ALTERNATIVE MUSIC
After my time with Oldies, select country, pop stars like Madonna, Paula Abdul, and Mariah Carey, I heard two things on the radio that made me turn my head. I was starting to get tired of the pop scene after I bought a Mariah Carey album and being depressed already I realized the words she was singing were not realistic at all. People leave and don't come back, if you keep watching over someone you can get arrested, and love is very far from the ideal lyrics. Then I heard Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" and Peter Gabriel's "Digging in the Dirt". I was amazed and entertained by both. Those were my first ventures into actual good music. Then, as mentioned on the music page, I was on a trip to the Adirondacks when I heard two 3/4ths R.E.M. albums and my world changed. That opened up a new world of little-known music that I discovered while listening to the college station for R.E.M. This page is dedicated to them. The Talking HeadsI know they are considered more of a pop 80's band after "Once in a Lifetime", "Burning Down the House", and "And She Was", and while I would agree they are great songs, they had three entertainingly weird albums before "Once in a Lifetime". The third album they did called "Fear of Music" is my favorite and highly recommended for anyone who likes off-kilter music. David Byrne is getting a little quieter, but he is still wonderfully weird. Recommended tracks: "First Week/Last WeekÉCarefree", "Mind", "Memories Can't Wait", "Warning Sign" R.E.M. Here it is, the band anyone who knows me knows I fawn over. They had four albums and a B-side collection of music you couldn't understand before Michael Stipe started enunciating, not that it cleared anything up. It was poetry and usage of his voice as an instrument, annoying as it might be to some detractors. My first experience with R.E.M. was "The One I Love" in 1987 and I wasn't a huge fan. Then I heard "Stand" in 1988 and was mildly interested. "Losing My Religion" came out and I still wasn't all that impressed, but then I heard "Drive" and my ears perked. I LOVED that song. That was the main reason I agreed to listen to the tape I was offered two years later, at which I heard songs like "Low", "Try Not to Breathe", and "Half a World Away". I got the full version of both the albums and went backwards from there to the earlier ones. However, after losing their drummer, they decided to become almost floaty and New age-ish with their subsequent albums (called "Up", "Reveal" and actually started to include the lyrics in the booklet, not that it still clears anything up. They showed signs of being a rock band again with a song called "Animal", which I really like. Recommended Tracks: "Stumble", "The Great Beyond", "Nightswimming", "Crush With Eyeliner", "Electrolite"
Smashing PumpkinsMy first experiences with the Smashing Pumpkins were when the album "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" was released and I found out that besides the obnoxious loud songs they played on the radio, they had some very beautiful quiet music. I listened to their other albums and highly enjoyed them. However, I still maintain that they would have been much more popular if they had the same lyric writer but a different singer. You will never find a more nasal voice than Billy Corgan's. Recommended tracks: "Soma", "Disarm", "1979", "Crush", "We Only Come Out at Night" Beck Who knew that someone who wrote a joke song called "Loser" that made no sense and sampled tracks from the seventies could actually use this weirdness to be something original? If he actually means what he sings I guess we should all be glad he wasn't a serial killer. He didn't hook me until he released the album "Odelay" and I had actually heard the whole thing, finding out he also had heart. So far it seems he does a really good one, then a quiet one, and then goes back to rocking or dancing. He still samples, he still has some idiotic lyrics, but he is an innovator and highly enjoyable. Recommended tracks: "Jack-Ass", "Lord Only Knows", "Little One", "Diamond in the Sleaze", "Mixed Bizness" Marcy Playground This is a band my friend Toaph turned me onto just by playing a few tracks like "All the Lights Went Out" and "Never". When they had first come out with "Sex and Candy" I thought it was a cool song and the music video was very original, but I wasn't hooked yet. Then they released an album I hadn't even heard about called "Shapeshifter". It should have been a hit, and everyone should hear that album. It made me go back and look at the first one again and I noticed that there were awesome tracks on that one, also. They have released another album recently that is still them and it's still great music. I definitely think what would have been their sophomore jinx album was their best piece of work, but they still have it. Recommended tracks: "All the Lights Went Out", "Rebel Sodville", "A Cloak of Elvinkind", "Bye Bye", "Opium" Tori Amos Say what you will, say she's too weird, she whines too much, she sounds like Kate Bush, but I love her music. I have always liked the piano but the way she uses it and the nonsensical but picturesque lyrics she uses evokes all sorts of feelings. However, hopefully she is not running out of ideas since her last two albums seem very half-hearted, one an album of covers and the other sounding very tired. I've seen her twice in concert and the first time was wild and energetic, but the second one I liked the opening act better (Ben Folds). I guess everybody runs out of ideas eventually. Recommended tracks: "She's Your Cocaine", "Yes, Anastasia", "Precious Things", "Mohammed My Friend" |
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