Past... to the back

So I've spent probably the last month looking into all of the fucking amazing music that was recorded in the 90's that I never had the time to listen to because I was obsessing over DK and Subhumans and stuff of that nature and trying really hard to be much more badass than I ever actually will be, and I am frankly amazed at how much great stuff I missed because I wasn't paying attention or was still in Primary School in England or something like that. All of the "new" music I'm listening to is, without exception, at the very least 8 years old.

Here are some highlights (I know you all can't fucking wait... breath is baited and all of that):

Boredoms Super AE: This is just some insane, beautiful, noisy, speedy, tribal (I hate that word, but it seems to fit with the weird vocal nonsense on Super Shine) and generally fucking amazing music. Their drummer is completely beserk, their songs are epic, but in a "I can't fucking believe I just heard that, my brain is now completely fucked" kind of way, instead of a boring, cheesy metal way. Good shit.

Slint Spiderlands: I can't believe I missed this (except that I was 7 when it came out) because I love the hell out of this record so much. It's not even that complete really, and there are only six tracks but they're all sufficiently long and interesting and Breadcrumb trail and Good Morning Captain are awesome bookends. From the cool harmonics at the beginning of Breadcrumb trail to the distorted kick-ass outro and the end of Good Morning Captain and all the understated, weird narrative telling strange stories about shipwrecks and fortunetellers in between, these guys made a really cool album and promptly imploded due to the pressures of recording. Heard that one before.

Breeders Pod: I'm a big fan of Kim Deal and everything she's ever done, but for some reason this is the only thing she's had a big hand in that I never really listened to. Stupid me. It's really good.

Guided By Voices Alien Lanes: Robert Pollard writes the best minute and a half long songs ever and then put 30 of em on an album and calls it a day. I already did the Bee Thousand thing (and think, like everyone else who likes this type of shit, that it's great) and heard the music he made afterwards (with actual production... what the fuck is that about?) and really didn't like it so I assumed that was all there was to hear. Nope. Listen to Salty Salute or Watch Me Jumpstart, one for the lyrics and vocal melody and the other for a great guitar line.

There's a lot more, but I just had to rant about a couple in public (semi-public because I'm fairly certain only two people read this rubbish that I write). I'll be quiet now. Seriously though, listen to Spiderlands and Super AE even if you're dubious about the other two...