Listomania! - 1991

The year 1991 brings back a few memories, none life-altering or earth-shattering, but sometimes boring is OK. We had virtually no money in those days, as Martina was in full-time studies at Western and working part-time at Jenkins, and I was struggling with part-time work at the Loeb grocery warehouse. Martina has vivid images of seeing my feet propped up on the coffee table watching hockey on Saturday nights while she wrote her essays for school. We were horrified by the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which played out on our borrowed 13" TV daily. We would pull the couch up real close to the TV and watch CNN for hours at a time, mesmerized by the first war broadcast live into our living room. Grunge happened that year and, while I was not the genre's biggest fan, I do remember the thrill of hearing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the first time. I was still pretty much an anglophile as far as my musical tastes went, but American and even Canadian bands had started to make more inroads into my musical consciousness. On to the list then:

10. The Size Of A Cow - The Wonder Stuff

Taken from the year's best-named album, Never Loved Elvis (a sentiment with which I concurred wholeheartedly), this is a thoroughly poppy, goofy, dancehall style song. The main features are the rollicking barroom piano and almost Benny Hill-like swirling organ. The melody is fantastic and singer Miles Hunt's silly lyrics stick in one's head for hours on end. This was pretty much the last hurrah for this band, but it was a great way to go out. "You know that I've been drunk a thousand times, and these should be the best days of my life. Life, it's not what I thought it was." After Friday night, I have now been drunk 1001 times.....buuurrrpppp.

9. On A Plain - Nirvana

As mentioned above, I quite liked Nevermind at the time. But, it really hasn't held up over the years for me. I still like some of the songs, but I consider Nirvana to be highly over-praised. It's tough because there are so many devotees of the late Kurt Cobain who don't like hearing it said, but it's true. He was young and troubled and talented, but he was not overly original or the second coming of Christ. This song though, was always my fave on the record and it holds up to this day. It is a great ride, a 4-minute blast of guitar and drums and melody that gets me shaking my head Dave Grohl-style every time. I love the way it comes blasting in after the opening guitar noodling, its 3- chord spell just rocking out perfectly. Who would have believed back then that the most talented musician in Nirvana would be Dave Grohl? "The finest day that I've ever had was when I learned to cry on command. I love myself better than you, I know it's wrong so what should I do?" I'd rather be on a plain than on a plane.....

8. Until The End Of The World - U2

Achtung Baby was, in my opinion, the last great U2 album. Subsequent records have had a real hit and miss quality for me, but Achtung was killer! It came down to this song and Mysterious Ways, but this one came out on top, mostly because I love the lyrics so much. U2 once again reinvented their sound on this album, going to a much bigger bass and drums sound and letting their rhythm section lead the way musically. It is still familiar enough U2 though, as Edge plays a fairly signature sounding guitar here. The lyrics were supposedly written by Bono as a conversation between Judas and Jesus. I don't go for religion in any way, but these are some powerful words that he sings in this tune. "In the garden I was playing the tart. I kissed your lips and broke your heart. You, you were acting like it was the end of the world." And I feel fine.....

7. Cordelia - The Tragically Hip

For their 3rd record, Road Apples, The Hip decided to travel to New Orleans to try and get a different feel on the album. They used Tom Petty's producers to man the controls as well, and this song is the best example of the stunning results. The sound of this song is magic to my ears, with the guitars roaring and Rob Baker playing a magnificent lead. It has always been my opinion that this band would never have progressed past playing the Queen's Hotel in Kingston if not for Gord Downie. The guy is a lyrical genius, incorporating a wide array of subjects in his own quirky way. He has the advantage of being extremely well-read and his use of metaphor is outstanding. Most of their Canadian-drinking, flag-waving, I'm-a-proud-Canadian fans lack the imagination or the education to really get the meanings of his songs, but they still shake their fists anyway, and this is part of the band's charm. I know that sounds like a pretty elitist view, but I believe it to be true. "Treading the boards, screaming out Macbeth, just to see how much bad luck you really get." Is this a dagger which I see before me?

6. Black - Pearl Jam

Perhaps the biggest of all the Grunge bands, Pearl Jam were not greeted warmly by the critics at the time. I recall them being portrayed as bandwagon-jumping and money-hungry, just seeking to capitalize on the trend of the times. Well, they have proven the critics wrong as they are still around today. While I don't like all of their music, I have a deep respect for them as players and I quite like Eddie Vedder, despite his voice unleashing a million bad imitators over the years. This is an epic tale of loss and regret, which I find always touches me personally every time I hear it. The sound is majestic and soaring, with the guitars chiming and ringing out, the piano sad and melodic, and Vedder really putting his feelings across with total believability. "And now my bitter hands cradle broken glass of what was everything, all the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything..." Blackness, blackness, draggin' me down....

5. Wild Hearted Son - The Cult

Holy power chords! Yes, the ones at the beginning of the song....wow! Billy Duffy was, at this time, one of the best at his craft. I consider this to be their last great song as singer Ian Astbury and Duffy had become too drugged out and full of themselves to continue making worthwhile music after this. But this has all the Cult trademarks - the roaring guitars, Astbury's howling vocals, and just a massive huge sound. I love how the solo guitar line pushes the melody along all through the song, causing the listener to divide their attention between the guitar and voice. Maybe that's what Duffy and Astbury were going for, as it is said that they would not even speak to each other during the making of this record and recorded their parts totally separately from one another. "I live outside of convention, you know the people who stare. I’m just a breed of society, I’m pushin’ hard and I’m stealin’ free." I live outside of Toronto....

4. Only Shallow - My Bloody Valentine

This song is from their 3rd and final album, Loveless, considered by many to be a masterpiece of the Shoegaze movement of the early '90s. Upon first listen, it sounds like a bunch of noise. But, once it has been heard a few times, one realizes that there are multiple layers on display here that need to be peeled away to reveal what is essentially a gorgeous song. It is dreamlike, it is druggy, but it is ultimately a classic to these ears. The bass guitar part is almost heavy-metal, the guitars are overdubbed a ton and droning, and Bilinda Butcher's voice is pushed down into the swirling maelstrom of the mix so far as to make the words indecipherable, but, incredibly, it all really works. Fire one up and slap on the headphones and see if you agree! "Speak your troubles, she's not scared, soft like there's silk everywhere." Tripping the light fantastic!

3. Snail - Smashing Pumpkins

This was the start of the Billy Corgan saga. He has been heavily criticized as an overbearing, self-important twat, which I believe to be entirely true, but he had a great sound there for a few years. From their debut record, Gish, this song is a blueprint that the Pumpkins would follow for at least the next 2 albums. The quiet-loud-quiet dynamic that was big at the time was their calling card back then, and few did it as well. I still would argue that their guitar sound is uniquely theirs as much as, say, Angus Young's is his, or Boston's guitar sound was theirs. Jimmy Chamberlain is, in my eyes, the best drummer of the 1990s hands down. The guy played with such brilliance, so nimble and quick, yet loud and savage at the appropriate times. This was produced by Butch Vig, who also did Nevermind for Nirvana, so he had a fairly good year. Corgan's voice can be annoying and his lyrics a little too angst-ridden, but it is a must to get past it and just let their wall of sound wash over you. "When you wake up you're awake, throwing your life away, Sunday, saw her coming home, saw her. Snail, what you wait for?" Why, I wait for a little garlic butter and cheese.....

2. Miss Freelove '69 - Hoodoo Gurus

This was the first song I ever heard by these Aussies, even though they had been around for years and this was from their 5th album. It is still a fave of mine nearly 20 years later and features on my playlists quite often. It is a parody of an orgy with silly, double-entendre lyrics, but it is such a catchy little tune. It has a '60s sound and sensibility to it with the Leslie organ and wah-wah guitars. The groovy soul-chick backing vocals add to the hippie feeling as well. Singer Dave Faulkner gives it his all and invites one and all to sing along with him to this brilliant melody. You may feel the urge to shake your booty too - don't resist! "Someone called the cops on us, they didn't have the heart to bust the kinky scene they found. They checked their badges at the door and joined the action on the floor when they laid their nightsticks down!" Oo-er missus!

1. There's No Other Way - Blur

Man, do I dig that groovy little guitar part that starts this song off! Graham Coxon would go on to greater appreciation over the years, but what a way to start! This is from Blur's debut, Leisure, and it started them on their way to dominating the U.K. charts for the next several years. They were originally written off as latecomers to the Madchester scene, but they proved their staying power and adaptability on many subsequent records. The bass is funky, the organ purrs throughout and the drums lay down a dance-infected backbeat. Singer Damon Albarn croons the tune in his infectious Cockney accent and you can't deny this song's charms. This was on the mixtape that Craig made me back then and, when I played it at get-togethers, this song was always the biggest hit. "You're taking the fun out of everything, making me run when I don't want to think." Woo-hoo!