1991 20 years on from a hell of a year in Music:

[agentorange]

if i go crazy then will you still call me superman

Wrong Kryptonite, bro.

 

[bollox]

Missed a few

For better or worse, this marked the start of gangsta rap descending into self-parody. This album is still great and production-wise, Dre really makes leaps and bounds, pretty much laying the blueprint for The Chronic a year later. Not epoch-making like Straight Outta Compton, and the loss of Ice Cube hurts, but still hard-hitting and awesome.

 

[bollox]

All the hipsters who love Odd Future need to hear this. Horrorcore before there was a name for it. My Mind's Playing Tricks On Me is a stone classic and 20 years later still powerful as ever.

 

[The Panther]

God, I love the American (also Canadian) alt.-rock scene circa 1989 to 1992. So many great bands, all of them only selling to a snob-audience. I miss the days of elitism in music.

 

[The Panther]

It was actually late 1990, but how great is this?:

According to All-Music: "Sunburn is not just the Blake Babies' best album, it's in many ways the last great college rock album, the album that's the pinnacle of the U.S. indie guitar scene of the late '80s, and the album that exemplifies what 'alternative' meant in those pre-Nevermind days when the term was actually understood to mean something."

Who could forget The Republik in Calgary? What a great venue.... ah, memories...

 

[cobl04]

Missed a few

For better or worse, this marked the start of gangsta rap descending into self-parody. This album is still great and production-wise, Dre really makes leaps and bounds, pretty much laying the blueprint for The Chronic a year later. Not epoch-making like Straight Outta Compton, and the loss of Ice Cube hurts, but still hard-hitting and awesome.

Haven't heard it yet, but as I've said before, this track is one of my all-time favourite hip hop tunes. As fucking hard a rap song I've ever heard

NWA. - Real Niggaz Don't Die - YouTube

 

[djerdap]

I don't think he fully delivered on that initial promise, but aside from drumming with a reunited Led Zeppelin I'm not sure what else he can do now.

Them Crooked Vultures. And he drummed with Queens of the Stone Age, along with that metal side project of his (Probot). He's still around as far as drums are concerned.

 

[bollox]

Cobbler, if you haven't heard this one, you need to

Real talk.

 

[U2isthebest]

1991 gave me these. I am forever grateful. Yes, I know they've all been discussed here and are probably the 5 most famous albums released in 91. There's a reason for it.

 

[Hewson]

Drain You FTW.

I'm partial to Breed myself.

 

[agentorange]

Yeah, I tend to gravitate toward Breed and Territorial Pissings, at least after I get over that awful Freedom Rock intro. And Lithium.

It was actually late 1990, but how great is this?:

I should probably check this out. I've heard some of their stuff - mostly God Bless the Blake Babies, which may not be a fair reference - but I tend to like it.

 

[The Panther]

I just can't get excited about Nirvana, no matter how hard I try (and I first heard them, yes, in 1991). I was in Seattle last month and had Cobain on my mind, so when I got home I decided to read Heavier Than Heaven, a decent biography of him. It seems to confirm my opinion of Cobain as a melodically-talented total loser. There's something very depressing about their music -- not depressing as in dark and life-affirming, but depressing as in so depressed I feel I need a shower after hearing it.

(But I rather enjoy "Rape Me" and "All Apologies".)

 

[MrPryck2U]

September marks the 20th Anniversary of the Guns N Roses albums Use Your Illusion I and II. Many said it was overrated. Many said it was underrated. Many loved it just the way that it was. (That's me! ) A damn shame they weren't able to follow it up with a new album of original material in a timely fashion. Curious to see if they'll get in Jann Wenner's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame now that they've been nominated for 2012.

 

[Inner El Guapo]

I'm partial to Breed myself.

Fuck yeah.

Along with Dive and Aneurysm, the trio of most underrated Nirvana songs.

Of course "underrated" = in the mainstream. Not in most 'good taste' circles.

 

[lazarus]

September marks the 20th Anniversary of the Guns N Roses albums Use Your Illusion I and II. Many said it was overrated. Many said it was underrated. Many loved it just the way that it was. (That's me! ) A damn shame they weren't able to follow it up with a new album of original material in a timely fashion. Curious to see if they'll get in Jann Wenner's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame now that they've been nominated for 2012.

Loving it just the way it was = you think there's no filler?

Too much good material for one album, but it should had been two shorter albums à la Being There.

 

[BVS]

Use You Illusion was an overbloated mess.

Could have been one great album. Take out the covers and the "we're trying to be punk as fuck" songs and there you have it.

 

[MrPryck2U]

Loving it just the way it was = you think there's no filler?

Too much good material for one album, but it should had been two shorter albums à la Being There.

I think there's some filler. Some stuff where you're thinking, What the Hell is Axl thinking here? But, I think the great songs overshadow stuff like Bad Apples or My World.

 

[Inner El Guapo]

Kurt even hated the production back in the day. Not surprising that people are picking on Nevermind for sounding dated and crappy now. He would probably agree. Nobody should feel embarrassed for hyping Nirvana, ever, they're a good band, but I don't care that they saved the universe or whatever. A lot of great music and a lot of shitty music was apparently made because of Nirvana, so why crown them for it? Right place, right time, right Boston riff. I live today, and today Nevermind don't sound so good. In Utero still sounds fresh and aggressive to me though (God bless you, Albini), so I listen to that one far more often.

Truth is, half of the piss-ass ignorant complaints you read about the production of any album released before 1996 is relative to the lack of subtlety in the ears of those raised on digital compression and loudness. Bad production somehow = not loud enough.

Nirvana didn't hate Butch Vig's production at all. They hated what Andy Wallace did to it in mixing. He gave it that moody tinge when he mixed it through some effects and made it sound like the late 80's.

But anyhow, name an influential band/artist that wasn't responsible for a lot of shitty music being spawned by moronic clones and people that didn't understand the message or true spirit of the original. Ever heard of The Beatles? or Led Zeppelin? Or The Ramones? Why "crown them for it"?

 

[LemonMelon]

But anyhow, name an influential band/artist that wasn't responsible for a lot of shitty music being spawned by moronic clones and people that didn't understand the message or true spirit of the original. Ever heard of The Beatles? or Led Zeppelin? Or The Ramones? Why "crown them for it"?

I don't. I'm sure I've made the argument in the past that the Beatles are the most important and significant "rock" band of all time because of their influence, but that isn't why I like them, and I would never use that argument to convince someone to listen to them, unless they like directly similar artists. From a purely objective standpoint, I realize that Nirvana was a very important band, but that hasn't convinced me to love them. All too often people bring up influence in otherwise subjective arguments, and it's always a waste of time.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Led Zeppelin - IV
The Who - Who's Next
The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
Can - Tago Mago
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East
Miles Davis - Tribute to Jack Johnson
Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson
Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
T. Rex - Electric Warrior
Yes - Fragile
Yes - The Yes Album
Sly and the Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin On
The Doors - LA Woman
Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mounting Flame (what a great year for John McLaughlin!)
Caravan - In The Land of Grey and Pink
Genesis - Nursery Cryme
Roy Harper - Stormcock
Paul McCartney - Ram
John Lennon - Imagine
Alice Cooper - Killer
Alice Cooper - Love It To Death
Carole King - Tapestry
John Prine - John Prine
Gene Clark - White Light
Santana - III
Janis Joplin - Pearl
Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story
Gil Scott-Heron - Pieces of a Man
Cat Stevens - Teaser And The Firecat
The Kinks - Muswell Hillbillies
Elton John - Madman Across The Water
Faces - A Nod Is As Good As A Wink...To A Blind Horse
Van Morrissey - Tupelo Honey
The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson
Badfinger - Straight Up
Todd Rundgren - The Ballad of Todd Rundgren

Sorry, other years. You lose.

Absofuckinglutely.

I was down on the 70s for awhile because those were my serious radio-listening days and I was just sick of it.

Recently I've gotten nostalgic about it again and realize how lucky I was to have grown up with this stuff. And that the best music was actually what was played on the radio.

 

[iron yuppie]

From a purely objective standpoint, I realize that Nirvana was a very important band, but that hasn't convinced me to love them. All too often people bring up influence in otherwise subjective arguments, and it's always a waste of time.

Definitely. Influence and musical quality are very different things that are too often conflated.

 

[bollox]

Funny thing is, I think Use Your Illusion I stands alone as a great album, while practically all the double album filler is on II. I'd keep Civil War/Yesterdays/You Could Be Mine (maybe trade out Estranged for November Rain) and just trash the rest.

 

[lazarus]

No.

Locomotive is better than anything on UYI 1, which has way more filler than 2.

Also, Breakdown, So Fine, and 14 Years are all great.

 

[bollox]

Naw, Locomotive and Breakdown are overlong messes that go nowhere. This is coming from someone who loves Coma.

So Fine out shmaltzes even Patience to take the crown of cheesiest GNR ballad. Axl made a tactical blunder in relaxing his dictatorial grip to let Duff sing one. Almost as bad as that shitty song on Mellon Collie with the James Iha vocals.

 

[MrPryck2U]

Naw, Locomotive and Breakdown are overlong messes that go nowhere. This is coming from someone who loves Coma.

So Fine out shmaltzes even Patience to take the crown of cheesiest GNR ballad. Axl made a tactical blunder in relaxing his dictatorial grip to let Duff sing one. Almost as bad as that shitty song on Mellon Collie with the James Iha vocals.

I'm not sure if I agree with this statement, but it's definitely funny. I think he slipped up and let Izzy sing a few too.

 

[lazarus]

Naw, Locomotive and Breakdown are overlong messes that go nowhere. This is coming from someone who loves Coma.

So Fine out shmaltzes even Patience to take the crown of cheesiest GNR ballad. Axl made a tactical blunder in relaxing his dictatorial grip to let Duff sing one. Almost as bad as that shitty song on Mellon Collie with the James Iha vocals.

They go nowhere? Both have pretty big finishes. That piano section at the end of Locomotive is one of the band's finest moments.

Also, god forbid some other personalities get a chance to do something. Duff isn't the vocalist that Axl is but his song has a rugged charm, and musically it's got a nice retro vibe.

 

[WinnieThePoo]

they shouldve made a triple cd set , more guns the better , so it was a big wonderful mess , more sounds , more axl , more duff , more slash , more izzy , more sorum

 

[cobl04]

yeh def agreed ther m8