SPIN Alternative Record Guide (1995) Top 100 Alternative Albums (1-50)

And I'm kind of holy shit at no Pixies

Did I miss something with '90s Spin that would make people expect to see the Spacemen 3 in a top 100 list?

I read both spin & Forced Exposure in the mid/late 80s into the 90s, along with the British weeklies and various "underground" "zines". Byron Coley pushed S3 hard in his writing for both (iirc). I had the sense at the time, perhaps delusional, that they were as central to American indie/alt as SST, Touch & Go, and the Seattle sound. But I'm often on wrong planets, browsing wrong feeds, so what I know?

But there are only three SST albums and a Nirvana album on this list. I don't think Spacemen 3 were very big at all in the United States, though they had a little carryover beyond their lifespan. The albums were mostly available as imports or on small labels like Genius.

Bomp and Sympathy for the Record Industry

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was deeply impacted by this book. I remember first reading it
a few years before the advent of Napster and discovering Mark Prindle's blog. It was a perfect
convergence for a neophyte rock fan who wanted to get serious about music.

I still can't stand Rob Sheffield's contributions, though. He's like the Dave Eggers of Rock critics; a smug
prick with no talent

Ha, although looking now, they had an album released by RCA in the U.S. (Recurring)??? That's news to me.

xp

just weighing in on Marquee Moon. never heard it until I was 29, and it knocked me over completely. I feel like Adventure is almost better which is challops but it's got such a vibe. both records inferior to Seven Churches

so many good records here but only one changed the course of my life and i'll bet you can guess which one (i'm 40)

Surfer Rosa is in second half of list, which is even crazier

Worst album here imo is Murmur

Voted VU&Nico, grail record for me, still 100% listenable and great.

Also, that record turned 50 years old yesterday too, amazing!

I'd love to pull out my copy of this book but it literally fell apart on me after 5-6 years 'cause I read it so much. Just a massive influence on my teenage listening years. Weisbard's reviews probably most important for me, but Sheffield's are probably the best purely as writing (they're certainly the funniest).

Murmur remains my favorite R.E.M. record. It was only the third or fourth I got, but I instantly understood why critics fell over themselves to praise it from the moment I first listened to it. They were one of my favorite bands for years and years, and probably would have been even if the debut didn't exist. But that album is sui generis - they never made a record as mysterious or romantic again.

Most unforgivable omission from the spin guide: Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention

In any case, this reminded me of another SPIN list which coincided with my first forays into the critical pantheon: Spin magazine's 25 greatest albums of all time (April, 1989)🔗.

This issue and its lists had a similar impact on me that the Spin guide seems to have had on others. Totally altered my thinking on a number of things, but also a much sharper corrective to RS listy hegemony than the Spin guide.

I don't know that Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock were even mentioned in RS prior to 1989, and here's Spin picking "It Takes Two" as the greatest single of all time.

But that album is sui generis - they never made a record as mysterious or romantic again.

It sounds contrarian, but some days my favorite R.E.M. album is Dead Letter Office, so mystery was never an important part of this band's enigma to me

hard to figure out what to vote for here tbh. a lot of these records were very crucial to me in college but my taste has drifted since. daydream nation is probably the canon record here that i'm most indifferent to; i way prefer the surrounding sy albums and i wish i could approach daydream in the same way but after x years of trying it still doesn't work

the psb and madonna records feel like cheating but the immaculate collection figured into very different points of my life (like the 6/7-year-old me who absolutely loved the dallas austin-era madonna singles and the college-aged me who was trying to reapproach pop music after being a dick about it for years and finding, of course, that i loved pretty much everything madonna did all along up to a certain point). it's v flawed bc it's brutally remixed and truncated but the songs survive the process.

sign of the times is probably the album that i love the most here but also i feel extremely inclined to vote for parallel lines bc of its perfect economy

I'm leaning towards Pretenders because it's often my favorite and favorite sounding album

" I still can't believe there's no Melvins or Fishbone entries in this book"

this may be down to the fact that Weisbard (and to a certain extent C. Marks) may not have been too keen on the aggro/testost-y aspect. Somewhere in the book, the MC5 is referred to as quasi frat boys, I don't believe there's any am rep shit or Misfits, and more or less metal was still at this time very present in the culture and in no way had metal culture and "alt" culture made peace.

Yeah, they hated industrial too iirc (which I very well may not)? Kind of funny to remember this supposed rivalry. I remember wondering who this book could have been meant for. The mainstream alt-rock listening kids I knew were just as likely to listen to Metallica or RHCP or NIN as Nirvana; the punk kids were mostly into hardcore (or crust punk) and extreme metal; the goth kids listened to industrial, synthpop, and female singer-songwriters. I think I figured it would make sense when I went to university.

(Obv answer: it was meant for me.)

yeah, me too

I never owned this book, but this is reminding me that Spin's top 50 punk albums list from 2001 had a big impact on me. My first exposure to a bunch of post-punk bands.

Ha, although looking now, they had an album released by RCA in the U.S. (Recurring)??? That's news to me.

Recurring was well-distributed enough in the states that I could find it in my shitty little town. Although I wouldn't expect it to be on this list tbh (much as I love it)

so many good records here but only one changed the course of my life and i'll bet you can guess which one (i'm 40)

― alpine static, Monday, March 13, 2017 11:27 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Same here, but I'm much older, and mine's likely a different record. Then, now, forever: B-52's.

Three others that didn't change the course of my life, and I don’t play nearly as often, that were still hugely influential to me in various ways: Modern Lovers, Gang of Four, Minutemen.

I'm still not sure which one alpine static meant. Nevermind?

that'd be my guess, but it doesn't seem obvious

this may be down to the fact that Weisbard (and to a certain extent C. Marks) may not have been too keen on the aggro/testost-y aspect. Somewhere in the book, the MC5 is referred to as quasi frat boys, I don't believe there's any am rep shit or Misfits, and more or less metal was still at this time very present in the culture and in no way had metal culture and "alt" culture made peace.

Halo of Flies has an entry, as does Helmet and yes def Misfits. Even Primus has an entry. Also AC/DC and Sabbath. Other stoner bands like Kyuss and Vitus missed out, but considering how hugely in thrall this book is to the Nirvana phenomenon (does the Vaselines comp show up on any other list?) Lack of a Melvins entry seems really o_0

Yeah, I was doing my re-read recently, and was astonished that like THREE OR FOUR entries mention the Melvins, sometimes in passing, and Buzz even does a Top 10, but they don't get an entry

Not like I need one at this point, but it's def funny

At one point I def had an idea for a thread about the most perverse omission from this book: Melvins definitely, Fishbone too, considering that Living Color and King's X (& RHCP/Primus) have entries. The book somewhat apologizes for excluding Game Theory in the foreword (as well they should). I'd also say Pop Group, Chrome, probably Blue Oyster Cult. Fleetwood Mac probably belongs there, too.

Fleetwood Mac was a P4k era retcon, in 1995 they were the corny band the president liked and Hole didn't do their cover until 1996

BOC & Fleetwood Mac perhaps too much of the trad RS canon Spin were gerrymandering their way around

plus whiney otm

has anyone quizzed weisbard on the editorial choices made over who gets left out? (question partly inspired by reading wikipedia entry for the rolling stone series and having to quell a spasm of irritation when it said that duke ellington was one of the artists omitted from later volumes)

zorn in, zappa out is an excellent corrective obv bcz fuck him, sometimes you earn yr deserts

pop group vanishingly unavailable at this date i think (y was no.2 in my 10 so not entirely absent from the book)

wtf at no.9 in my 10: sonic youth "the walls have ears" -- rest is acceptable except new picnic time is the best ubu not modern dance

he mentioned in the intro that Squeeze no longer met the tenets of the book's thesis or something – an odd thing to say about Squeeze in 1994.

"alternative" is by definition a word that ports in a statue-felling manifesto with it

I mean, "Hourglass" was being played next to Kenny Loggins at that point, so I get it

wish i'd put a squeeze lp in my 10 for that sonic youth tbh, i far prefer squeeze now and liked em then (but i probably didn't then file em under alt, more fool me)

but then we get to the discussion about Madonna's inclusion and then I'd say Madonna sounded alternative in 1994 than Squeeze ever did and I say eh why bother.

Can I just point out that the dorkiest, most insular nerd entries in the book – Stockhausen/Xenakis/Varese, La Monte Young, Negativland — were written by the dude who would become a probable millionaire writing a book on how to psychologically trick the most women into letting you blow loads in them

dreams of fuckin a musique concrète bitch

Strauss has continued to be involved with pickup artistry through his dating coaching company Stylelife Academy, founded in 2007. Most of the coaching is done by employed coaches, rather than Strauss himself, though he does make appearances at yearly conferences and in some video products sold by the company.[24]

In 2012, Strauss released a board game/party game as a follow up to The Game and Rules of the Game called "Who's Got Game? The Game with Benefits."[25]

On August 31, 2013, Strauss married the model Ingrid De La O, whom he met in 2010. Before the wedding, he held a funeral-themed bachelor's party, laying to rest his 'Style' persona.[26]

In March 2015, Strauss had a child and shared it on his website,[27] along with information on his new book, The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships, which was released on October 13, 2015. The Truth, a sequel to The Game, covers his struggles to build and maintain a relationship with Ingrid after his years of immersion in the seduction community.

this is probably the saddest career and life arc i can imagine

years of immersion in the seduction community.

Ha, I don't know who that is but I don't think I ever knew that those composers were reviewed in this book. 3xp I guess I know who it was now. Huh.

Ever heard of a funeral before getting married? Well its and idea most man do think about burying the inner single-bad boy before tying the knot but “The Game” author 39-year-old Neil Strauss is actually holding a funeral to burry his freedom for his alter ego “Styles” before tying the knot to his model/girlfriend Ingrid de la O!

this is probably the saddest career and life arc i can imagine

― nomar, Tuesday, March 14, 2017 1:19 PM (nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the sad arc that ends with untold riches and marriage to a model

Fleetwood Mac was a P4k era retcon, in 1995 they were the corny band the president liked and Hole didn't do their cover until 1996
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, March 14, 2017 1:00 PM (nineteen minutes ago)

Well...Pumpkins' cover of "Landslide" (which was the turning point for that song becoming a classic rock staple) was '94, but I misremembered the Hole cover. There was a Newsweek article iirc around 96 about Mac's rusing alt-cache

*rising alt-cache

The French term for a bachelor party is "enterrement de vie de garçon", burial of life as a boy.