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We're always looking at new ways to approach the 90s, and in the past we've revisited the output from bands and artists that got that start in the 1970s and 80s, like Tom Petty, KISS, Van Halen, and others. At the suggestion of our friend and 80s Metal co-host Chip, we've revamped the format for a fresh start. We kick it off with progressive arena rock veterans Styx, and start by checking out their 70s and 80s greatest hits to re-familiarize ourselves with the songs that became staples on classic rock radio for decades - "Come Sail Away," "Renegade," "Mr. Roboto," "Lady," and many more. Then we check out their 90s releases - the 1990 album Edge of the Century, which did not feature guitarist Tommy Shaw, then guitarist for Damn Yankees, and then their 1999 reunion with Shaw, and last with lead singer/keyboardist Dennis DeYoung, Brave New World. Unlike many of their classic rock peers, Styx managed to score a hit single at the start of the decade with the ballad "Show Me The Way." From their, we catch up with the band and current status to determine if the band thrived in the 90s, merely adapted to the times, or creatively died.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Show Me The Way (from Edge of the Century)
7:40 - Blue Collar Man (Long Nights) (from Pieces of Eight)
28:42 - Suite Madame Blue (from Equinox)
38:56 - Back To Chicago (from Edge of the Century)
41.57 - All In A Day's Work (from Edge of the Century)
58:57 - What Have They Done to You (from Brave New World)
Outro - Everything Is Cool (from Brave New World)
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From the ashes of acclaimed but underheard Royal Crescent Mob, bass player Harold "Happy" Chichester switched to guitar and lead vocal for his new band Howlin Maggie, who released their debut album Honeysuckle Strange in 1996. With an all-star cast of Columbus, Ohio players, the band produced a fierce yet catchy album for Columbia Records at the height of alternative rock, but didn't make a dent with national radio or MTV. Which is a shame, because Honeysuckle Strange is more than just your run-of-the-mill 90s alt-rock album. Carrying over from his funk rock background in RC Mob, the album never rests on simple rhythms, chord progressions, or vocal hooks, always coming up with something a bit more interesting or challenging, even if it means pushing the volume and harshness up a notch.
Songs In This Episode
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Intro - Miss Universe
18:54 - Rubbing The Industry Raw
21:40 - You Are
25:57 - $3.99
31:45 - Promise To Be Happy
34:56 - I'm A Slut
40:13 - How The West Was Won
Outro - Easy To Be Stupid (Beautiful Girls soundtrack)
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San Diego-based band No Knife released their sophomore album Hit Man Dreams in 1997 during the peak era of underground emo and post-grunge indie rock. The album marked a pivotal moment in their evolution thanks to the intricate guitar work by Mitch Wilson and Ryan Ferguson, who blend angular post-hardcore riffs with melodic indie rock sensibility. Tracks like "Your Albatross" and the title track showcase the band's knack for crafting dynamic compositions that shift seamlessly between tension and release. Producer Mark Trombino dials in their sound to perfection, highlighting the two-guitar attack and melodic vocals that define their style. While the band isn't as well know as many of their former pre-00s emo and post-hardcore contemporaries, Hit Man Dreams and the pair of album that follow suggest a serious reconsideration.
Songs In This Episode
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Intro - Roped In - Lock On
13:30 - Your Albatross
21:34 - Charades
30:25 - Median
Outro - Jackboots
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It's our fifth year of getting the patrons together and giving thanks for the new music that gave us happiness and good vibes in 2024. There's a wide array of bands and artists, new and old, that helped make 2024 a great year for music. New albums from 1980s, 90s and 00s artists like The Cure, Pearl Jam, Judas Priest, Underworld, The Black Crowes, John Davis (Superdrag), The Sheila Divine, Jack White, Pig, the Pixies, Watershed, Sebastian Bach, Silver Sun, D-A-D, J. Mascis, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Primal Scream, The Smile, and many more all released great late career records, while newer bands like Return to Dust, Ahem, Friko, The Blackburns, Crows, and several others landed on our radar.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Alone by The Cure (from Songs from a Lost World)
3:38 - Trust In Me by Silver Sun (from Mild Peril)
11:49 - (Hold On) To The Dream by Sebastian Bach (from Child Within The Man)
18:11 - Lapdog by Ahem (from Avoider)
21:34 - Fallout by Pig (from Feast of Agony EP)
31:17 - Free To Fall by John Davis (from JINX)
34:32 - Trial By Fire by Judas Priest (from Invincible Shield)
42:00 - Automaticity by J. Robbins (from Basilisk)
52:01 - Wanting and Waiting by The Black Crowes (from Happiness Bastards)
1:08:41 - The Darkness by The Sheila Divine (from I Am The Darkness. We Are The Light)
Outro - Dark Matter by Pearl Jam (from Dark Matter)
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The 1994 album Let Love In by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is a masterful exploration of beauty and brutality. Blending gothic rock with bluesy undertones, Cave delivers haunting melodies with vivid, poetic lyrics. Tracks like "Do You Love Me?" and "Red Right Hand" showcase Cave's magnetic storytelling and the band's dynamic range, taking the wildness of his previous band The Birthday Party, and the noisy experimentation of fellow Aussies The Dirty Three, and utilizes it in surprisingly restrained ways. Themes of passion, despair, and redemption weave through the music, and while a few of the louder tracks break up the flow, overall the album creates a dark, immersive experience unlike anything from the decade.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Red Right Hand
15:55 - Do You Love Me?
20:02 - Ain't Gonna Rain Anymore
23:45 - Jangling Jack
27:06 - Do You Love Me? (Part 2)
30:48 - Thirsty Dog
Outro - I Let Love In
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The 1998 concept album Nightfall in Middle-Earth by Blind Guardian brings the epic scope of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion to life through power metal. The album tells the tragic tales of elves, men, and gods embroiled in a war against the dark lord Morgoth, blending rich lyrical storytelling with complex arrangements, and finds a sweet spot between the technical skill of bands like Metallica and Helloween with the melodic bombast of Queen. Each track serves as a chapter in the larger saga, with both interludes and full songs capturing key moments via a variety of unique approaches. Mixing soaring vocals, symphonic elements, and Brian May-esque guitar riffage, the band create a sense of grandeur that mirrors the mythic subject matter.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Into The Storm
14:49 - A Dark Passage
19:42 - Nightfall
24:50 - The Eldar
34:08 - Thorn
38:53 - Mirror Mirror
Outro - The Minstrel
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Almost Here is the 1998 debut album by the Unbelievable Truth, fronted by Andy Yorke, who you may have just discovered (like us) is the younger brother of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. Infused with haunting melodies and introspective lyrics that lean on melancholy, emotional conflict, and introspection, the album showcases Yorke's evocative vocals and a minimalist approach Throughout the album, songs like "Settle Down" and "Stone" highlights the band’s thoughtful arrangements and subdued sound, tasteful integrating keys and organs without overpowering the mix.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Solved
15:27 - Higher Than Reason
18:02 - Stone
25:57 - Settle Down
Outro - Finest Little Space
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The 1991 debut album Gish by The Smashing Pumpkins marked the band's entry into the alternative rock scene with a unique mix of psychedelic rock, heavy metal, and dream pop elements. Produced by Butch Vig, who would later work with Nirvana on Nevermind, the album showcases the band's early experimentation with layered guitars, intricate rhythms, raw energy, and dense sonic textures that would become hallmarks of the Pumpkins sound. Although Gish did not initially achieve mainstream success, it garnered a strong underground following, helping to set the stage for the band's breakthrough with Siamese Dream in 1993. Celebrated for its unique blend of intensity and melody, it serves as an early glimpse into the Pumpkins' evolving musical ambitions, complete the fingerprints of Jane's Addiction, Van Halen, and Black Sabbath.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Tristessa
16:57 - I Am One
21:57 - Rhinoceros
30:36 - Window Paine
33:46 - Siva
Outro - Bury Me
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Most people know Jesus Jones from their big hit in 1991, "Right Here Right Now." Thanks to the explosion of grunge and alternative rock that was already bubbling up from the underground to the mainstream, the techno-rock of Jesus Jones took a back seat and relegated them to one-hit wonder status. But instead of changing their sound to blend in with the loud guitars from Seattle, the band and primary songwriter/singer Mike Edwards went in the opposite direction and leaned into their electronic elements for 1993's Perverse. Recorded entirely on computers, the album marks on the second fully digital release, and the sounds Edwards and band created sound positively futuristic compared the 1993 musical landscape.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Zeroes and Ones
24:43 - Spiral
27:49 - The Devil You Know
41:09 - Yellow Brown
Outro - Magazine
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An original member of KMFDM, producer, musician and singer Raymond Watts has been ensconced in the electronic and industrial music scenes for going on five decades. His own project PIG started out far more raw and aggressive, but over time Watts evolved the sound and eventually found a home on Trent Reznor's NOTHING label for the 1996 release of Sinsation (released the previous year in Japan only). With nods to Reznor's Nine Inch Nails and fellow industrial metal act Ministry, among others, Sinsation adds some unexpected and well-placed orchestra and horn samples to give the album a cinematic feel that would sound appropriate backing a dystopian science fiction film.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Hamstrung on the Highway
16:01 - The Sick
22:04 - Serial Killer Thriller
30:31 - Transceration
35:48 - Hot Hole
Outro - Paniac
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Although they've released over a dozen albums covering four decades, odds are if you ask someone on the street to name a song by Soul Asylum, it's going to be the mega-hit "Runaway Train" off their 1992 album Grave Dancers Union. There were other singles, "Black Gold" and "Somebody To Shove" off Grave Dancers Union, "Misery" and "Just Like Anyone" off the follow-up Let Your Dim Light Shine, but those albums and songs represented a band that had worked and toured and recorded since the early 1980s, taking a primordial post-punk and hardcore sound and slowly evolving album by album, starting with their debut Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold The Truck in 1984. Like their Twin/Tone Records labelmates The Replacements, the manic youthful energy gave their lead singers an opportunity to gradually find their literal and lyrical voice. On each successive album, and a jump to major label A&M, the band continued to refine and improve their brand of midwestern alternative college rock, and reached the heights of their songwriting prowess just as a second major, Columbia, took a chance that would land them a home for their sixth album and eventual double platinum seller, the aforementioned Grave Dancers Union.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Down On Up To Me (from Hang Time)
22:24 - Voodoo Doll (from Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold The Truck)
28:36 - Masquerade (from Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold The Truck)
33:16 - Tied to the Tracks (from Made To Be Broken)
36:46 - Can't Go Back (from Made To Be Broken)
40:20 - Freaks (While You Were Out)
47:22 - Endless Farwell (Hang Time)
51:30 - Cartoon (Hang Time)
Outro - Closer To The Stars (While You Were Out)
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On their second album Young And Full Of The Devil, Magic Dirt blended fuzzed out psych and stoner riffage with a grunge-tinged snarl. The throat shredding vocals of Adalita Srsen lend comparisons to bands like Hole, The Distillers, or L7, but the band delves into darker, scuzzier territory on tracks like the opening opus "Babycakes" and the closer and bonus track "Babycakes You Always Freeze Me Up." The foursome display a penchant for uptempo riffage on songs like "Rabbit With Fangs" and the appropriately titled "She-Riff" layered in a variety of guitar pedals and effects, but some odd choices on the back half of the record left us scratching our heads about what started out with strong intentions but veered into less concise territory.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Short Black
22:03 - Shrinko
28:54 - She-Riff
35:02 - Ascot Red
43:36 - X-Ray
Outro - Rabbit With Fangs
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It's hard to reconcile the importance of a band like Pavement considering their lack of mainstream popularity and pedestrian album sales But like The Velvet Underground and others before them whose underground popularity helped launch a thousand bands, Pavement's twisted takes on pop rock, post-punk, jam bands, and even country somehow make their 1994 sophomore album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain made a big impression on those looking for something the radio and MTV didn't offer. Witty lyrics, slacker vibes, jangly and occasionally conflicting guitars were present on their debut, but the band honed their skills to craft catchy, off-kilter melodies on tracks like "Cut Your Hair" and "Range Life."
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Cut Your Hair
24:36 - Silence Kid
37:06 - Fillmore Jive
46:59 - Heaven Is a Truck
56:53 - Range Life
Outro - Gold Soundz
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Like so many second and third wave grunge bands, aka post-grunge, the opportunity for chart and sales success depended on a big hit. For Atlanta, Georgia's doubleDrive, they didn't manage to score the big radio or MTV single in 1999 with their debut album 1000 Yard Stare, but what they produced was something more interesting than what many of their contemporaries had to offer. The production gives the entire band a chance to shine, and the twin guitar attack gets closer to the post-hardcore of Helmet, Quicksand, and Handsome at times. Unlike their post-grunge contemporaries Puddle of Mudd or Creed, the band doesn't slog around the mid-tempo for long, injecting plenty of energy and avoiding a ballad completely. But also like their post-grunge contemporaries, a reliance on the vocal stylings of singers like Eddie Vedder and Scott Weiland put a stamp on the sound that chips away at the originality.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - 1000 Yard Stare
22:31 - Belief System
27:12 - Tattooed Bruise
35:02 - Vamp
38:45 - Gone
40:50 - Reason
Outro - Hell
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The only way a radio listener or MTV watcher could avoid Basket Case, Longview, Welcome To Paradise, or When I Come Around in 1994 or 1995 was to be in a remote jungle or alone on the moon. The pop-punk explosion, led by the Bay-area trio Green Day and followed a few months later by The Offspring, would unseat grunge as the dominant underground scene making waves in the mainstream and open the door for a plethora of bands getting signed to major labels, like Rancid, NOFX, and Jawbreaker. With Dookie, the band found the perfect collaborator in producer Rob Cavallo, who kept punk energy and edge while helping the band dial in the guitars, bass, and drum sounds that would pop off the speakers. Thirty (!) years later, the album retains its energy, and repeated listens get under the hood of the band, showcasing the lock-step rhythm section of drummer Tre Cool and bassist Mike Dirnt that often carries the songs while lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong crafts catchy, relatable lyrics with tasteful harmonies that elevate the album to something special.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Burnout
19:35 - Basket Case
37:41 - Longview
42:44 - F.O.D.
47:59 - When I Come Around
Outro - She
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Not many 90s rock bands called Arkansas home, and even fewer looked to the straightforward radio pop of 1970s and 80s as a launching point for their sound. Yet on Ho Hum's 1996 debut Local, the band from Bradley, Arkansas tuned the radio dial to sounds of Big Star, The Plimsouls, The Knack, Dramarama, and early Tom Petty, to name a few, for their catchy, unpretentious sound. Though released in the middle of alternative decade, there isn't a note of angst or grunge to be found, instead forging a sound closer to likes of Velvet Crush, Sloan, Superdrag and Matthew Sweet at their most straightforward. From uptempo gems like opener "Around the World" to the infectious "Don't Go Out with Your Friends Tonite," to soulful ballads "Disappear" and "Superhuman," both featuring horn sections, the band clearly has an ear for an earworm melody.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Around the World
21:15 - Here She Comes
24:41 - Pills and Guns
27:04 - Frozen
31:06 - Disappear
34:12 - Superhuman
Outro - Don't Go Out with Your Friends Tonite
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Emerging from the same mid-90s Chicago scene that saw bands like Veruca Salt, Loud Lucy, Menthol, Triple Fast Action, and Local H get signed to major labels, Fig Dish delivered alternative guitar rock that paid homage to the legends of Mt. Rockmore - Zander, Mascis, Mould, and Westerberg - under the Polygram Records (and subsidiaries) banner. Their discovery is the stuff of legend: the band sent demo cassettes to various major labels with a handwritten note from “Steve,” claiming to have found a band worth checking out, banking on the idea that everyone knows a Steve and the label would think it was a genuine tip.
Despite their immediately catchy songs that could easily fit into any alternative rock radio playlist, the band (Blake Smith - vocals/guitar, Rick Ness - vocals/guitar, Mike Willison - bass, Andy Hamilton - drums) struggled to grasp the elusive brass ring. Their single “Seeds” was released with a video but saw limited play on MTV’s 120 Minutes. Touring across the country, they opened for acts like Juliana Hatfield, Veruca Salt, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Owsley, and Walt Mink. However, their 1995 album, That’s What Love Songs Often Do, produced by Lou Giordano, failed to make a significant impact. Their 1997 follow-up, When Shove Goes Back to Push, recorded under challenging circumstances, also ended up in used CD bins despite featuring some of the catchiest rock tunes of the year. In a last-ditch effort, the band filmed a video for “When Shirts Get Tight” featuring adult film stars in humorous, over-the-top scenarios. The video, too risqué for MTV, became more myth than reality.
By 1998, Fig Dish’s tenure with Polygram ended unceremoniously. They recorded new songs at Andy Gerber’s Million Yen studio in Chicago, hoping for a second chance that never materialized. Smith and Willison went on to form Caviar (known for “Tangerine Speedo”), while Ness and Bill Swartz (who played drums on Shove) formed Ness.
Recently, Forge Again Records from Chicago reached out to the band to release their two albums on vinyl for the first time. While the band agreed, navigating the bureaucratic red tape with record labels has been time-consuming. In the meantime, Forge Again asked if Fig Dish had any unreleased material, leading to the release of their 1998 demos as Feels Like the Very Second Time on vinyl.
In this interview, Smith and Ness reveal there was no dramatic story behind the band’s breakup; the members remain friends and stay in touch. While they won’t be quitting their day jobs to relive their (less than) glory days, there’s a strong possibility that Fig Dish will release new material in the near future.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Burn Bright For Now
13:54 - Pretty Never Hurts
Outro - When Shirts Get Tight
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Is Nü Metal the most divisive music subgenre of the 1990s? It sure seems to generate a lot of hate, but is also beloved by millions of fans. Eschewing the traditions of classic NWOBHM bands (guitar solos, leather, fist-pumping athems), Nü Metal rose from the same underground that embraced both hip-hop and mosh pits, with its own style (baggy pants, tracksuits, baseball caps) more reminiscent of Run D.M.C. than Judas Priest. In the same way that punk was a response to the bloated stylings of 70s corporate and progressive rock, Nü Metal stripped away the overindulgence of previous metal incarnations and focused on rhythm and catharsis. Bands like Korn, Papa Roach, and Linkin Park wrote about the dark underbelly of suburban home life, with varying musical approaches, while others like Slipknot, Mudvayne, and Static-X added a layer of theatrical presentation in their looks. We revisit not just the Nü Metal period, but also what came before it, bands like Anthrax and Public Enemy teaming up, the alternative approaches of Primus, Faith No More, and Rage Against The Machine, and explore the looks, the sounds and legacy of Nü Metal.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Blind by Korn (from Korn)
17:11 - Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck by Prong (from Cleansing)
26:20 - We Care A Lot by Faith No More (from Introduce Yourself)
37:04 - Denial by Sevendust (from Home)
49:32 - Last Resort by Papa Roach (from Infest)
50:27 - Rock That Doesn't Roll / Dope Nostalgia podcast promos
58:21 - A.D.I.D.A.S. by Korn (from Life Is Peachy)
1:11:24 - 10 Seconds Down by Sugar Ray (from Lemonade and Brownies)
1:24:35 - Boom by P.O.D. (from Satellite)
Outro - Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) by Limp Bizkit (from Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water)
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Bands scoring a hit with a single that doesn't sound much like the rest of the album is not unusual. Blur, Sugar Ray, the Butthole Surfers, Nada Surf, and more had hits that might have confused buyers when the bought the respective albums, and the same goes for Faithless, and their 1998 album Sunday 8 PM. Thanks to the uptempo house hit "God Is A DJ," the band gained fans on both sides of the Atlantic. However, aside from one other track, the rest of the album runs at half that speed, mixing electronic downtempo and soul sampled trip-hop. It results in an uneven album that feels more like a collection of really good singles instead of a cohesive musical statement, but the highs, including a stirring vocal performance by Boy George, make the record one worth checking out.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - The Garden
20:19 - Why Go?
32:02 - Hour of Need
36:01 - Rock That Doesn't Roll / Dope Nostalgia podcast promos
39:03 - Bring My Family Back
42:12 - God Is A DJ
Outro - Killer's Lullaby
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The 90s featured the rise of a several varieties of electronic music into the mainstream. The electronica of Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers and the industrial of Nine Inch Nails and Stabbing Westward became household names thanks to MTV and alternative radio station playlists, but not far behind were the late night grooves of trip-hop thanks to Portishead and Massive Attack. Combining samples and live instrumentation, and taking influence from reggae, dub, soul, jazz and more, the 1998 third album Mezzanine slowly unfurls from the start with opener "Angel" and keeps the listener entranced. From there, the band carefully weaves drum, bass, synths, and a variety of other instruments with three perfectly matched guest vocalists into a constantly shifting sonic landscape.
Songs In This Episode
Intro - Teardrop (from Mezzanine)
27:20 - Angel (from Mezzanine)
32:57 - Risingson (from Mezzanine)
35:57 - Rock That Doesn't Roll / Dope Nostalgia podcast promos
52:54 - Paradise Circus (from Heligoland)
Outro - Inertia Creeps (from Mezzanine)
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