Mt. Rushmore: 1987

 

     1987. The year I graduated from Central Michigan University. It was a solid year for albums. There was a battle for supremacy between the two biggest alternative bands of the eighties. However, they finished second and third to my number one. A couple things before we get to the Mt. Rushmore. First, the contenders that didn't make it were: The Replacements Pleased to Meet Me, 10,000 Maniacs In My Tribe and The Bats Daddy's Highway. Second, I wanted to mention a compilation album that would have made the cut if it was an actual studio album, Juvenalia by The Verlaines. Juvenalia is a collection of singles and B-sides that is basically a greatest hits album. Check out the tracks "Death and the Maiden", "Doomsday", "Joed Out", "You Cheat Yourself of Everything That Moves" and "Pyromaniac". This is a stellar comp. 

     Number one is Midnight Oil's Diesel and Dust. I love this album, even though I have no knowledge of Australian politics or history, which is what they are mostly on about. Midnight Oil tend to be written off as one-hit wonders for "Beds are Burning". This album alone has at least three hits, "Beds", "Dreamworld" and "Dead Heart". Every song is a banger; my favorite being "Sometimes". Most powerful and passionate political album. 

     Number two is the album that could not be avoided in 1987, Johua Tree by U2. Obviously, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "With or Without You" are great songs, but I have hear them too many times. Can't deny them, though. My favorite tracks are "Where the Streets Have No Name", "In God's Country" and the incendiary "Bullet the Blue Sky". 

     Number three is by the other alternative rock behemoth of the eighties, R.E.M.'s Document. Even though many don't care for Document as an album, it did break the band into the mainstream with the huge singles "The One I Love" and "It's the End of the World as We Know It". It also has one of my least favorite R.E.M. tracks, "Finest Worksong". I really love everything else on Document, especially "Disturbance at the Heron House" and "Oddfellows Local 151". Spoilers: Every R.E.M. album from the IRS years will be on my Mt. Rushmores. Sorry, not sorry.

     Finally, a brilliant album I came to later in life, Dinosaur Jr.'s You're Living All Over Me". This is a DYI indie underground classic. And it has a crazy cover of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven". 

     Looking ahead, these mid-80's years are going to be a little thin on albums, but we'll come up with four every year. If nothing else, there's more R.E.M. Peace.

 

Mt. Rushmore: 1988

 

     So, 1988 will definitely have some carry over from the 1989 post. It's a solid year of good albums, but not really a no-brainer number one. This will be a personal preference Mt. Rushmore, so before we begin here are the runners up: Sonic Youth Daydream Nation, Crowded House Temple of Low Men, Living Colour Vivid, Dinosaur Jr. Bug and R.E.M. Green. 

    I've been going back and forth on my number one, but I will go with Love Junk by The Pursuit of Happiness. This is a terrific Canadian power pop album with scorching female backing vocals. Moe Berg's songwriting is hilarious and poignant. I still play the shit out of this album. The standout tracks remain "I'm an Adult Now" and "She's So Young". The whole album is pop-tastic. If you've never listened to it please go correct your horrible life decisions. 

     Number two is The Travelling Wilburys. What an astounding collection of musical talent...and Zimmerman. I love Petty, Harrison and Lynne. Orbison is fine. Dylan in the context of the Wilburys is acceptable. "End of the Line" and "Handle With Care" are bona fide classics. Here's something scary. I'm almost 58 years old. Guess how old these guys were in 1988. Tom Petty 37. Jeff Lynne 41. George Harrison 45. Zimmerman 47. Roy Orbison 52. What the bleep!

     Number three is Green Thought by The Smithereens. Great album, great tracks, love these guys. Only a Memory. House We Used to Live In. Drown in My Own Tears. Green Thoughts. I think they get overlooked because they only had a few great albums of original material, then did a bunch of covers albums. 

     Finally, last years number one band The Pixies with Surfer Rosa. Not as accessible as Doolittle, but what a tracklist: Gigantic. Where is My Mind? Bone Machine. Broken Face. Cactus. Vamos. Couldn't go back-to-back though. Looking ahead to 1987, there seems to be four albums that stand out, so pretty easy Mt. Rushmore next time. Peace. 

Mt.Rushmore: 1989

 

     After my 1990 post, I considered changing my Mt. Rushmores for the eighties to singles instead of albums. The '80's is the decade of hit singles and one-hit wonders. Album concepts had been disabused by Punk at the end of the seventies. However, I am going to forge ahead with albums. Some of these years are going to be slim pickings, but that is the case with every decade. I might reconsider this for the sixties, since conceptual albums really weren't a thing until the middle of the decade. We shall see. Anyhow, let's back into the eighties at 1989. I'm locked in with my number one, but the other three are still up for grabs, even as I sit here typing. 

     I almost went Easter Island Head with my number one, Doolittle by The Pixies, but I will come up with three more eventually. Obviously, Doolittle is one of the seminal albums in the history of alternative rock. Black Francis (Frank Black), Kim Deal and band are at their peak here. Debaser. Wave of Mutilation. Monkey Gone to Heaven. Gouge Away. Here Comes Your Man. All part of the canon. Really the whole album is tremendous. I wasn't cool enough to be listening to The Pixies in 1989, but I found my way to the band when I was ready to receive them. That's one of the great things about music.

     For number two, I decided to go with the album I played the shit out of in 1989. A great band and one of my guilty pleasures, The B-52's with their last great album, Cosmic Thing. What? Your tin roof rusted! Even though I prefer the early, surfy B-52's, this album is fun-tastic. "Love Shack" was a juggernaut in 1989. One of my favorite tracks is the nostalgic "Deadbeat Club". I love the first verse, "I was good, I could talk a mile a minute on this caffeine buzz I was on. We were really hummin'. We could talk every day for hours. We belongto the Deadbeat Club". The other singles "Roam" and "Channel Z" are also standouts. The B-52's are one of the most singular bands in the history of pop music. 

     Number three is Tom Petty's first solo album, Full Moon Fever. To be fair, there was considerable Heartbreakers action on this album, but it was transcendant due to the magic of Jeff Lynne. All his work with Petty and the Wilbury's (individually and as a super group) was unstoppable. Even though I'm not a huge fan of the universally loved and overplayed "Free Fallin'", this album is amazing. I Won't Back Down. Runnin' Down a Dream. Love is a Long Road. Yer So Bad. Free Fallin'. One of my favorite covers is Petty's version of The Byrds (Gene Clark) "Feel A Whole Lot Better". All hail Jeff Lynne!

     Before I reveal my number four, here are the other contenders: Stone Roses, Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique, De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising, XTC Oranges and Lemons, Tin Machine and Bob Mould Workbook. Even though most of these albums are technically better than my number four, 11 by The Smithereens, this was just a personal choice. In 1989, the four bands I listened to the most were R.E.M., The Pursuit of Happiness, The B-52's and The Smithereens. I got to see The Smithereens a year or two before lead singer Pat DiNizio died. They were amazing live. 11 has three of their canonical tracks, "Girl Like You", "Yesterday Girl" and "Blues Before and After". Jim Babjak is one of my favorite guitarists. He plays a lot of jangly Rickenbacker, which is my wheelhouse. Anyhow, that's my 1989 Mt. Rushmore. Looking ahead to 1988, it seems pretty solid. Might have some repeat offenders. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 90's Recap

 

     Maybe it's just recency bias, but the nineties was the best decade for rock albums(1990 and 1998 notwithstanding). As we proceed through the "slow cancellation of the future", there may never be another period of new, creative music; just nostalgia for shoegaze, or power pop, or disco or The Beatles. It could be argued that the eighties was a better decade for singles, but certainly not albums. The seventies was the decade of great live albums. The sixties was a decade of great singles from diverse genres. Ironically, they weren't making vinyl records to any great extent in the nineties. It's only now with the resurgence of vinyl that we can here The Bends on LP. The RUSH reissues of their nineties albums are going for huge dollars online. When I started these nineties Mt. Rushmores, I declared that The Soft Bulletin would be the best album of the decade. As I have actually gone through the exercise I soon discovered I was wrong. There were so many 5 star albums. Something in my brain tried to retcon that Nevermind really wasn't that big of a deal. How do you rank a crazy album about Anne Frank? How do you choose between The Bends and OK Computer? How did Teenage Fanclub not have a number one on my list? Did Sloan name themselves after he urinals?

     Part of me doesn't want to rank the number ones from the nineties. The rankings could literally change everyday. So this is my ranking for today. Peace.

1)  Nevermind

2)  The Bends

3)  In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

4)  The Soft Bulletin

5)  OK Computer

6)  It's a Shame About Ray

7) Transmissions From the Satellite Heart

8)  Bee Thousand

9) One Chord to Another

10) Blue Sky Mining

 

     

     

Mt. Rushmore: 1990

 

     What was I listening to in 1990? Windham Hill and old jazz. 1990 was a wasteland for rock. Half of my contenders for this year aren't rock or jazz albums. Michael Hedges (who was actually a tremendous guitarist that I have posted about previously), Dwight Yoakam (who is one of my favorite singers and Buck Owens fan) and John Zorn's Naked City (spoilers, it's number four on the Mt. Rushmore). There's only one album under consideration that I actually listened to when it came out. Seriously, Kurt Cobain saved rock music. All that being said, I did come up with a solid three albums and John Zorn, which is just fun. 

     Number one is a tough call, so in fairness I will give it to the album I was actually listening to in 1990; Midnight Oil's Blue Sky Mining. This album has Oils classics "Forgotten Years", "King of the Mountain", "Blue Sky Mine" and "One Country". I especially love "Forgotten Years". It's a straight up burner with one of the best choruses ever. And they shot the video in a cemetary. Other great tracks are "Stars of Warburton" and "River Runs Red". This was an impressive follow up to Diesel and Dust, which is a hard album to follow. 

     Number two is perrenial favorites The Flaming Lips with In a Priest Driven Ambulance. This is the best album of the pre-Steven Drozd era. Wayne's lyric are bonkers and Jesus-ey. "Used to be alright, but things got strange. Used to take all night, but things have changed and God walks among us now", "There you are. You stand in the rain and the rain fills your brain and it makes you think that God was fucked up when he made this town. There you stand with your bleedin' hands and you don't understand why you work so goddamn hard to be anything at all. There you are. You drive in your car and you wish for the stars and you end up face down in the road dead as fuck". "I was born the day they shot a hole in the Jesus egg". My favorite line is from "Stand in Line"; "Ten men stand in line waitin' for some personality to be put out on the corner, but it ain't garbage day". Now I feel bad making this number two. 

     Nunber three is Vehicle by The Clean. I posted about this album before, so please go back and check that out. Love the Flying Nun bands. 

     And finally John Zorn's Naked City. This mostly instrumental album is also bonkers. There are inspired originals as well as fantastic covers, like Henry Mancini's "Shot in the Dark". A must listen for anyone that likes unhinged instrumental music. It's like revved up Raymond Scott. Tomorrow will be a '90's recap. Peace. 

     

     

Mt. Rushmore: 1991

 

     Well, my Mt. Rushmore for 1991 is kind of boring. There's really only one that is at all surprising. Even that one isn't if you have followed my blog at all. First, the list of albums that missed the cut: My Bloody Valentine Loveless, Chili Peppers Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik, Soundgarden Badmotorfinger, Mercury Rev Yerself is Steam, Dinosaur Jr. Green Mind, RUSH Roll the Bones, Swervedriver Raise, Crowded House Woodface and Matthew Sweet Girlfriend. Pretty sweet list of albums. 

     Alright, I'm not going to be a pretentious dick. Number one is Nirvana's Nevermind. I wasn't going to, but let's be real. This album kicked in the door that The Pixies, Husker Du, Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr had just cracked open. It mercifully put the nail in the coffin of power ballad metal and crap like Guns 'n' Roses. Alternative rock ruled the '90's after the release of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Sure it eventually lead to lame, middle-of-the-road alternative, but it was still better than Poison and Warrant. As I'm typing this I am looking at My Kurt Cobain POP figure, which is next to my Nirvana CD boxed set on the shelf of my writing desk. I've gotta keep it real. Nevermind...number one!

     The album that was going to be number one, but is now number 2 is Bandwagonesque by Teenage Fanclub. This is their first great album transitioning from the early shoegazing stuff like "Everything Flows" to power Britpop. It has my second favorite song of all-time, "Star Sign", as well as Fannie classics like "The Concept", "December", "What You Do To Me", "Metal Baby" and "Alcoholiday". These guys really should have been huge. 

     Number three is Achtung Baby by U2. I know it's cool to shit on Bono and the boys, but U2 are an iconic band and this was an important transitional album for them as well. I almost kept this off the list due to my hatred of the song "One", but the rest of the album is tremendous. I particularly love "Ultraviolet". I have to admit at the time I hated this direction for U2, especially all that Zoo and McPhisto shit. My wife actually brought me back to U2 and I grew to appreciate this period of the band. So, don't be haters. 

     Finally, the surprise pick is Uncle Tupelo's Still Feel Gone. I love alt-country and Uncle Tupelo pretty much invented the genre. Jay Farrar is amazing and I have grown to enjoy Jeff Tweedy as well. "Gun" is a dynamite opening track (Tweedy)  and is followed up by the powerful song "Looking For a Way Out" (Farrar). The playing and lyrics on this album are stellar. If you are interested, check out my old post on this album. I have mellowed out on Tweedy and Wilco since I wrote that several years ago. You live and you learn. Always keep an open mind kids. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1992

 

     First of all, I appreciate anyone reading any of my ramblings on music topics. Right now I'm using this blog to develop the habit of writing and publishing something everyday. So, I've been churning these Mt. Rushmores out without really spending much time agonizing over how well written they are. Hopefully my opinions are at least interesting. !992's Mt. Rushmore is four albums that I have already posted about, albeit several years ago now. So, not too much new here, but here we go.

     Number one is my go-to album and security blanket, It's a Shame About Ray by The Lemonheads. There is nothing more comforting than the laid back vocals of Evan Dando. He would also be on my Mt. Rushmore of singers (along with Jay Farrar, Jackson Browne and someone else to be named later). This album is loaded with quick hitting gems. The title track is transcendant. One of my favorite lyrics of all-time is from "Alison's Starting to Happen" : "She's the puzzle piece behind the couch that makes the sky complete". Other outstanding tracks are "Hannah and Gabi" and "The Turnpike Down", which is a chugging country rock gem. 

     Number two is Copper Blue by Sugar. Great album and I wish Bob Mould had done more Sugar releases. I saw him and Will Johnson doing a solo acoustic show before the pandemic and they were both great. Please check out my previous post for more on Copper Blue.

     Number three is Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted. 

     Number four is Propeller by Guided by Voices. Propeller is notorious for being an expensive rarity. They originally only released 500 copies of the LP with individually designed jackets. These resell for a couple thousand dollars when they become available. I have a reissue from 2005 and those also go for quite a bit online. Too bad I'm only a buyer and not a seller. The album begins with the famous "GbV, GbV, GbV" chant and then the self-deprecating line "This song does not rock". This was Pollard's hail mary to make a career in music and it was completed pass. It paved the way for the success of Bee Thousand in 1994. Check out GbV classics like "Quality of Armor", "Metal Mothers", "Exit Flagger" and "!4 Cheerleader Coldfront". 

     I forgot to mention at the top what the runner up albums were, so they are: STP Core, Gin Blossoms New Miserable Experience, Catherine Wheel Ferment, Sonic Youth Dirty and The Flaming Lips Hit to Death in the Future Head. Tomorrow is the legendary year 1991. It's going to be tough getting to a top four. It will be harder still to rank them. Looking ahead to 1990, it seems pretty weak. It's gonna be hard to scrounge up four, but I think I can. After that I will probably do some kind of recap of my number ones for the whole decade and maybe rank them. Then on to the '80's! Peace.

Mt. Rushmores: 1993

 

      So, my list for 1993 is a number one and 11 number 2's. After much deliberation, I finally arrived at the top four. The runners up are Nivana In Utero, Blur Modern Life is Rubbish, Dinosaur Jr. Where You Been, Archers of Loaf Icky Mettle, Swervedriver Mezcal Head, Boo Radleys Giant Steps, Uncle Tupelo Anodyne and Cracker Kerosene Hat. Pretty nice honorable mention list.

     My number one is The Flaming Lips Transmissions From the Satellite Heart. Truthfully, sometimes this is my favorite Lips album. I love the Ronald Jones era with Steven Drozd on drums. Unfortunately, it only lasted for two records. The playing on this is amazing and the lyrics are surrealistic as hell. "Once in awhile the zebra runs to the spaceman and his gun in a spider's web". There's also great philosophy like "well you still gotta live 'til you die". What other band would cover "Plastic Jesus" from Cool Hand Luke? None other. The album opens with the one-two punch of "Turn it On" and "Pilot at the Queer of God" which is a rock explosion. And I haven't even mentioned their smash hit "She Don't Use Jelly". The combination of the power of the band and Wayne Coyne's fragile vocals and crazy lyrics is magic. 

     Number two is Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins. I know Billy Corgan is crazy, but this album is tremendous. Obviously, "Disarm", "Today" and "Cherub Rock" are alternative rock classics. My favorite songs are "Soma" and "Mayonaisse". They are proggy and the playing is amazing. I also have a soft spot for Corgan, because or his love for RUSH. Don't be a hater...this album is a masterpiece.

     Number three is Together Alone by Crowded House. Neil Finn is a criminally underrated songwriter and vocalist. If you ate a fan of beautiful harmonies this album is a must listen. My wife opened my eyes to the greatness of Crowded House and we are going to see them in Detroit and Pittsburgh in September. My only gripe with this album is the sequencing, I would have opened with the two best songs, "Distant Sun" and "Locked Out" and switched the last two songs. At the end of this post, I will included a video or Crowded House performing "Locked Out" on Letterman. It's possibly the best band performance on a late night show. The harmonies are exquisite.

     Finally, another great band from Oceania, MIdnight Oil's Earth and Sun and Moon. This is the last great album by the Oils and has the hits "My Country" and "Truganini". It also has the beautiful "In the Valley". Midnight Oil is now the band I am pissed isn't in the Rock Hall. They are much more than "Beds are Burning", but it is also awesome. 

     My top four in 1992 was quite easy. The only problem will be ranking them. I think I have posted on all of them. You can probably guess number one. Hint: the band name is also the name of a candy. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1994

 

     1994 was solid at the top, but I only had six albums under consideration. The two that missed out are Soundgarden Superunknown and Blur Parklife. Both great albums, but the top four were mostly locked in. I briefly toyed with Blur at number four, but I had to be honest with what I actually listen to. 

     No surprise, number one is Bee Thousand by Guided by Voices. Propeller was their breakthrough album, but Bee Thousand put them on the map. It's clearly the most important lo-fi album recorded. I have posted more about GbV and they are easily in my top 5 bands. Bob Pollard is still banging out albums and killer songs to this day. Out of all his great lyrics, my favorite is from Bee Thousand on the track "Hardcore UFO's". "Count the days that we have wasted from the start. Eat the words and build a playground in your head". There are multiple classic tracks on Bee Thousand that they still play live. "Tractor Rape Chain", "The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory", "Hot Freaks", "Smothered in Hugs", "Gold Star For Robot Boy", "Queen of Cans and Jars" and "I Am a Scientist". Tobin Sprout even got three songs on here; "Awful Bliss", "Mincer Ray" and "You're Not an Airplane". Love it!

     Number two is Definitely, Maybe by Oasis. This is arguably the best debut album ever. "Supersonic" is one of my all-time favorite songs. I love how they rhyme supersonic with gin and tonic. One of my favorite lyrics is "You need to find a way for what you want to say, but before tomorrow". Definitely, Maybe would certainly be on a Mt. Rushmore of Britpop albums as well. They came right out of the gate with inexplicable confidence and swagger that was magical. 

     Number three is another lo-fi classic, Pavement's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. This is my favorite Pavement album. The opening track is the awesome and controversially titled "Silence Kit". Or is it "Silence Kid" or "Silent Kid"? Whatevet it is it's fantastic. The big MTV hit from this album is "Cut Your Hair". The beginning lyrics are Malkmus at his whacky, throwaway best. "Darlin' don't you go and cut your hair. Do you think it's gonna make him change? I'm just a boy with a new hair cut and that's a pretty nice hair cut". Then the song goes on to make some hilariously commentaries about the music business. "Advertiser looks and chops a must...NO BIG HAIR!" Other standout tracks are "Gold Soundz" and "Range Life", but every song on CRCR is great. 

     Finally, I had to go with Weezer's Blue album. It's been a long time since I've liked a Weezer album, but there's no denying the greatness of The Blue Album. This album sounded like nothing else at the time and it's interesting that it was produced by Ric Ocasek. It really has no Ocasek fingerprints on it, unlike GbV's Do the Collapse. "Buddy Holly" is still probably in my top ten songs. "What's with these homies dissin' my girl? Why do they gotta front? What did we ever do to these guys that made them so violent?" I love how he rhymes "violent"with "front". It's almost like Rivers Cuomo put every great song he had in him on this album and has spent the rest of his career trying to write a great song again. Keep hope alive. 

     1993 is the polar opposite of 1994 for me. It's very weak at the top, but there's a lot of depth. I'm pretty sure I have four though. We'll find out tomorrow. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1995

 

     1995 is stacked. I do have four no-brainer picks, but I had to cut some really amazing albums. Those missing the cut are; Foo Fighters self-titled, Oasis What's the Story, Smashng Pumpkins Mellon Collie, Pavement Wowee Zowee, GbV Alien Lanes, The Flaming Lips Clouds Taste Metallic, Presidents of the United States self-titled, Goo Goo Dolls Boy Named Goo, Dead Hot Workshop 1001 and Buffalo Tom Sleepy Eyed. 

     The four Mt. Rushmore albums are all basically tied for first, but I will force myself to rank them. Coming in at 1A is The Bends by Radiohead. This is the best guitar album, certainly of the '90's, and possibly of all time. To me this  album is even better than OK Computer. The Bends comes out of the gate with "Planet Telex" which sets the sonic tone for the entire album. The title track, "Bones" and "Just" are guitar masterworks. "Fake Plastic Trees" is a haunting slowburner. The lyrics on this album are just as great as the guitar playing. "I used to fly like Peter Pan. All the children flew when I touched their hands". "Where do we go from here? The words are coming out all weird. Where are you now when I need you?" "You do it to yourself, you do. And that's what really hurts. You do it to yourself, just you. You and no one else. You do it to yourself". 

     1B is Sparklehorse's vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. I have posted a couple times about this album. I did a 33 1/3/ book proposal for it back in the aughts, before Mark Linkous commited suicide. It's beautiful, fragile, haunting and powerful. There's not much I can say that I haven't already said about vivadixie... except I wish I could have made this 1A. I could listen to this album 1000 times and it would still give me goosebumps like it did the first time. 

     1C is Trace by Son Volt. It's so good I named my dog Trace. I've posted before about Son Volt and my love of alt-country. To me this is the best alt-country album. It runs the gamut from country rock to traditional, like the opening track "Windfall" and "Tear Stained Eye". They rock on "Live Free" and "Ten Second News". And tracks like "Route", "Drown", "Catching On" and "Loose String" are right in the sweet spot. Jay Farrar is on my Mt. Rushmore of singers (sorry, spoilers). I'm also a sucker for lap steel, which there is an abundance of on Trace. I would actually rate this higher than any Uncle Tupelo or Wilco album. 

     Finally, 1D is Grand Prix by Teenage Fanclub. This is my favorite Teenage Fanclub album and "Sparky's Dream" is my favorite song of all time by anyone. This is their power pop masterpiece. Gerard Love is the standout songwriter again with "Sparky's Dream", "Don't Look Back", "Discolite" and "Going Places". It's too bad Teenage Fanclub were overshadowed by the Oasis and Blur thing. They're a tremendous band. 

     1994 was pretty weak, but I do have four albums that are great. I'm conflicted about 4 and 5, but I will decide by tomorrow. You can probably guess the number one album. It rhymes with Pete Townsend. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1996

 

     Last night, I decided to man up and just make one Mt. Rushmore for 1996. It's supposed to be the best of the best, so I will cut it down to four albums. As I'm typing this, I still haven't picked the fourth album. Ok, its been a few more minutes and I made the call. The albums I had to cut are Beck Odelay, Wilco Being There, STP Tiny Music, Fountains of Wayne self-titled, Superdrag Regretfully Yours, The Refreshments Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big and Buzzy, Better Than Ezra Friction Baby, Tobin Sprout Carnival Boy and Squirrel Nut Zippers Hot. All great albums. Some I have already written posts about. 

     I thought I knew the number one album before this experiment began, but as I reviewed all the releases for 1996 I had a change of heart. Number one is Sloan's One Chord to Another. I call Sloan the Canadian Beatles. Every member of the band is a singer/songwriter. The cool thing about Sloan is they switch instruments, even during live shows. It's like a band of four Paul McCartneys. However, it's Chris Murphy, Jay Ferguson, Patrick Pentland and Andrew Scott. As advertised, One Chord to Another is exactly that; a barage of power pop chords with ample hand claps and some Canadian brand self-deprecation. This is also the sound of a confident band at the height of their powers. They come right out with a short banger, "The Good in Everyone". The song begins, "First off, here's what you do to me. You get rough, attack my self-esteem. It's not much, but it's the best I got. And I thought you saw the good in everyone". There's not a weak track on this album, but other highlights include "G Turns to D", "The Lines You Amend", "Can't Face Up" and the tremendous "Everything You've Done Wrong". This track has great handclaps and possibly the best use of horns in a rock song. My perception is that it's an homage to "Care of Cell 44" by The Zombies. It's about waiting for your love to come home from prison after doing their time. 

     The second album is Centro-matic's Redo the Stacks. I have posted about this lo-fi masterpiece before and Will Johnson is still my favorite songwriter. Centro-matic reformed recently for some local shows in Texas, so I am cautiously optimistic that maybe they will do something again in the future. I saw Will open for Bob Mould before the pandemic and he was great. 

     Number three is arguably the best of the classic era Guided by Voices albums, Under the Bushes, Under the Stars. Unlike some GbV albums, this is all killer, no filler. "Your Name is Wild", "Cut-out Witch", "The Official Ironmen Rally Song", "Underwater Explosions" and "Don't Stop Now" are just a few of the amazing Pollard tracks just from the regular album. Did I forget to mention there's a bonus set of songs including "Big Boring Wedding", "Drag Days" and "Redmen and Their Wives". Also I haven't mentioned  the fantastic Tobin Sprout songs "It's Like Soul Man", "Atom Eyes"and "To Remake the Young Flyer". This album is packed with GbV goodness. 

     Finally, I went with the last great album by one of my top 5 bands, R.E.M.'s New Adventures in Hi-Fi. The thing I love about New Adventures is that it's a road album by a band who knew who they were and had the faith in themselves to release such a raw and power document. It's truly a fitting end to the Bill Berry era. Berry was in many ways the MVP of R.E.M. He pushed the guys in the early days by threatening to leave the band to join Love Tractor, he made the connections with IRS and he was very protective of the R.E.M. sound. This is a great set of songs that were written on the road. The only negative is it's probably a bit too long, but I wouldn't cut anything. R.E.M. will be on many Mt. Rushmores in the "80's.

     Just a teaser for 1995. The four albums I picked are all probably in my top 10 of all time and are really 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D. I will probably force myself to rank them, but I love them all for different reasons. And I had to leave off many albums that are tremendous. All will be revealed tomorrow. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1998 and 1997

      So, here's the thing. I'm combining these two years into one post because I couldn't come up with a Mt. Rushmore for 1998. As you probaly guessed, the no-brainer for '98 is In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel. My most viewed post is on that album. I consdered albums by Mercury Rev, Sparklehorse, Hum, Beck, Beastie Boys, Outkast, Goo Goo Dolls and Lucinda Williams, but I didn't feel any of them were Mt. Rushmore worthy. Therefore, 1998 will be an Easter Island Head for Jeff Mangum and friends. 

     The good news is that the rest of the '90's is stacked; especially 95-96. 1997 isn't quite that loaded, but there is another all-timer; OK Computer by Radiohead. I've already posted about this and The Bends being my wheelhouse for Radiohead and that is all I really need from them. Since that post, I have developed a greater appreciation for Jonny Greenwood and have expanded my love for the band. In fact, I would probably put Greenwood in my top three guitarists now, along with David Gilmour and Alex Lifeson. However, I have not bought Kid A for the third time...yet. Obviously, the singles "Karma Police" and "Paranoid Android" are the standouts here. I also like how parts of "Subterranean Homesick Alien" sound like they could be from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. I picked up the OKNOTOK LP when that came out and all the extra tracks on that release are tremendous as well. 

     Before I reveal the other three albums for '97, a quick mention to the contenders. Built to Spill got edged out again...sorry. Also missing out are Guided by Voices Mag Earwhig, Modest Mouse Crowded Lonesome West, Green Day Nimrod (although I love Redundant and Hitchin' a Ride), Pavement Brighten the Corners, The Flaming Lips Zaireeka, McCartney Flaming Pie, Harvey Danger Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone, Blur self-titled and Veruca Salt Eight Arms to Hold You. That's a pretty solid list of runners-up. The second album on the Mt. Rushmore is Ben Folds Five Wharever and Ever Amen. Ben Folds may well be my favorite piano player and bassist Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jessee are also tremendous. The lyrics on this album are outstanding and the humor and poigniancy are cutting. I love the end of "Battle of Who Could Care Less when he says "Will you never rest, fighting the battle of who could care less? Unearned unhappiness, you're my hero I confess". "Song For the Dumped" is another standout with the line "I want my money back and don't forget to give me back my black t-shirt". Other great tracks are "Steven's Last Night in Town" and One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces" The big hit was "Brick", but as usual, the hit is not one of my favorite songs from the album. 

     The third album is Teenage Fanclub's Songs From Northern Britain. This is probably their most consistent and solid album, but doesn't have the incredible highs of Bandwagonesque or Grand Prix. I don't think I ever got around to posting about Teenage Fanclub, but they are certainly in my top 10 favorite bands. The songs I like best tend to be the ones penned by Gerard Love. He is well represented here with "Take the Long Way Round", "Speed of Light" and "Ain't That Enough". I call them the Scottish Beatles, because they have three singer/songwriters in the group. The other two are Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley. They are also in fine form here. Very solid album. 

     Finally, I'm going with Moonflower Plastic by Tobin Sprout. I have posted quite a bit about Guided by Voices and you know I love me some Tobin Sprout. This was his second solo album and it's a killer. My favorite track is "All Used Up" which has the classic line, "I did my time, I dealt my deal, you know it's alright". The song "Paper Cut" has the most exquisite chord progressions on record. "Beast of Souls" has that quintessential Tobin Sprout sound. There's also what I perceive to be a bit of a diss track on here with "Hit Junky Dives". This album came out the same time Robert Pollard disbanded the classic lineup of GbV, although Tobin had already left for personal reasons. If your not familiar with Tobin Sprout do yourself a favor and fix that. 

     So, 1996 and 1995 are extemely loaded years. I will probably do a Mt. Rushmore for the first half and second half of both those years. I haven't checked the release dates yet, so hopefully that plan works out. Otherwise, I don't know what I'm going to do. My plan going forward is to post on here every day to force myself to stop listening to my inner critic and produce content. At some point this year I also plan to go more public with my Franz Kafka projects. 2024 is the 100th anniversary of his death and I am making that my deadline to finish my book. I also haven't completely given up on a Sound Mind book someday. Peace.