CMJ New Music Monthly CD: October 1996
As those of you over the age of 24 may remember, it used to be rather difficult to discover new, non-mainstream music. You either relied upon word-of-mouth, magazines, or your local college radio station for suggestions. Unfortunately, the first two couldn’t actually provide you with the music (unless one of your friends was a mix tape fiend), so you were inevitably stuck trying to determine whether a new band really could sound like Nine Inch Nails AND Wilco. CMJ New Music Monthly attempted to remedy this situation by providing a free CD with new music every month. Every month! Free CDs may seem quaint nowadays, but at the time, it was pretty exciting. I subscribed for about two and a half years during the ‘90s, collecting a good 30 or so discs from the period. I think I stopped the subscription for three reasons: 1.) there was a definite quality drop-off for both the magazines and the CDs, 2.) I learned that labels paid $1000 to get their songs on the CD, so track lists weren’t necessarily an editorial decision, and 3). I made a greater effort to diversify my sources for new music. Looking back, however, one may find the selections to be funny, absurd, and a bit prescient in terms of a band’s future success. I’ve decided, then, to take one of these CDs every couple of weeks and do a track-by-track review of its contents. Enjoy.
Tracy Bonham “The One” – her follow-up to “Mother, Mother”. You remember the song. Crazy violin, then-ubiquitous soft/loud dynamics. This reminds me of that weird period from mid 1994 until early 1997 when “alternative” had been completely co-opted by the major labels, but they couldn’t figure out what did and didn’t work. Since they didn’t have a clue, they would just pitch everything to Modern Rock Radio in the hopes that something would stick.
Eels “Your Lucky Day In Hell” – I remember when he released his first couple albums as E, and had a minor college radio hit with “Hello Cruel World” in ’91. He used to sing in a Beatles falsetto back then.
Finn Brothers “Only Talking Sense” – decent post-Crowded House song. Let’s see…what else…um, yeah, that’s about it.
Nil Lara “Baby” – I think we all know how Nil Lara revolutionized music in the late 1990s, so I don’t want to bore anyone by rehashing his accomplishments
Les Claypool & the Holy Mackerel “Holy Mackerel” – in my Supergroup from Hell (which may or may not include C.C. DeVille on lead guitar, Paul Stanley on rhythm guitar, and Alex Van Halen on drums), Les Claypool would play bass.
Fun Lovin’ Criminals “Scooby Snacks” – CMJ was on this one a couple months before it was popular. That Pulp Fiction intro couldn’t be more dated.
Speedball Baby “Rubber Connection” – this is sooooooo 1996.
NY Loose “Spit” – before the revival of the New York scene in 2000, there was supposed to be another revival in the mid-90s featuring bands like D Generation and NY Loose. Didn’t happen.
Holly McNarland “Stormy” – Next.
Catherine Wheel “Heal 2” – We’re not shoegazers, we’re not Britpop, we’re Catherine Wheel! Love us, please.
Sam Phillips “Power World” – now performs the incidental music for “Gilmore Girls.”
Emmet Swimming “Arlington” – remember when I said that Speedball Baby song was 1996? This is really, really 1996.
Red House Painters “All Mixed Up” – a typically low-key cover of the Cars by everybody’s favorite down-tempo group. Used in a Gap commercial in ’99.
Congo Norvell “The Girl Who Would Be King” – somebody thinks she’s Siouxsie Sioux.
Metal Molly “Orange” – yes, they are as bad as their name implies.
The Damned “Shut It (Cleopatra Re-Mix)” – OK cut by the punk stalwarts, but I have no idea what was remixed.
Victor DeLorenzo “Blind” – who are these people?
Headcrash “Safehouse” – after listening to this, I’ve determined that Headcrash may have been the formative musical influence on Fred Durst.
Brian McMahon “Made For Each Other” – Hmmm. Not bad. Where have you gone, Brian McMahon?
Alright, this didn’t go as well as I thought, but I’m not abandoning the idea. Perhaps I’ll limit the reviews to “highlights” next time.
Tracy Bonham “The One” – her follow-up to “Mother, Mother”. You remember the song. Crazy violin, then-ubiquitous soft/loud dynamics. This reminds me of that weird period from mid 1994 until early 1997 when “alternative” had been completely co-opted by the major labels, but they couldn’t figure out what did and didn’t work. Since they didn’t have a clue, they would just pitch everything to Modern Rock Radio in the hopes that something would stick.
Eels “Your Lucky Day In Hell” – I remember when he released his first couple albums as E, and had a minor college radio hit with “Hello Cruel World” in ’91. He used to sing in a Beatles falsetto back then.
Finn Brothers “Only Talking Sense” – decent post-Crowded House song. Let’s see…what else…um, yeah, that’s about it.
Nil Lara “Baby” – I think we all know how Nil Lara revolutionized music in the late 1990s, so I don’t want to bore anyone by rehashing his accomplishments
Les Claypool & the Holy Mackerel “Holy Mackerel” – in my Supergroup from Hell (which may or may not include C.C. DeVille on lead guitar, Paul Stanley on rhythm guitar, and Alex Van Halen on drums), Les Claypool would play bass.
Fun Lovin’ Criminals “Scooby Snacks” – CMJ was on this one a couple months before it was popular. That Pulp Fiction intro couldn’t be more dated.
Speedball Baby “Rubber Connection” – this is sooooooo 1996.
NY Loose “Spit” – before the revival of the New York scene in 2000, there was supposed to be another revival in the mid-90s featuring bands like D Generation and NY Loose. Didn’t happen.
Holly McNarland “Stormy” – Next.
Catherine Wheel “Heal 2” – We’re not shoegazers, we’re not Britpop, we’re Catherine Wheel! Love us, please.
Sam Phillips “Power World” – now performs the incidental music for “Gilmore Girls.”
Emmet Swimming “Arlington” – remember when I said that Speedball Baby song was 1996? This is really, really 1996.
Red House Painters “All Mixed Up” – a typically low-key cover of the Cars by everybody’s favorite down-tempo group. Used in a Gap commercial in ’99.
Congo Norvell “The Girl Who Would Be King” – somebody thinks she’s Siouxsie Sioux.
Metal Molly “Orange” – yes, they are as bad as their name implies.
The Damned “Shut It (Cleopatra Re-Mix)” – OK cut by the punk stalwarts, but I have no idea what was remixed.
Victor DeLorenzo “Blind” – who are these people?
Headcrash “Safehouse” – after listening to this, I’ve determined that Headcrash may have been the formative musical influence on Fred Durst.
Brian McMahon “Made For Each Other” – Hmmm. Not bad. Where have you gone, Brian McMahon?
Alright, this didn’t go as well as I thought, but I’m not abandoning the idea. Perhaps I’ll limit the reviews to “highlights” next time.
posted by Alan @ 10:23 PM
2 Comments:
At 10:58 AM,
roger said…
It's kind of depressing that those things are a scam. Is there anything music-related that's not driven by payola? Surely CMJ thinks of it as ad space, but the inference of most readers is that is based on some editorial decision.
At 10:44 PM,
Alan said…
Domestically, there is very little non-Internet decision making that is not driven by payola. On a lighter note, Social Security won't go bankrupt until 2050.
Post a Comment
<< Home