I didn’t notice until today, but last week Alfred Soto posted a list of his favorite music videos ever, after participating in an I Love Music poll calculating the top picks of lots of other folks. Realized I’ve never put together such a list, and I’m not sure how feasible it would be — my… Continue reading Videos I’ve Loved Before
Category: ’90s Music
4 Indie 45s From the ’90s
Excerpts from a short-lived monthly column called “Singles Again” (should’ve been “Singles Again Again,” since I’d previously used the same title at the Village Voice) in the online magazine Blurt (after two installments on the Idolator website) in which I started to comb alphabetically (as you can see, I didn’t get very far) through my… Continue reading 4 Indie 45s From the ’90s
Aqua and Gabba review, 1997
I’m so predictable. But aren’t you glad I don’t hate fun? L.A. Weekly, 5 December 1997
Roxette profile, 1991
Similar to when I interviewed the Pet Shop Boys for the same publication four months earlier, in that both involved highly stressful trips from Philly to a New York that was still terrifyingly foreign territory to me, except that Per Gessle was warmer than Neil Tennant and Marie Fredriksson was colder than Chris Lowe. Though… Continue reading Roxette profile, 1991
Baader Meinhof review, 1997
Can’t argue with 100% certainty that he’s a better singer than say the Suede guy or a better songwriter than say the Pulp guy, but as melodicists they don’t come close, and Luke Haines would remain my favorite ’90s Britpop auteur (small praise, but still) even if that wasn’t his primary band’s name. The album… Continue reading Baader Meinhof review, 1997
Celine Dion defense, 1997
Published a full decade before Carl Wilson’s acclaimed 33 1/3 book about Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love. Just saying. Which isn’t to say I was the first critic to put in a good word for the lady — Simon Frith and Frank Kogan may well have preceded me. Should also note that I overstate my… Continue reading Celine Dion defense, 1997
Monster Records Metal Reissue Licks, 2004
TRUTH AND JANEY, ERUPTS! In April 1976, an unpretentious numskull trio from some Iowa cowtown recorded this ballroom concert (longest endurance tests 9:05, 8:12, 7:21, 6:51), not issued on double vinyl till the early ’90s, and not on CD till now. To read their backstory, you need their 1,000-pressing 1976 studio LP, No Rest for the… Continue reading Monster Records Metal Reissue Licks, 2004
A Tribe Called Quest review, 1990
One of those reviews that periodically gets Twitter jerkwads and other busybodies cackling about how devastatingly “wrong” history has proven me, as if there’s a right or wrong when it comes to reviews, as if winding up on other people’s best-of-all-time lists proves anything. I gave the album three stars out of five; I might… Continue reading A Tribe Called Quest review, 1990
The Offspring profile, 1995
I dunno, maybe I gave the subjects of my only Spin cover story ever short shrift in my top 150 albums of 1994/’95 list. The singles on Smash are swell. But beyond that, I just get irritated. Maybe I’ll be able to hear pop-punk again after another decade or two, when I’m in my 70s… Continue reading The Offspring profile, 1995
Xuxa review, 1994
Other X acts on my LP or CD shelves: X, Xavier, Xavion, X-Ray Spex, XTC, X___X. Only the first of those has more records there than Xuxa. L.A. Weekly, 20 May 1994