Courtney Love is the widow of Kurt Cobain. She is also a musician. She was the lead singer of rock band Hole, then went solo in her first album 'Mono' in 2004. Love's album features sounds similar to those of her late husband. They all have elements of grunge rock in them, dirty sounding guitar, mixed with the minor, raspy vocals similar to Cobain's. However her song Mono, is more rock than grunge, featuring a steady bass chord structure and drum pattern.
She has also been known to sing some of Nirvana's songs such as Penny Royal Tea, putting her own spin of grunge on the music. While the song is the same, the female vocals, and even more droned out sounds make the song completely different to the original.
If you love Nirvana, give Courtney Love a try, while she does have her own style, you can see some elements of Cobain in her songs, making them well worth the time...
This YouTube clip shows photos of Love, Cobain and Nirvana, while Love's version of Penny Royal Tea provides a soundtrack.
The 90's have been called by some, including but not limited to my father, as being "a decade without an identity". This expression is most often used in reference to the 90's music industry. There is a general understanding of what someone means when they say "I love seventies music" or "I love eighties music", however, there is absolutely no clarity in what someone means when they say "I love nineties music". This said, I don't think it is fair to describe the era as having no identity. I love nineties music, which is why I am so unhappy with that description being used. It suggests, or maybe is just used to suggest, that 90's music had no character - that it was droll, forgettable and didn't pioneer any new sounds or movements. On the contrary, I feel that if anything can be said for this era it would be that it had too much to offer. In past decades, "usually only a few types of music dominated the Top 40, but in the nineties you can find rock, rap, gangsta rap, alternative, punk, country, R&B, adult contemporary, ska, and classic rock." (1) There was a broader spectrum of music to accomodate an ever-fragmenting audience. Back in the 60's artists could get a mass audience and achieve mass hysteria (think 'Beatlesmania'), but in the 90's audiences showed signs of becoming less 'mass' and more 'niche'. Today we are experiencing the full effects of this. 00's music rarely has had a 'mass audience'; we're all savvy music consumers who know how to seek out the music we like. When was the last time an artist has 'mania' in the 00's? Never to my recollection. Rather than a decade without an identity, I'd call the 90's a decade with multiple-identities. And every decade from now will probably continue further with this trend - becoming more and more fragmented. The perceived "lack of identity" hence stems from the audience and not from the standard of music.
A countdown of nine iconic 90's music moments; that is iconic artists, songs, videos, interviews and performances.
Note: I use the word 'iconic' loosely and subjectively. So, no, there will be no Nirvana.
#9 Sinead O'Connor
'Nothing Compares to You'. With a music video every bit as intense and iconic as the track itself, this is one nineties song that will stand the test of time (as a killer breakup song if nothing else).
#8 Hit Me Baby One More Time
The birth of a monster, and of one of the most hyped-up and torn-down celebrities of my lifetime at least - Britney Spears. The success story (if you could dream to call it that) starts here, when she was first presented to the world as an innocent schoolgirl. What a difference a decade can make. (still brilliant though)
#7 The Cranberries
Though a far cry from most of the hardcore pop I listen too, I'm wildly enthusiastic about the Cranberries. They are in fact the only band I would describe as pop/rock that I would rank amongst my favourites. Icons of the 90's for their hits - 'Zombie', 'Salvation', 'Dreams' and so on. I could have easily done a top 9 list just comprised of Cranberries songs.
#6 Early-Mid 90's Club Songs
Ace of Base, I'm looking squarely at you. So many wonderful beats - 'Be My Lover,' '100% Pure Love,' 'I've Been Thinking About You' and 'I've Got the Power', to name but a few. Dance music had never been better. Sometimes I wonder how I can be so nostalgic for something I never really experienced.It absolutely kills me that I'll never walk into a club and hear 'Rhythm is a Dancer' playing.And if you don't know that song you have no right to be reading a 90's music blog.
#5 Cher introduces herself to Generation X
'Believe' was the first song of Cher's to land in the ARIA Top 10 since 'The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)' charted at #4 in 1990! So in many ways this was my introduction to Cher, and what an introduction! 'Believe' was a pop masterpiece and the biggest selling hit of her four decade career. Amazing. Thankyou Cher. Thankyou 90's.
#4 90's TV Themes
It might sound silly, but some of the most memorable tunes from the 90's are the tv theme songs we sung (or hummed) along to every week. Buffy, Charmed, Melrose Place, Friends, Ally McBeal, The X-Files andespecially 90210. #3 Courtney Love Crashes a Madonna Interview
God bless Courtney Love. I won't spoil too much, just that crashing an interview with the control-freak Queen of pop is must see youtube, and an iconic 90's music moment.
#2 Kylie Minogue does Barbarella
For most, Kylie's most iconic music video would that for 'Spinning Around'. The gold hotpants seal the deal. However, for me, it was her music video for 'Put Yourself In My Place' that is her most iconic 90's effort. A pink spacesuit? Genius. Floating around naked in a spaceship? Double genius. It may not sound like the most compatible video for a song called "Put Yourself In My Place", but it works.
#1 Spice Girls perform at the BRITS 1997
Yes. The Spice Girls 1997 BRITS performance. The most iconic moment of 90's British pop culture. Geri's Union Jack outfit gave birth to 'Cool Britannia' right there on the stage. On top of that, they are my childhood. So double iconic points for them. Note: Songs that are hugely iconic but were too abhorrent for my list include 'Jackie', 'Two Times 'and 'No Way, No Way'. Songs that are hugely iconic but I realized were in fact not released in the 90's include 'Push It' and 'Murder on the Dancefloor'.
something of inferior quality; trash: He didn't know good music from grunge.
3.
a person who works hard, usually for meager rewards; grind.
4.
a style or fashion derived from a movement in rock music: in fashion characterized by unkempt clothing and in music by aggressive, nihilistic songs.
Before I begin talking about grunge as a social movement, a quick comment on the first dictionary definition of grunge... "He didn't know good music from grunge"!!! Simply a coincidence I felt necessary to keep in the blog.
The grunge rock movement is said to have sparked from the combination of hardcore punk, heavy metal and indie rock and the isolated streets of Seattle during the mid 1980s.
As Sub Pop's Jonathan Poneman noted,
"Seattle was a perfect example of a secondary city with an active music scene that was completely ignored by an American media fixated on Los Angeles and New York."
The success of grunge can definitely be attributed to NIRVANA and PEARL JAM, two of the most well known grunge rock bands ever.
The appeal of grunge comes from its 'dirty' sounds - distorted electric guitars and lyrics of protest, apathy or anger at social trends... coming with it the makings of a controversial subculture of the 90s, including most obviously, their own style of music, a anti-consumer social outlook and a fashion sense able to distinguish them from the rest.
Grunge has become a subculture, made up of torn three-quarter jeans, frustration with the consumer society, unwashed hair and apathetic attitudes directed at those in authoritative positions.
Searching Google for articles and websites on grunge culture has been very interesting, having found sites dedicated to showing grunge fans how to dress 'grunge', what music to listen to and how they should do their hair. It seems that this subculture which began from the musical stylings of Nirvana and others, may be turning the other way around - perhaps people want to live the grunge lifestyle, and then discover the music which supports the culture.
A subculture initiated by the angst of society practices now has websites telling people how to have the same thoughts, dress sense and musical taste as those considered grunge, who probably don't consciously dress grunge, they just dress the way they want - cheap clothing, comfortable and timeless... and somewhat lazy.
"The GRUNGE aesthetic is characterized by a layer of abrasive filth which roughens an underlying source of beauty to soften its presence and make it more palatable to a jaded audience."
It seems kind of silly to have instructions on how to be part of a subculture, particularly when the culture represents the exact opposite of the conformation to social demands. Even though this is not strictly an adherence to the norm, its ironic that there should be sites listing the dos and don'ts of the grunge subculture. One of the main messages I get from the grunge culture is that it is supposed to be an effortless, careless subculture, these sites seem to contradict this.
These YouTube clips are of a VH1 Grunge Special, featuring Nirvana.
It would be ignorant of me to write blog entry after blog entry on 90’s pop without making mention of the highest selling artist of that decade... Mariah Carey. Achieving a Billboard #1 in every year of the 90’s (1) and selling upwards of 130 million in that decade alone, she is in many respects the face of 90’s pop music. Much like the Madonna to Lady Gaga comparison, it is highly likely that there will never be a ‘new Mariah’ as long as the ‘old Mariah’ reigns. However new international chart-topper Leona Lewis looks set to test that theory.
Winning UK X-Factor in 2006, Leona Lewis has had her debut album, Spirit, chart at #1 in the UK, US, Europe and Australia and sell upwards of 8 million copies worldwide (2). If Leona isn’t the ‘new Mariah’, then she’s certainly a new chart rival. Something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the press. In an article for the New York Daily News, Jim Farber writes: “Lewis has towered over the European charts for months with her song "Bleeding Love." In her home country - the U.K. - the single became the biggest-selling song of '07, even though it could just as easily have been the follow-up to Mariah's very first single from 1990, "Vision of Love”” (3)
Leona has roughly the same timbre as Mariah in her nascent days, as well as the same soulful way of forming and indulging phrases. Being that their voices are so similar, they are naturally tailored to make the same kinds of music. They both have the kind of power-house vocals that can execute a Whitney Houston Ballad and make it look effortless. They’re the kind of exceptional pop artist whose voice is actually their strongest asset; as opposed to other pop stars whose central draw is their image, stage performance or the creative collective behind them. It has been said that “popular music singers of the past thirty-five years have eschewed the classical perfection of the voice in favor of expressing the emotionality and personality of the voice.” (4) Leona and Mariah are rare treats who demonstrate that it isn’t an either-or situation; both being technically brilliant, but never wooden, singers. Their coy persona’s and enormous voices place them at the opposite end of the spectrum to the stripped-down, revved-up popettes of the industry. They rely on a fine-tuned voice for media attention rather than controversy or exhibitionism. Whether or not this makes them more deserving artists is up for contention; what is does show is that they are cut from the same cloth.
In terms of interview demeanor, song selections, and especially voice Leona Lewis has carved out the same niche’ in music today that Mariah occupied in the 90’s – which places her on a fairly certain road to success.
References
(4) Marshall, P.D. 1997. 'The Meaning of the Popular Music Celebrity: The Construction of Distinctive Authenticity'. Celebrity and Power: Fame in Contemporary Culture. University of Minneapolis. pg 155.
Highlights: High Hopes, Marooned, Poles Apart, Keep Talking
As of the beginning of the 1990s, Pink Floyd had been world leaders in invention and originality through their thirteen albums of pioneering Progressive rock. But with the coming of the new decade, the long and turbulent career of the Floyd looked close to over. Having reached their pinnacle midway through the 1970s, acrimony began splitting the group apart. Bass player, primary lyricist and some-time lead vocalist Roger Waters began exerting a dominating rule over all song writing and direction of the group. While this did produce still fruitful music such as their famed 1979 concept album The Wall[1], by 1985 Waters declared Pink Floyd defunct. Guitarist and now sole frontman David Gilmour revived the group, but after a less than impressive attempt to 'prove that they could get along without Roger'[2] in their1987 album, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason[3], and a troublesome world tour in 1988, Floyd fans welcomed the new decade with a sad hint of scepticism.
It was with much anticipation and joy that the announcement of another studio album to be released in 1994 came. The distinctly 80s sound of A Momentary Lapse Of Reason showed that even a band as creative and as withdrawn from conformist musical trends as the Floyd can’t avoid but to tap into the musical stylings of the time. This comes to fruition on The Division Bell. It has a distinctly 90s sound which makes it a rather interesting enigma within their catalogue, and something relevant to the broader scope of the decade.
The album opens with Cluster One, an ambient soundscape which as a Floyd fan, frustrates me because it is so clearly and obviously a cheap attempt at replicating the old dream-like Pink Floyd sound just for the sake of it. It lacks the true beauty of most of their ambient work, however it has a touch of very pretty piano and overall is perfectly pleasant.
Cluster One segues into What Do You Want From Me? This song is the pinnacle of the overt ‘90sness’ of the album. It is a fairly simple (for Pink Floyd) driving rock ballad of the 90s. There’s not much to note of the song really, only that David Gilmour’s songwriting is sufficiently mature through all of his experience, to make this a solid pop rocker.
The next two songs on the album are two of the very best. Poles Apart is for me the most underrated song on the album. It flows from characteristically beautiful work from Gilmour on the acoustic guitar and a compelling vocal melody, through a haunting circus-style middle section, and back. Marooned has the unlikely distinctly of providing Pink Floyd with their only Grammy award, for best Rock Instrumental. It is a beautiful dreamy palette of sounds for its first two minutes and although some rather out of place 90s drums interrupt the atmosphere somewhat, it remains a highlight throughout.
The rest of the album flows through a number of different styles. A Great Day For Freedom is a soft slow ballad which is pleasant but unassuming. Wearing The Inside Out is noteworthy only for being the first compositional and vocal contribution from keyboardist Richard Wright for over twenty years. Take It Back has a wonderful atmospheric intro but from then on is a pretty standard, if enjoyable, 80s reminiscent rocker. It segues fantastically into Coming Back To Life which shows the strength of Gilmour’s voice, but for the most part is a lowlight on the album. Keep Talking has an introduction very similar to Take It Back but from then on retains its intriguing atmospheres. It suffers from some distinctly 90s production values, but the combination of a weird and wonderful solo on a 'talk box'[4] and haunting spoken word parts from famous physicist Stephen Hawking preserve its value. The penultimate track Lost For Words is only really noteworthy for it’s disturbing similarity to Floyd classic Wish You Were Here.[5]
This run of all solid but no truly brilliant tracks leads appropriately to the album’s magnum opus High Hopes. Although perhaps not to the level of some of the band’s 70s classis, High Hopes is nevertheless a fantastic song, from its beautiful early ambience, complete with a ringing bell which adds a perfect texture to the song, to the lush piano and vocals of its verses, epic choruses, a soaring guitar solo to close the song, and a profoundly disturbing but thought provoking secret message at the very end. Overall, it is the clear standout.
The Division Bell pretty much received uniformly bad reviews on its release, and it’s distinctly 90s sound alienates a great many Floyd fans; however I find the album to be quite underrated. It is easily their best work since 1979’s The Wall and while the general lack of original substance does drag it down, it is still a highly enjoyable listen. The primary criticisms of the album are mostly founded only in the context of being a wider Pink Floyd fan. It is not an inventive masterpiece which will change the world and in the Floyd catalogue is surely on the lower end of the scale, but for any fan of 90s rock, The Division Bell should present an overall appeal.
Note: A real sign of the times and reflection of the burgeoning technology of the 90s was the 'Publius Enigma.' The Publius Enigma is a mysterious riddle in connection with The Division Bell which originated on the internet from an anonymous entity names 'Publius.' It claimed to present a riddle association with the album and offered a prize to anyone who solve the riddle. Fifteen years later it remains unsolved, and has been varified as geniune.
Although this article is somewhat technical and perhaps hard to understand for a layperson, I find it interesting and worth reading if you're into music and interested in the use of technology. Although computers were utilised for musical purposes as early as the 50s, it was only during the 80s and 90s that they became ubiquitous enough for widespread usage. This allowed computer manipulation, MIDI devices, and other such innovations to enter culture at a mass level.
That this article discusses ideas about live computer use is personally relevant, as I'm going to witness the very thing tomorrow night, seeing Battles perform in Sydney.
"As one producer put it concisely, the pop song is “a little three-minute novel,” in which reality and daydream merge in a sort of fairytale of love or of anonymous ambitions.” (1) And how could these fairytales be translated without lyrics? Lyrics are the cornerstone of any good pop or rock song. While the 90’s most famous lyrics may well be “MmmBop” and “Zig-eh-Ziga”, we shouldn’t give up on the decade as altogether senseless. If for no other reason than that the Pet Shops Boys (PSB) released four literally amazing albums in the 90’s. While lyrics can sometimes be inconsequential to a pop song, this has never been the case for the PSB. The lyrics have always been a key source of enjoyment from one of their albums. Take, for example, their best 90’s album, Very, which offers up lyrics which are witty, resonating and best of all, largely interpretational.
"Dreaming of the Queen" is certainly an example of this multiplicity of readings. On the surface it is, as the title implies, about a dream of visiting the Queen of England and Princess Di for a cup of tea. However, deeper inspection of the lyrics allow us to conceive the song as being about the toll that AIDS has taken on the gay community; rendering it a space where love has died: "There are no more lovers left alive/No one has survived.” This is one popular reading of the song, which pegs it as a gay text. Gregory Wood’s once said “A gay text is one which lends itself to the hypothesis of a gay reading, regardless of where the author's genitals were wont to keephouse.” (2) Under this definition, almost all PSB songs can be understood as gay texts. In fact, one of the most discussed elements of PSB lyrics are their queer sensibility and accessibility regardless of sexuality. For instance, many of their love songs will never refer to a ‘he’ or a ‘she’, instead addressing the object of affection just as ‘you’. This is just one way in which PSB liberate pop lyrics (which, let’s face it, are more times than not to do with love) for a queer audience.
Another diamond track from Very, is the snarky “Yesterday When I Was Mad”. It is a bombastic, energetic tune which, as the Rolling Stone review put it, makes clear that "the Boys have a few axes to grind." (3)
"Darling, you were wonderful, you really were quite good,
I enjoyed it, though of course, no-one understood.
They wondered what was going on, they didn't have a clue,
They didn't understand your sense of humour like I do.
"You're much to kind",
I smiled with murder on my mind."
The song expresses the irritation roused by critics, press and others in the music biz, who all have a back-handed complement or condescending remark to make. The verses serve up these insincere comments: “You have a certain quality, which really is unique/Expressionless, such irony, although your voice is weak,” which are reacted to with Neil’s biting chorus line: "I smiled, with murder on my mind." "Admitting I don't believe in anyone's sincerity, and that's what really got to me," implies a sense of jadedness; that the insincerity of some has detracted from the enjoyment of any accolade. This is pointed at as the main cause of his venting frustration. The songs closing lyric: "Then, when I was lonely, I thought again and changed my mind..." suggests that these ass-kissing falsities aren’t the worst fate. Better to have people clamouring around you with their barbed, fake complements than to stand alone. For tracks like “Yesterday When I Was Mad”, it is the lyrics which are the main attraction – the music plays a subservient role to the songs narrative.
My favourite lyric from Very comes from “Young Offender”, about an older gay man who still feels vibrant but no longer turns heads. In his mind he has a conversation with the young man he wants, but who doesn’t even see him."How graceful your movements, how bitter your scorn/I've been a teenager since before you were born!" The song is really quite a poignant tale about the “anonymous ambition” to be young again, or better still, to be seen as young again. Of course it’s a sad state of affairs to become old and irrelevant, especially if you still feel like a teenager. It is one of my worst fears, which is probably why the lyrics of the song strike such a chord with me.
Through a brief three-track look at the PSB album, Very, we can appreciate how lyrics can invite, amuse or provoke thought in their respondents. It is the diversity of meaning in lyrics which makes Very an excellent 90’s album and one worth listening to again and again.
References
(1) Hennion, A. 1983. 'The Production of Success: An Antimusicology of a Pop Song'.Eds. Simon Frith and Andrew Goodwin. On Record . (1990) Routeledge Publishing. pg. 156.
