1994

the transition was more interesting. The middle was kind of all nice and settled and perhaps a little dull i.e. Britpop, Big Beat

when i moved to london some of the very few records that i left behind were my big beat ones. i think i have big beat guilt.

10 CDs I either bought or borrowed from friends in 1994:

Dambuilders, Encendedor
Green Day, Dookie
Morrissey, Vauxhall and I
Oasis, What's the Story (Morning Glory)
PJ Harvey, 4-Track Demos
R.E.M., Monster
Seal, Seal (1994)
Sonic Youth, Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star
Soul Coughing, Ruby Vroom
Veruca Salt, American Thighs

Hey look, it's not everyday that I'll say Britpop was dull but I did for the sake of argument. I'm just saying that 1994 was when a whole load of exciting stuff was happening because everyone was coming to terms with "hey dance isn't really so bad after all" but after that it got watered down with shit like Bentley Rhythm Ace and stuff.

I was still listening to Now Compilations for the most part in '97 but the Prodge, Snoop and Dummy changed all that.

The Wire - 1994 Records of the Year

Portishead - Dummy
Massive Attack - Protection
David Toop & Max Eastley - Buried Dreams
Peter Brotzmann - Die Like a Dog
Laika - Silver Apples of the Moon
Charles Gayle - Live at Disobey
Jeru the Damaaja - The Sun Rises in the East
John Oswald - Grayfolded
Orang - Herd of Instinct
Jan Garbarek/The Hilliard Ensemble - Officium
AMM - Newfoundland
Bill Frisell - Music for the Films of Buster Keaton
Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
Earthling - Nothing/Nothingness
FM Einheit/Caspar Brotzmann - Merry Christmas
Nick Cave - Let Love In
Orbital - Snivilization
Paul Schutze - The Surgery of Touch
4 Hero - Parallel Universe
Craig Mack - Flava in Ya Ear
Stereolab - Mars Audiac Quintet
Warren G - Regulate...G-Funk Era
Plastikman - Musik
Mu-ziq - Tango N'Vectif
Cheb Khaled - N'ssi N'ssi
Kristin Hersh - Hips and Makers
Robin Holloway - Concerto for Orchestra No.2
Trans-Global Underground - Internationsal Times
MC Solaar - Prose Combat
Boredoms - Chocolate Synthesizer
Tricky - Ponderosa
Jeff Buckley - Grace
God - The Anatomy of Addiction
Roni Size - Music Box
Fun-Da-Mental - Seize the Time
Suns of Arqa - Govinda's Dream (A Guy Called Gerald Remixes)
Blur - Parklife
Mouse ON Mars - Vulvaland
Scorn - Evanescence
Nirvana - Unpugged in New York
Ascension - Five Titles
Ken Ishii - Innerelements
Moody Boyz - Product of the Environment
Frnk Zappa - The Yellow Shark
Baaba Maal - Firin' In Fouta
Roger Sessions - Chamber Music
Metalheads - Inner City Life
Joshua Redman - Mood Swing
Bary Guy/London Jazz ComposersÕ Orchestra - Portraits
Jon Hassel & Bluescreen - Dressing for Pleasure

Sugarcubes, Stick Around for Joy (after hearing this and the Bjork singles that were still in rotation -- "Human Behavior," "Big-Time Sensuality" -- I really wanted to buy Debut, but the one-star review in Rolling Stone put me off)

The Cure, Staring at the Sea: The Singles

and LEST I FORGET:

Reality Bites OST!

has this been nominated for the 90s albums list yet?, that album bleeds with sonic emotion

I'm sticking to my guns and saying that 1994 was rub.

Sadly, no.

Jeff Buckley played in my local pub - the Red Lion - in Stevenage Old Town in the spring of 94, as a very weird date on his mini-tour to promote the Sin-e ep. Well, he played a lunchtime gig in the pub, had a kip under his big fur coat, and then played third on the bill to some local punk groups at the Bowes Lyon Youth Club in the evening. He was gorgeous.

Yeah, thought it was gonna be Buckley, but more Grace love makes us gladder.

Select magazine is pretty pivotal in all of this, from my vantage point

"Closer," Nine Inch Nails
"The Big Empty," Stone Temple Pilots
"Come Out and Play," The Offspring

http://wizardishungry.com/mp3z/Teenage%20Bondage.mp3

OTMFM

I made this into CD, I started a trhead about it. Anyway, this is what I liked in 1994.

The untitled GMS and 6FS songs were from the "Declaration of Techno-colonial Independence" split-single.

Did the White Birch by Codiene come out in 1994?

I remember it being an identity-crisis kind of year, musically--not for me personally but because the post-Nirvana alt-rock glut had cleaved a space between indie and mainstream-alt, and I f'in' HATED a lot of what got popular that year (Collective Soul, for one; NIN for another). Hip-hop lost me because I distrusted the "keepin' it real" aspect of it; it seemed more austere and less fun than it had been the previous few years. And dance music seemed less juicy, less fun, moving toward arena-techno and stadium house instead of the goofier, more fun stuff I'd been into. Then I went to First Avenue on the last Sunday of the year for their "best of 2004" night and was blown away by how much of the music was really good. I still prefer '91, '93, and '95, but yeah, great year.