I've managed to sit down and squeeze out a second installment, which is a good sign considering the lost-at-sea state of the last year I've had. I have a lot of intentions to do things, and then I manage to watch TV instead.
Anyway, here we are: it's the early 90s (though a few of the videos I will post may be from 89 yet still in rotation in the 90s) and the face of the music industry is changing, almost literally. Instead of this lovely lady:
We got this PJ Harvey fellow:
Stuff was never the same, and I'm glad. Hair Metal and New Jack Swing had had their day. It was time for Alt to rule.
Here's some more videos.
14. Jesus & Mary Chain - Far Gone and Out
I had no idea that these guys had been around for years, or that they were Scottish, or why they couldn't seem to comb their hair. I just knew this song rocked utterly and we can never forget. EVER.
15. Beastie Boys - So What'cha Want?
Unfortunately, being three Jews from NY City doesn't earn enough street cred to be truly accepted in the Hip Hop scene, so the videos from Check Your Head were constantly played on 120 Minutes instead, fortunately for me, because I might never have realized how groovy they were otherwise.
16. Wax - Hush
You can try to be cool and pretend like you remember this video. These guys never caught on, but someone at MTV programming sure gave it the ol' college radio try (probably because Spike Jonze directed it). They played this video three weeks in a row and then Wax was never seen again on TV.
17. Whale - Hobo Humpin Slobo Babe
Of course the braces and lollipop caught our attention, then wore off, but by then this weird Bjork meets early Chili Peppers ditty was firmly etched in our brains.
18. Bjork - Human Behavior
And speaking of Bjork, Human Behavior is the kind of video you will watch even if you don't particularly like the song.
19. Pond - Agatha
Portland's Pond got swept up in the Great Grunge Dragnet that scoured the Northwest for any band that had heavy guitars and had ever worn plaid. They didn't get very big, but I swear these guys are one of the greatest bands of the era, if you like noodly indie rock.
20. Kingmaker - Really Scrape the Sky
Admit it, you completely forgot about these guys. They were really strong out of the gate with this number debuting high on the charts but then... :crickets chirping:
21. Sundays - Here's Where the Story Ends
A band I totally ignored at the time but who I would really like to hear on the radio RIGHT NOW.
22. Soup Dragons - Divine Thing
These baggy guitar rocking Scots were all over 120 Minutes for what seemed like forever. Then they covered the Stones and we never heard from them again.
23. Material Issue - What Girls Want
Now, the Soup Dragons disappeared, but Ahmadinejad wiped Material Issue from the face of the earth (or the pages of history, depending on your translator).
24. Helmet - In the Meantime
Something like Material Issue or Gin Blossoms would be on 120 Minutes, then the next minute you see a kid pushing a Tonka truck straight at you and the walls are shaking and you are afraid for your life. Helmet had me jumping around and screaming at the top of my lungs. I'm sure my mom hated it and wished I would have stuck to REM.
25. Suzanne Vega - Blood Makes Noise
Because of my brother I was already very familiar with Vega and her folky brilliance. Then suddenly there's the quasi-industrial vibe throughout her music, like it was invaded by the Flying Lizards.
26. PJ Harvey - Sheela Na Gig
I can't make fun of Polly Jean in this post without also mentioning how she was one the earliest Grunge competitors to come on the scene - a woman from the UK, the first to really stand strong against the buzzsaw agnst of Nirvana.
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