writing | Touchstones
A brief musical history from 89-92 and why I make the argument that this is perhaps one of the greats periods in modern music.
I caught myself wondering when I got so old the other day. That startling realisation came to me while getting out of bed from a cold start (meaning I didn’t get up, make a coffee and go back to bed to read the news) and realised it was starting to take longer. The aches need more rubbing, the joints lubricating and the elastic holding me together a bit more time to pull out. Let's not talk about how my head is a few minutes behind my mind, desperately trying to catch up.
While doing my daily routine of stretching I got to thinking about labels. Not those attached to clothing or stickers with a price, but more about generational labels we’ve become attached to.
Generation Alpha is a new one to me, those born in the 2010s. When they’re my age I’ll be long gone, or maybe I’ll be hanging on by my fingertips to see how the world shakes out. But I quite like that label. Not the alpha male overtones sometimes assigned to the term alpha, but more how we have finished at Z and started clean. The question is which alphabet will follow? Phonetic or Greek? Generation Bravo or Beta? Let's not dwell on that.
Next, we have Generation Z or Zoomers and before them Generation Y or Millenials. Both get a bad rap in the grand scheme of generations. Raised on the internet, social media and culture worshipping false idols and shit television. Sure, I grumble about them like everyone else but they’ve been dealt just as much a shitty hand as my generation.
That would be Generation X, so cool we don’t have a nickname, and I’ll come to that once I’ve finished the roll call of generations.
Baby boomers. The parents or grandparents of GenX and onwards. I won’t use a sweeping generalisation as I know plenty who are lovely, pretty savvy, or aware of the advantages they’ve had. Still, some do bury their heads telling subsequent generations to stop buying coffee and cancel subscriptions to Netflix, get a job and knuckle down so they can afford to buy a house. Deluded and entitled is what I say.
Finally, the previous generations were called Silent, Greatest and the Lost, going back to the end of the 19th century. They were generations who truly had a difficult time generally. I shouldn't need to go into why but great depressions, wars, financial hardship, crude medicine etc etc. Fuck me they had it tough.
Let's go back to GenX as I feel I’m suitably qualified to talk about it. We are children of the ’70s and ’80s when values started shifting. Here in the UK, there was high unemployment and social change and an incumbent government that didn't have its country or its people's interests at heart.
We saw the fall of communism and the rise of capitalism, more participation of women in the workforce, AIDs and the demonisation of gay men and women, the rise of home computing and the early sprinklings of the internet, and more quality film and television was produced alongside the growth of media companies.
But we also grew to be alienated and disillusioned, cynical and disaffected. As a result of this, GenX produced so many new musical genres; punk, hip-hop, heavy metal, alternative rock and even early house music.
Something had been brewing for a few years in both the UK and the US. There had always been great rock music and an underground music scene. We had punks from the mid-70s but when they all grew up and moved on so we were left with the 80s.
But all was not lost and something was stirred over here and in the US. Siouxsie and the Banshees, Echo & the Bunnymen and The Psychedelic Furs. New Order and The Smiths, Gang of Four, early Primal Scream and James, Soup Dragons, Ride & Lush shoegazing, Pet Shop Boys, Tears For Fears and OMD are just a few I can name. In the US there was R.E.M, The Replacements, Pixies, Fugazi, Violent Femmes, Throwing Muses and before them all the punk scene that inspired it all.
I wasn't quite old enough to appreciate it until probably 89 when I heard house and acid music, “Madchester”, US college rock and rap.
Looking at the album releases of 1989, I was listening to Technique from New Order, 3 Feet High and Rising from De La Soul, Club Classics Vol. One by Soul II Soul, Disintegration from The Cure (I wish I still had that vinyl) Raw Like Sushi by Neneh Cherry (Buffalo Stance being the first 7-inch I bought) Liquidize by Jesus Jones and Ninety from 808 State.
And need I say anything about The Stone Roses? If any one band encapsulated a moment then it was them. The Smiths and New Order opened the door and The Stone Roses kicked that door down, set it on fire and pissed on the ashes. The funk, rock and psychedelia fused music from bands like the Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, Charlatans, James and countless other smaller bands dominated and created the “Madchester” scene. Baggy flared jeans, tye-died hoodies, band t-shirts and bucket hats.
By 1990 that scene was in its decline, a spark of a match that quickly burnt out but it left a legacy of great bands still going now or inspired a new generation to pick up the guitar and write great songs.
If I look over the pond while still in 1989 then the list of releases is quite something. Pixies came out with Doolittle. Perhaps one of my favourite albums of all time, but in 89 I didn't even know they existed. Nirvana released Bleach, a rawer version of the band, not as polished as Nevermind but probably my favourite Nirvana album. Faith No More created alt-metal with The Real Thing, an album I still listen to on regular rotation.
Soundgarden released Louder Than Love and Nine Inch Nails recorded Head Like A Hole. Bands like Screaming Trees, Primus and Red Hot Chilli Peppers were fine-tuning their sound and building more of a following. The Beastie Boys brought out Paul’s Boutique to a “meh” from critics but in hindsight is seen as a classic.
If we look at 1989 as an aperitif, in 1990 we were served the starters.
In the UK, Depeche Mode released Violator and Happy Mondays Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches while in the US we were introduced to A Tribe Called Quest, following up more socially conscious rap from the likes of De La Soul, as well as releases from Fugazi, The Replacements (they do not get the credit they deserve for the alt-rock scene) and Cowboys From Hell from Pantera.
Pixies released Bossanova and The Breeders released Pod, Mother Love Bone posthumously brought out Apple (after singer Andrew Wood’s untimely death) Sonic Youth continued their art rock with Goo. At the same time, Alice In Chain’s debut album Facelift came out. Janes Addiction released the classic Ritual de lo Habitual and Soundgarden brought out another album, as well as Living Colour arriving with Time’s Up.
Something was in the air clearly and in 1991, we got the main course.
But let's take a quick step back.
In the early 90s there was a resurgence in legacy artists like The Rolling Stones, Clapton, Elton John and Rod Stewart, all trading on past glories and old hits. There is no doubting the importance they played in bringing rock and roll to the masses, but let's also remember the artists they took from. Musicians like B.B. King, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard; were all massive inspirations to the likes of the Stones and The Beatles.
And at the time, pop was up its arse. Remember Milli Vanilli? Boy bands & girls groups? Sure, I maybe liked some of it when I was too young to know better, but by the time I hit my teens, I didn't want that sugar-spun garbage.
A new sound was needed and several things contributed to the explosion of alt-rock, indie and what they would call “grunge”.
Firstly, in 1991 something changed the record industry in the US. Soundscan was introduced. Believe it or not, for years the charts were put together based on guesses to random calls to record stores, who generally made up sales.
But Soundscan changed that, it allowed record companies to look at record sales, see the trends and be more accurate. From this, a lot of alt and indie bands suddenly found themselves in the charts as did metal, hip hop and country.
Secondly, a band from Athens Georgia called R.E.M (yeah, those guys) had built a huge cult following from years of touring and releasing great indie records. Formed in the early 80s, by 87 they brought out their fifth album Document with songs like the Finest Worksong and The One I Love and then in 88 they brought out Green with Pop Song and Orange Crush as standouts. In 1990 they released Out of Time and it all changed. That album blew the band up and brought them mainstream. College rock was coming.
Finally, Perry Farrell from Jane’s Addiction set up Lollapalooza after attending his first UK festival. The first tour in 1991 wasn't exactly a great sell-out but bands like Janes, Living Color, Nine Inch Nails and Rollins Band no doubt benefited from being on the bill. Records from these bands sold well and, because of Soundscan, record companies saw this. Subsequent Lollapalooza tours then sold out because of more alt-rock, rap and indie bands on the line-up, fueled in popularity by record companies releasing their albums.
So the record companies had taken notice. They looked at Soundscan and the underground college rock and alt-music scene, saw what the records buyers wanted (and didn't want) and sent out A&R men to all corners of the earth.
In the UK bands like Jesus Jones and 808 State built on what they had worked on by releasing new albums, EMF brought out the dance rock fused Schubert Dip, The KLF came out with The White Room and Orbital released their debut. Blur produced Leisure, and with it the first iteration of the band that wouldn't last long, finding their sound and playing a big part in “Britpop” later.
Undoubtedly though, two albums from the UK defined that year. Blue Lines by Massive Attack and Screamadelica by Primal Scream were post-rave dance crossover classics that spawned many imitators but none were ever able to match.
Let's take another look across the pond in 1991, and before I mention what is perhaps the holy trinity of “grunge” let's see what else was going on.
I’ve mentioned R.E.M. but a notable mention goes to the Pixies who were just as prolific as ever, releasing Trompe le Monde before breaking up. This was a massive shame and I’m only glad that they got the recognition they deserved later on. If there was one band that was truly alt then it's them, unique with own their sound, everything they release should be savoured and enjoyed.
We also had more releases from Screaming Trees and Dinosaur Jr. The Smashing Pumpkins released their debut Gish (which I’ve written about here before) and the Red Hot Chili Peppers went all funky monks with Blood Sugar Sex Magik, a fine sexy record with some great songs.
With Andrew Wood’s death, we got the “supergroup” Temple of the Dog, members of Mother Love Bone and Soundgarden getting together and recording this tribute. It included Eddie Vedder, with the bones of MLB also forming Pearl Jam.
From a rap and hip-hop perspective, we got new albums from Public Enemy, De La Soul, O.G. Original Gangster from Ice-T, Niggaz4Life from N.W.A and the debut from Cypress Hill, a great great album.
So let us now consider what might be considered the holy trinity of “grunge”.
Soundgarden released Badmotorfinger, a band with a lot of pedigree and the album sounded as metal as ever. Pearl Jam released Ten, full of soul and anthems (and technically released before Nevermind) and finally, we come to Nirvana and Nevermind. It's more polished than Bleach but still captures the essence of punk that the band were about.
Now alt had been released to the world, it was time for dessert.
In 1992 we saw releases from Neds Atomic Dustbin, PJ Harvey, The Charlatans and The Prodigy. In the US, Pavement released Slanted and Enchanted, Pantera came out with the powerful A Vulgar Display of Power, The Lemonheads gave us Its A Shame About Ray and a follow-up from Faith No More called Angel Dust, was a big difference in sound to The Real Thing, even more thrashier and metal.
L7 released the frankly heavy as fuck Bricks Are Heavy, and Screaming Trees came up with the scuzzy metal great Sweet Oblivion, finally introducing the mainstream to Mark Lanegan. As well as releases from Helmet, Blind Melon and Nine Inch Nails, again another band changing their sound. Alive In Chains offered Dirt, heavy in both sound and themes and Mudhoney brought out Piece of Cake. Stone Temple Pilots were unfairly maligned in my opinion but Core was and remains a great rock album.
It was also a golden year for rap with a new Beastie Boys album called Check Your Head, Arrested Development brought out the brilliant 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of…(I bought that on release and still love it) The Pharcyce released the classic Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde and Ice Cube and Dr Dre both released instant greats.
Rage Against the Machine also released their debut album, mixing rap and rock, politics and social causes. A band that wore its consciousness on its sleeve. I remember getting a ticket to see them on their first UK tour only for it to be cancelled. They released Killing In The Name Of and it climbed the charts here in the UK so the tiny venue we were to see them in would not be appropriate (and likely cause a lot of crowd problems)
Seeing them later in the year, being right at the front of that stage and watching frontman Zac still sends chills down my spine. And I made sure I got the fuck out of that mosh pit when I heard the opening bars of Killing. No way did I want any of that madness.
It would take a few more years for the term “grunge” to fizzle out, but what remained was alt in one way or another. With the last of the labels (nu-metal, Britpop, electronica) coming and then leaving, alternative crossed over and everything was mainstream, as it should be.
There is an enduring legacy of this period and with the advent of the internet and Napster, technology evolved to the point where music could be shared easily and you could discover bands yourself. A&R no longer dictated what we might want to listen to as bands composed, recorded and released to their audiences within hours (Artic Monkeys being one of those bands)
That short period of four years was the perfect storm whose impact we see today.