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BBC R2 - Your Ultimate 90s Album Revealed!

Of all the albums in the previous posts I have just one of them and that's not my choice but my wife's
REM Out of Time
I suppose that shows how much I liked 90s music.
 
Just playing Automatic for the People seriously for the first time in 15 years or so. (I love Out of Time too.) It's still brilliant but the production is very bright and splashy is my first impression...
 
I was 7 to 17 during the 80s and 17 to 27 in the 90s.
I can honestly say that i found the 80s too commercial and boring.
It was too rock fm hairspray for me.
I identified myself more with the 90s as there was a broader variety of genres that became mainstream.
 
In Utero - Nirvana
Bossanova, Trompe le Monde - Pixies
Cult of Ray, Frank Black & the Catholics - Frank Black (& the Catholics)
Set the Twilight Reeling - Lou Reed
 
.... and it only got worse as time went on... By the time we get to the 2010's I may struggle to name 10 albums I really like never mind name a top 10! Tony L will no doubt love this... but that forces me to look a bit harder at how little attention I've given to searching out new music in my dotage:rolleyes:
Ultimately we're both right in many ways.... We are no longer exposed to really good new music on the radio, TV, juke box down the pub etc etc in the way we once were, so, having good new music "seep in" and enthuse us to go and get the album not common any more (yeah there's Jools Holland and Radio 6 and they have inspired purchases but not the same "national shared experience" where say Bob Marley/Human league/whoever were on TOTP's and everyone was "did you see that last night!?")

I certainly don't accept that one's taste necessarily has a "sell by date" or anything like that but yes I guess "the yoof of today" has completely different ways of hearing about/becoming exposed to new music that just don't even occur to me.. off my radar entirely. My top few up to date bands or artists I heard about from recommendations here on pfm in fact. Has to said they are all either "timeless genres" (folk etc) or of a style that they could of been released in 1975... ie The Delines
I find it more difficult to keep up now. In the last 10 years there are two acts that stand out; John Grant & The Decemberists, you may like one of them.
 
My point is every decade is so full of amazing stuff I’d not be filling a list with less than the best very from a band. I know I’m being unfair on Automatic For The People as it is a bloody great album, but if I had to choose I’d take Life’s Rich Pageant or Document from the previous decade ahead. As for Radiohead I know loads of people prefer the more ‘guitar band’ stuff of Bends and OK Computer, but to be honest I’ve played neither for decades, it is Kid A, Amnesiac and In Rainbows that I always reach for, so I’d personally not pick them, especially in a top ten where I’d had to leave out things such as MBV, Pete Namlook, Tortoise, Aphex Twin, Black Dog Productions, Fugees, Portishead etc. I should really have done a 20. There was tons of great stuff in that decade, as there is in every decade.
But if it’s a poll of the 90s then it has to be from that decade; just because REM made some better albums in the 80s is irrelevant. 2nd tier REM is a step ahead of pretty much anything else.
 
I find it more difficult to keep up now. In the last 10 years there are two acts that stand out; John Grant & The Decemberists, you may like one of them.

A few people I know have said they like The Decemberists actually. I've been meaning to check them out for a while... Haven't heard of John Grant.
 
I know I’m being unfair on Automatic For The People as it is a bloody great album, but if I had to choose I’d take Life’s Rich Pageant or Document from the previous decade ahead.
Personally from their 90s stuff I prefer both New Adventures In Hifi and Up. Neither has Everybody Hurts on it for starters.
 
Personally from their 90s stuff I prefer both New Adventures In Hifi and Up. Neither of them have Everybody Hurts on them for starters.

Good point, but New Adventures has that track that sounds like a car alarm for its whole duration. Tough call...
 
As much as I think Fat Of The Land is decent, I'd take both Experience or Music For The Jilted Generation over it (all three no doubt in Jez's top ten).

Same with The Verve, I love Urban Hymns but would put A Northern Soul above it.

Blue Lines

Either of Gold Against The Soul or Generation Terrorists

I loved Only Forever by Puressence when it came out and played it to death, but I'm under no illusions it's a great album, just a personal favourite.

Terror Twilight just creeps in as well from '99
 
As much as I think Fat Of The Land is decent, I'd take both Experience or Music For The Jilted Generation over it (all three no doubt in Jez's top ten).

Same with The Verve, I love Urban Hymns but would put A Northern Soul above it.

Blue Lines

Either of Gold Against The Soul or Generation Terrorists

I loved Only Forever by Puressence when it came out and played it to death, but I'm under no illusions it's a great album, just a personal favourite.

Terror Twilight just creeps in as well from '99

Not in my top ten but I do like The Prodigy yes:p Mezzanine as you will have seen is in my top 10 but was swaying towards Blue Lines... We all love a bit of trip hop, tricky genre as it is:D
 
Not spotted any Beck? C' mon guys?

My favourite is Mutations. But Odelay and Midnite Vultures are great too.

Jordan The Comeback
Reading Writing and Arithmetic.
New Wave - Auteurs
Tindersticks 1 and 2
Maxinquaye.
The Soft Bulletin.
Grace
The Bends
Either/Or
Dummy
His and hers
The Real Ramona
Automatic for the people
Brutal Youth (Costello fanatic)
Outside (Bowie fanatic)
Spice Girls ( just checking if you're paying attention still ).
 
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As much as I think Fat Of The Land is decent, I'd take both Experience or Music For The Jilted Generation over it (all three no doubt in Jez's top ten).

Same with The Verve, I love Urban Hymns but would put A Northern Soul above it.

Blue Lines

Either of Gold Against The Soul or Generation Terrorists

I loved Only Forever by Puressence when it came out and played it to death, but I'm under no illusions it's a great album, just a personal favourite.

Terror Twilight just creeps in as well from '99

Picking the Prodigy album for my list was a tough call, Music For The Jilted Generation very nearly made it, depends what mood I'm in ;)

Same with the Manics, Holy Bible for me was quite something at the time, saw them at Rock City on that tour and it rates as one of the best times I've seen them, the anger and energy was amazing, JDB literally spat the lyrics out!!
 
Just playing Automatic for the People seriously for the first time in 15 years or so. (I love Out of Time too.) It's still brilliant but the production is very bright and splashy is my first impression...

I agree and that, and the fact that the key tracks have been overplayed, is why I come back to Monster from the 90s REM era. It stands up well several decades on.
 


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