the top 40 albums caused by the mid-90s alt-rock explosion.

we've been slamming out post after post here at the blogulator for a few months now without interrupt, but i had to go screw it up by going to madison, milwaukee, and chicago for some much needed away-from-a-computer time. all that driving in the tri-state area forced me to revisit some old classics in my cd collection. old classics that defined me as a person from about 5th grade until i graduated high school. these were the albums that i ended up owning not because of how deep i searched the internet, but simply because these artists' singles made me go out and pick up their cd at best buy for 14 bucks. most of these cds you can now get on amazon for anywhere between $0.01 and $5.00 and while i don't really condone buying them, hopefully some of you already own them and listen back on them as you read this series of postings. i'll continue to post about movies and tv too, but as i become more and more (un)comfortable as an adult, i need to get these deep seeded adolescent emotions about these albums out of my system before i truly grow up, even if it takes a year or so to get to #1. and please download the free "now i'm obsessing over" songs that accompany each synopsis.

40 new radicals
maybe you've been brainwashed too
1998

hit single: "you get what you give"
$2.79 on amazon

trust me, they'll get better as the countdown goes on. but while there are a lot of crap 90s albums that had only one song i really got into (chumbawamba, deep blue something), i never got emotionally connected to "tubthumper" or "breakfast at tiffany's." wow i'm already infinitely embarrassed and i'm not even done talking about the freaking new radicals. but anyway, this jason mraz precursor singer guy with a shit-eating grin on his face and gilligan cap jumps around a mall and razzes on beck, hanson, courtney love, and marilyn manson all within 12 measures. that's terrible, i know. it kind of ruined hearing malkmus razz on stp and smashing pumkins on "range life" when i finally heard that song about 5 years too late. but there's something about the carefree chorus in this single that makes me act like a priss who just wants to smile all the time and have a good time. most angst i had as an adolescent was exacerbated by listening to faux-angry/depressed faux-rock pop songs, but when i finally heard new radicals as a sophomore in high school, i may have already treated it as a guilty pleasure, but i secretly used it whenever i was feeling down, and it always picked me up. it's impossible to make it through this entire record though. absolutely terrible. key non-single tracks: someday we'll know, technicolor lover

now i'm obsessing over --> "summersend" by misha



39 toadies
rubberneck
1994

hit single: "possum kingdom"
$3.86 on amazon

speaking of angst, that's totally what i thought this was back when the term "pixies redux" was greek to me. i specifically remember saying to my friend brad in the 6th grade that "i love that toadies album because it's angry, but not like metallica." oh boy do i remember being scared of metallica. and yes, you can go ahead and laugh at the 6th grade version of me for thinking that toadies were like totally hard rock. that southern twang somehow didn't turn me off either - i blame my mother listening to country radio whenever i was in the car and me eventually getting used to it and my brother blasting reverend horton heat from the basement. but seriously, can i talk about how i sang so loud and jumped around so much in my room while listening to "possum kingdom" on repeat? i had no idea what he was singing about, but i thought it was really messed up and creepy, and that guitar riff/chord progression made me want to hone my air guitar skills as i blasted my stereo and got ready for the day at like 10 a.m. in the summertime, expending my awkward phase energy before i settled down to watch the price is right. oh, and i guarantee guitar hero 2 is the only reason this costs more than $0.01 on amazon now. key non-single tracks: backslider, i come from the water

now i'm obsessing over --> "just what i needed" by scout niblett

This entry was posted by chris, on Thursday, July 19, 2007. You can leave your response.