.. aphex twin definitely.. i was thinking homework also, for the reason that the way the album was made
― slurp, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Alanis = HUGE success for a female solo artist; media-spun leader of the "women in rock/music" movement, which lead to stuff like Lilith Fair; proved that women can actually SELL RECORDS (even though they do have breasts & give birth to babies, the freaks).
Of course, there could be a case made for PJ Harvey (or Liz Phair, or even - gods help me - Courtney Love) as the person(s) who paved the way for Ms. Morrissette.
I'd like to see a reason why Jane's Addiction (in my estimation, an awful, awful band that left no distinguishing marks anyone would willfully take credit for) should even be MENTIONED in this thread. Perry Farrell was damn important as a businessman in the 90s, but not all that in the song department.
― David Raposa, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
just found out about this form last nite when searching for information on the band 'magazine' thats all..
good discussion
...
as for ok computer.. i dunno.. to me, it was sort of a cleansing album.. an album that comes along that changes the preconceptions about what rock is.. about what music is.. about what music could and can be..
By the same token, you could cite the first album by Rage Against the Machine, who (along with the oft-forgotten Urban Dance Squad) formulated the "rap/rock" game plan for (i.e. excercised considerable "influence" over) bands as yawnsomely derivative as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Incubus, Crazy Town, etc. etc. ad nauseum.
loveless, doolittle, nevermind, o.k. computer, stone roses (I'm aware that this was released in '89. sorry)
― Blurp, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
In any event, I'd wager Jeff Buckley's (love him or hate him) GRACE was a pretty influential album (certainly over the Coldplays, Starsailors and Travis's of the world).
What about 'Charley' by the Prodigy? Sorry, is this albums only? Sod yer then.
― DavidM, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
i dunno, i guess to sum up my feeling of ms morrissette, ms sarah mclachlan ms merchant, ms amos, ms tracy chapman, etc is that they adult contemporized girl music... i dont really see lilith fair as being a benefit to women or girls... i believe i recall the credible group sleater-kinney saying no to an offer to appear at lilith fair.. which says a lot about who said yes to lilith fair
Is that the only function of female pop stars - to act as role models for other women? And what standard do they have to reach to be deemed to be of benefit?
Sorry for the sarcastic tone but....sheesus.
― Venga, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― duane, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Patrick, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
re: Blue Lines. It's allright, it just isn't that good as people make it out to be, same with bloody Leftism btw the most overrated dance album ever. But that just my humble opinion, i find Massive Attack albums always to be 50/50 affairs (and to be honest Tricky goes from 100/0 to 70/30 to 30/70 to 0/100 affairs ;)
― Omar, Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Massive Attack - 'Blue Lines'
Various Artists - 'Artificial Intelligence'
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works I
The Prodigy - The Prodigy Experience
Mouse on Mars - Ahora Tahiti
― Stevo, Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Influential albums in the field of "indie" (I don't know enough about other genres to play tokenism) : Jeff Buckley, Grace (would we have had Radiohead, Travis, Coldplay, etc, without him?) Belle & Sebastian : If You're Feeling Sinister (I should probably put a Trembling Blue Stars album, because they probably were far more seminal in the twee movement, but this album was probably the watershed) Stereolab : Transient Random Noise Bursts With Announcements (the dronerock of Neu! meets the playful deconstructed jazz of Esquivel and post-rock is never the same again.) My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything (Yes, this technically came out in the dying breath of the 80s, but it's influence defined the early 90s in a lot of ways.) The Pixies - Doolittle (Again, yes, it came out in 1989. Barely made a ripple when released, but the bombshell exploded a year or two later.)
Yes, I cheated. Lemee alone. ;-)
― masonic boom, Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― gareth, Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Andrew L, Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― tarden, Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Dave M., Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
* I don't think "Jagged Little Pill" justified the financial risk of Lilith Fair, it was a gamble that paid off and the tour itself influenced the marketing push for Jewel/Meredith Brooks sorts of folsky feminism more than Alanis' record.
* "Wannabe," "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and "Nuthin But A G Thing" I would consider the most influential records of the 90s, and the singles themselves to be more important than the albums, although the question itself doesn't allow for that distinction.
* Despite the limitations of post-rock, math-rock, Tortoise is a solid answer, but again it's the single -- more specifically the remix -- of "Djed" that is so influential. Yeah, they've brought Tropicalia and jazz into rock but more importantly they arguably brought the remix and a breakbeat/dance approach to making records to rock.
* David makes a good point about "OK Computer" and it could be argued that the five most important albums of the 90s aren't from the 90s (say, "Surfer Rosa," "Pet Sounds," "Straight Outta Compton," "Stone Roses," "ABBA Gold") especially since the decade doesn't seem as defined by albums as much as individual tracks.
― scott p., Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Geoff, Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I wonder if MechaChristina will reject her robotic implants and follow Alanis' path towards self-righteous purging?
And HOW could Slint be forgotten? Their influence on Tortoise is definitely worth noting (not to mention David Pajo's initial involvement with them once upon a time). _Spiderland_ is an exemplary record illustrating the use of SILENCE in a "rock" recording - I think Tool was taking notes. However, I really can't see Tortoise themselves having made much of an impact outside of the critical arena.
And the Spice Girls? Um, why? Spearheading the re-emergence of teeny pop? (That's it, isn't it?) Gak.
And I'm surprised there hasn't been a case made for Pearl Jam's _Ten_. Commercially, it's been a MUCH more replicated sound than Nirvana. Nirvana really only had a lasting impact insomuch as they inadvertently made it safe for folks like Blink 182 and Green Day to achieve fame. Pearl Jam can be seen as the grunge archetype that's served as the base for most of the nu metal / hard rock the kiddies go ga-ga for. I don't know who said it first, but "Smells Like Teen Spirit" didn't really change the world - it only made it seem like change was possible.
― David Raposa, Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
So: Unfortunately, despite Alanis selling an obscene amount of records, it seemed that it took the collectivity of Lilith Fair to make record companies take female solo artists seriously.
And the Spice Girls? Um, why? Spearheading the re-emergence of teeny pop? (That's it, isn't it?)
Yes, that is correct and is the limit of their influence -- and manufactured pop has dominated the charts ever since.
Pearl Jam (and Live, RATM, RHCP, Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day) have had more of an influence on the sound of U.S. rock in the 90s than Nirvana, that is certainly the case but that single song did make the change possible and in a macro way it did change what is and isn't commercially viable rock. Simplistic and overstated but still...when Nirvana "broke" the Pumpkins, Chili Peppers, and Pearl Jam were driving around the U.S. on a club tour together, and each of their albums pre-dated "Nevermind" and made its impact post-"Teen Spirit."
― K-reg, Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― the pinefox, Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Dave, Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Anyhow, one influential (and fuckin' awesome) record that sprang to mind was "Return of the D.J. Vol. 1", on Bomb Hip-Hop Records. This was released in '95, about half a decade after sampling overtook turntablism as the most prevalent production method in rap music, and this comp was not only a sort of backlash against that trend but the catalyst for the current resurgence in DJing. Lots of names that wound up blowing up huge- Rob Swift, Beat Junkies, Invisbl Skratch Piklz, Mixmaster Mike, Cut Chemist and DJ Babu. Eventually Swift (and his group the X-Cutioners) got writeups in the New York Times, the Beat Junkies mixed the US Top 40 Rawkus comp "Soundbombing 2", the Skratch Piklz became for turntablism what the original Mothers of Invention were for rock, Mixmaster Mike hooked up with the Beastie Boys, Cut Chemist gained fame as part of Jurassic 5, and Babu became the DJ for Dilated Peoples. Not a bad record (in either sense of the word).
― Nate Patrin, Sunday, 24 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Josh, Sunday, 24 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Tadeusz Suchodolski, Sunday, 24 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― 2dk, Friday, 3 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 3 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― ethan, Friday, 3 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― JC, Friday, 3 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― nick hennessy, Monday, 17 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Wednesday, 20 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Ronan, Wednesday, 20 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― powertonevolume, Wednesday, 20 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
This is the problem.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 20 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Perhaps so. Note I didn't say it was a *good* thing. And you left out the most obvious example, namely "Fake Plastic Trees," which is miles better on its own than Buckley's outrageously annoying oeuvre...
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Mike Milburn, Monday, 4 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Prude, Monday, 4 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 4 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Curt, Monday, 4 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
not far behind albulms from...Stone Roses, Liz Phair, Massive Attack, Pavement, The Pixies (1989), PJ Harvey,The Chemical Brothers, Oasis
a bit further back... The Orb, NIN, Moby, My Bloody Valinetine, REM, Janes Addiction(1989) Cheers
― kiwi, Thursday, 14 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Bob Zemko, Thursday, 14 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Eirsha Inrum, Monday, 18 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Wednesday, 20 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Damian, Wednesday, 20 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
It's all too easy, sometimes.
And after listening to an album's worth of tuneless nu-metal dirges by the likes of Korn and Papa Roach youd give your right arm for some of Linkin Park's gleaming pop hooks.
Then clearly the trick is to not listen to said album's worth of material.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 20 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― max, Friday, 22 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Dan Perry, Friday, 22 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 22 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Also up there : Portishead, 'Dummy' Gastr Del Sol, 'Camofleur' Super Furry Animals, 'Radiator' Radiohead, 'OK Computer' PJ Harvey, 'Rid of me' Bjork, 'Homogenic' Magnetic Fields, '69 Love Songs' (tries for my number 1 spot)
That's all I can think of right now...
― Ryan Detwiler, Monday, 1 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 2 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link