Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville was said to be a song-by-song response to the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. I won't comment on how successfully it met that goal, but I will say, what a debut! One of the great debut albums in history -- it was #56 on Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the top 500 albums of all time. Frank and unselfconscious (and very explicit on a few songs), Liz Phair tells stories of being isolated, even in a relationship.
Lots of bangers and the album is really cohesive as a whole, no bad tracks or filler. I'd probably put 6'1", Fuck and Run or Divorce Song in the upper echelon, but my favorite track will always be Stratford-on-Guy.
https://youtu.be/56vkjzu6nEw
I just learned of its existence today, maybe a couple of hours before I saw your post. I will definitely be checking it out as soon as the opportunity avails itself!
I'd like to note that the appearance of "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" heralds the entrance of my son into the musical landscape.
Now, my son is only 15, so he was more than a decade away from being born in 1993. But he absolutely loves throwback rap and hip-hop. He could spend all day listening to Dre, Snoop, Biggie, Tupac, Cube, Too $hort, Slick Rick... that's his music. I enjoy rap from this era much more now, listening with my son, than I did when it was new.
Pauly Stey's Teen gives "Nuthin' bit a 'G' Thang" an 8.
Rid of Me took what PJ Harvey started with Dry and ramped up the rawness and intensity even more. The album flat out rocked, scarred over wounds and blisters. There isn't an ounce of polish on this album; it's gritty and direct.
I love the title track, "Dry" (the song "Dry" was on this album), and "Yuri-G", but this album in my mind will always be led by the epic "50ft Queenie"
https://youtu.be/jKLiU7Hq93w
Seriously, 2 years may seem like a long time, but it'll be over in a snap. Then what shall we do? Will the community disperse like a flash mob who just finished their performance?
Anybody thinking ahead about a permanent venue?
I love love LOVE the Cranberries! And while I was a big fan of both the famous tracks ("Dreams" and "Linger"), my favorite song from the debut album is this one:
https://youtu.be/usXtjlm5vC4
For what my opinion's worth on this matter, I don't see why empathy or respect or even friendship should depend on -- or should even be augmented by -- shared cultural experience.
For context, I lived in a different country for two years with zero shared cultural artifacts with the US. I made friends just fine. To some extent we shared our favorite music, movies, etc, with each other (learning experience) but those were not core shared experiences we based the friendship around, just basically goofing around. It was not essential to making friends and maintaining those friendships.
The fragmentation we're experiencing now wouldn't be solved by a shared love of the Beatles or Gone with the Wind. There are forces much stronger than we can imagine profiting off our division and laughing all the way to the bank while the world goes to hell. We need to be exceptionally skeptical of any voice that tells us our neighbor is our enemy, and we need to understand people as individuals and not lump them into an identity marker basket (making stereotypes based on music, clothes, vehicle, place of residence or even political stripes).
That's why I love talking about Kristin Hersh, and more broadly what I love about our community. I can share my irrational exuberance for a not-well-known artist and maybe convince one or two people to check her out.
Hersh's songs can be difficult... intensely personal, often elliptical, not sanding down any rough edges (not sonic edges, emotional edges). She's not commercial and she's not everyone's cup of tea. But I'll stan for her.
And back to my original point, I'm happy to be in a community that indulges and accepts my (and all our) artistic cul-de-sacs where we want to dwell and show off our amulets.
Well, if you want to stretch this metaphor a bit further, I'd argue that The Breeders were more like the Teen Titans -- Tanya Donnelly wasn't the shining star, they were more of an indie supergroup.
I spend way too much time agonizing over a theme for my list, but today's came to me pretty quickly. I came up with Let's Jam and Toe Jam right away, but I strained to come up with the Fig Jam one...
Fig jam is tasty with a good salty cheese (manchego or petit basque) and stout crackers. But I find it pretty meh on its own.
I love that Dolly is proud of Whitney's version and doesn't have any enmity.
Reminds me of Bill Monroe, when asked about Elvis' rock-and-roll cover of his bluegrass standard "Blue Moon of Kentucky," he typically responded, "Them was powerful checks."
Strand, I think you basically explained how I feel about the Beatles. They get this reverence that escapes me. They have some good songs, but they're not life changing. But they come from a time when the music landscape was much less fragmented. They were a (before my time) universal shared cultural experience in a way that nothing from 1992 or 2022 will ever be. And thank God for that too! Cultural hegemony is so BORING!
US3 was great and "Cantaloop" was a jam.
But around this time, the epitome of jazz-rap fusion was Guru. His Jazzmatazz Vols 1, 2 and 3 are treasures still waiting to be found. Seriously, listen to "Transit Ride" or "Loungin" and tell me you don't want to get on board:
https://youtu.be/6zzhKmfA4zw
https://youtu.be/8FzV21Lqd3A
The charts have spoken, and there is most definitely enough room for two beautiful women of color (or more) to record ballads and dance pop. And thank God for that!
We've reached the end of 1992, so time for my (much shorter -- thanks Soundscan) end of year countdown.
There were no breathtaking all-timers nor any nuke them from space crapmasters this year. A pretty solid if unspectacular year for Number Ones: 1992 -- the year I graduated from high school.
LET'S JAM - Songs that I will enjoy beginning to end
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me - George Michael and Elton John
Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-a-Lot
Save the Best for Last - Vanessa Williams
Jump - Kriss Kross
FIG JAM - Songs that I tolerate, much like fig jam
I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred
End of the Road - Boyz II Men
I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston
Black or White - Michael Jackson
All 4 Love - Color Me Badd
This Used to Be My Playground - Madonna
I'll Be There - Mariah Carey
TOE JAM - Songs I find kind of repulsive
To Be with You - Mr. Big
How Do You Talk to an Angel - The Heights
Won't be long before I'm back again with the 1993 list. Take care TNOCS'ers!
I've said it before and I'll say it again. I really loved Belly, but it's like Batman and Robin split up and Robin formed his own band. Tanya is great but she'll always be Robin to Kristin Hersh's Batman in my mind. Belly had more immediate commercial success, but Throwing Muses left a more indelible impression on my soul.
My favorite Belly song wasn't "Feed the Tree" or "Gepetto," but rather "Dusted"
https://youtu.be/GHNaSmkQz48
From this same era (1992), I'd probably vote for this track from Red Heaven as my favorite Throwing Muses track:
https://youtu.be/uJ77ev--P0E
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