1996

1996: Another solid year full of variety. Let's do this!

Modest Mouse- This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About: A great album, but the differentiation of songs hurts them more than helps them on this, as some of the songs are duds next to classics like "Dramamine"- one of the first songs I learned how to play on guitar. But it does help, as not-so-ironically, the variety on this makes this a great album for a long drive.

Dave Matthews Band- Crash: I truly hated a lot of their upbeat hits and their more recent "rock" songs, but this album is full of a lot of slower, more melodic and not lame songs. Lots have become staples in their live show, and it's easy to see why- the sound and feel of the last 60% of this album is fantastic and all the songs work incredibly well with each other.

Reel Big Fish- Turn The Radio Off: This album dominated my summer the year I found ska (along with the rest of the world). They may have felt like they were selling out and sounding like everyone else, but ska wasn't THAT big, and they did it better than pretty much everyone other than the Bosstones. This is full of hooks and memorable horns. AND, they made an appearance in the immortal classic Baseketball after this. 

Primus- Tales From The Punchbowl: Sandwiched between lackluster and bass-heavy-without-much-melody albums Pork Soda and Brown Album, Tales From The Punchbowl is one of the more melodic and varied Primus albums; in the vein of earlier stuff, but somehow weirder and with better production. Don't dismiss this as "the one with 'Wynonna's Big Brown Beaver'"- it deserves much more credit than that.

Fatboy Slim- Better Living Through Chemistry: The year I got into ska was pretty much the same year I got into electronica or whatever you want to call it. I found The Prodigy first in 97, but Fatboy Slim was probably the second best album of that time and genre. Some of this album is a bit blah, but the rest embodies everything that 90's electronica sound was.

10. Outkast- ATLiens

Most of the rap I listened to came from my brother being obsessed with it and playing it on the way to school every morning. We usually liked the meaner, gangsta rap type stuff, and he had started finding really obscure groups that went nowhere. Based on the decency of Outkast's first album Southernplayalisticcadillacmuzik, and the creepy hit "Elevators (Me & You), my brother got this. Boy we were in for a surprise. This is years before Andre 3000 got weird and "Hey Ya" dominated the world, years before Cee-Lo (who sings on this as part of Goodie Mob) was the host of a singing show, and years before Outkast got their reputation as a perfect combination of opposing personalities creating some of the weirdest, most groundbreaking hip hop out there. And it was better. Their later albums have classics on them, but also some huge misses. This album is perfect, from front to back- every song sounds alike in an incredibly consistent manner, and they did an amazing thing in creating a creepy, at times very melodic and spacey album with alien references all over it. It's maybe the most consistent rap album I've ever heard, and it remains at the top of my list of best rap albums for that very reason. It may be my favorite. Just listen to "13th Floor/Growing Old" if you have any doubt in Outkast- who samples quiet classical piano and adds nothing to it? It's literally just a beat over sad piano with weird bong/alien sounds in the background, and it's fantastic. 

Best songs: "Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac)," "ATLiens," "Wheelz Of Steel," "Elevators (Me & You),""Babylon," "13th Floor/Growing Old"

9. Tool- Aenima

Like most people into darker music in the 90's, I loved the videos for "Prison Sex" and "Sober" from their first album, Undertow. But I never got into that one too much. Based on the awesomeness of "Stinkfist" I decided to give Tool a better chance when some department store was going out of business and CDs were half off. I got this and Ween's The Mollusk on the same trip. Good trip. This album is incredible. It's super dark and mysterious like Tool strives for, yet the songs are instantly memorable while being heavy. Sure, the hits were good, but the real perfection of this album is in its flow and some of the non-hits- especially "Eulogy" with its super long build up and odd middle section and structure to the outright fury and heaviness of "Hooker With A Penis." The production is perfect, the guitars sound amazing, and Tool proved they were onto something else entirely from their original, now kind-of-boring material. This would be the blueprint to their next 2 albums, where they'd continue to grow, get more mysterious and weird, and become the legends they are. 

Best songs: "Stinkfist," "Eulogy," "Hooker With A Penis," "Jimmy," "Aenima"

8. Korn- Life Is Peachy

This is the first Korn album I heard, and I instantly found myself confused as to what I saw in the sloppy mess of disgusting chords, rap beats, detuned bass wet fart sounds, and vocals from someone who sounded like they had some serious problems. A few years later, Korn would dismiss this album and say that it was phoned-in and terrible. The fact that it has 2 covers, the first few songs aren't exactly their best efforts, there's an entire song based on saying as many bad words as possible, and one of the more memorable songs ("A.D.I.D.A.S") stood for "all day I dream about sex" made that claim seem pretty legit. Maybe this was recorded quickly without the best of intentions or the band was just having too much fun, but it all sounds great to me as a perfect representation of the messiness of Korn's early music. And they can hate this album all they want, but it has 3 of my all time favorite Korn songs ("Good God," "Ass Itch," and "Kill You")- songs that embody everything I love about Korn and are incredibly dark, heavy, and instantly memorable and catchy. And you know what Korn? Some of the "dumb" songs on this are fantastic and a lot better than whatever garbage you've been putting out since Issues. Maybe it's time to show it some respect.

Best Songs: "Twist," "Good God," "Mr. Rogers," "K@#0%!," "No Place To Hide," "A.D.I.D.A.S.," "Ass Itch," "Kill You"

7. Converge- Petitioning The Empty Sky

If I had heard this in 1995, this would probably be much higher, as it is legendary in the world of hardcore/metal/whatever converge is. But no, I didn't hear it until freshman year of college, when I discovered this kind of stuff. It blew my mind then, and still does regularly whenever I listen to it. Converge was at least 10 years ahead of their time with this, crafting a complete mess of every type of metal and hardcore mixed with screeched vocals that may or may not even be words. They did things that no other band was doing this well, and few have matched since. While this is a bit uneven and not their best work, ends with an awful live song where Jake Bannon breaks the mic in the middle of the song, and features easily his worst vocals (at least singing-wise), it also has 2 of my (and most fans') favorite Converge songs- "Forsaken," featuring one of my all time favorite breakdowns, and arguably Converge's greatest contribution to the world of hardcore/metal, the absolutely legendary 7 minute mess of "The Saddest Day." Listening to it now, it's easy to see why my jaw dropped the first time I heard it, forever having my musical tastes start to change with 1 song. 

Best songs: "The Saddest Day," "Forsaken," "Dead," "Farewell Note To This City," "Color Me Blood Red"

6. Rage Against The Machine- Evil Empire

I remember getting this for my birthday when it first came out, and at first, I was a bit let down. It didn't seem to have the thickness and anger of their first album- they were starting to experiment with less riffy songs and more weird sounds. Songs seemed simpler and less powerful. While I still feel that way a little, this is still basically a perfect Rage Against The Machine album (like all three were). From the funk of "People Of The Sun" to the instantly memorable hit "Bulls On Parade," to the creepy fury of "Revolver," this was a step forward for Rage, and it showed just what they were capable of. Tom Morello really stepped up on this one, really establishing himself as a "how'd he do that?" guitar god (how awful/awesome is the opening line to "Year Of Tha Boomerang"?). Although the songs don't flow as perfectly as on the self titled album, I think this is their most varied and interesting album, their most funky and hip hop-esque, and definitely a fantastic second album. Over time, my favorite song has become "Roll Right" with its perfect use of feedback and opposing guitar and bass lines. I wish this band still existed. Enough with Audioslave, The Nightwatchman and whatever the hell Zack de la Rocha is doing these days. Time to get to work.

Best songs: "Bulls On Parade," "Revolver," "Snake Charmer," "Down Rodeo," "Without A Face," "Roll Right" 

5. Local H- As Good As Dead

Like most people, I first heard Local H on the radio with their hit "Bound For The Floor," which still remains one of my all time WCYY alternative rock hits. I heard "High Fiving MF" and hoped that it wasn't the same band (it sounded very different and let's face it, the chorus is pretty dumb), but once I heard "Eddie Vedder," it was time to buy this from BMG Music Service. Putting the CD in my CD player was the beginning of something big. Somehow, because of the endless variation of songs that still managed to have enough similarity to work as an album, this would become my "clean my room" album for the next 10 years. It still remains one of my favorite albums to listen to all the way through because of variety, and because of how catchy nearly every song is in a different way. It works perfectly as an entire piece, especially with the last song being a fuller version of the intro (why don't more bands do stuff like this?) Sure, it sounds EXACTLY like Nirvana at times, but I'm ok with that. Local H may not have known exactly what they wanted to be, but they were a great alternative rock band, and that was good enough for me. If you never gave this album a chance, you may be very surprised at its quality. 

Best songs: "Bound For The Floor," "I Saw What You Did And I Know Who You Are," "No Problem," "Eddie Vedder," "Back In The Day," "Fritz's Corner," "Manifest Destiny, Pt. 2"

4. Cake- Fashion Nugget

The reason I loved this album is pretty much for the same reason I loved Local H. Cake didn't sound like anyone else (and still don't), and every song on this is completely different sounding and catchy and fantastic in its own way. Some of the songs towards the end weren't as good as the beginning, but their variety and willingness to do anything makes this another great album to put on from start to finish. Cake mixed funk, country, blues, old time rock and roll and somehow made it modern with occasional record scratching, incredibly catchy hooks and lots of weird "alright" and "oh yea"s from the singer, who, in keeping with the uniqueness of Cake, doesn't really sound like anyone else. This made Cake immediately stand out, and makes this album (and honestly, pretty much all of their stuff) somehow timeless. It sounds like it was either just released, or came out 20 or 30 years ago. This is still their best album, mostly because of the perfection of at least track 1 (my favorite Cake song, "Frank Sinatra") through their better-than-the-original cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive." Oh, you sure will Cake, you sure will.

Best songs: "Frank Sinatra," "The Distance," "Friend Is A Four Letter Word," "Open Book," "Race Car Ya-Yas," "It's Coming Down," "Nugget," "Sad Songs And Waltzes"

3. Sublime- Self Titled

I later would work with some moron stoner who insisted on playing this every day at work. The sheer amount of douchebag college frat boys and moron stoners who worship this album makes it a little hard to remember just how much I love this album, and how immediately it struck a chord with me the first time I heard it. Much like Local H and Cake, the variety of this album is what made me love it so much. Ska, punk rock, alternative rock, reggae, rap, etc. It's all here, and it's all done fairly perfectly. I never liked "Under My Voodoo" or "Jailhouse," and was sick of "Wrong Way" before it was on the radio every 8 seconds, but other than that, there isn't a bad song on this, and most are some of the best alternative songs of the 90's, especially "Santeria" and "What I Got." The level of quality on this album is light years ahead of their previous album, 40 Oz.  To Freedom (which for some reason, most moron fans of Sublime like more), and these guys were primed to take over the world before main songwriter and singer Bradley Nowell died (apparently before this was released? I forgot that. Weird...) therefore ending Sublime and starting the never-ending release of demos, b-sides, remixes, etc. But reputation and over-saturation aside, this album is perfect and will forever be a late spring, early summer classic after I got it in high school and played it nearly every morning on the way to school. Lots of memories attached to this one...

Best songs: "Garden Grove," "What I Got," "Same In The End," "April 29, 1992 (Miami)," "Santeria," "Seed," "Burritos," "Caress Me Down," "Doin' Time"

2. Weezer- Pinkerton

Like a lot of people, I was fairly underwhelmed with Pinkerton the first time I heard it on the Christmas morning I unwrapped it. I loved "El Scorcho," but was surprised that its messiness, oddball style shifts and sometimes ugly production went across the rest of the album. I didn't feel like any song was any better than "pretty good" until I got to "The Good Life," which was an instant favorite (and easily as good as anything they've done). Clearly, Weezer was going for being a weird rock band rather than the perfect hook machine on The Blue Album. But over time, it grew on me, and I realized that, while the songs as a whole aren't anywhere near the perfection of The Blue Album, they were all fantastic in their own way, and they were interesting listens, with weird little flourishes and parts of songs that took me awhile to even really notice. I still don't quite get the "first emo album ever" legendary status that most magazines and a lot of fans give this album. To me, it's just a great album that has some sad and refreshingly honest lyrics, that was composed by a band and singer in a certain amount of turmoil, confusion, and/or conflict. That being said, I absolutely love "Across The Sea," and its incredibly sweet/sad lyrics, love the funny-but-not-so-funny-if-its-happened-to-you lyrics of "Pink Triangle" (it's happened to me twice), and the completely honest and heartbreaking "Butterfly." It's an odd album full of sad lyrics sang over all-over-the-place music, and it all works together perfectly in an "it's not perfect, therefore it's perfect" way. I've kind of hit music writer mental explosion right now, but you know what I mean. Nearly all of my friends love this album, and although we don't always agree on the order of the best Weezer albums, this one is always in the top 2 (usually second to The Blue Album). The classic that wasn't supposed to be a classic, that sent the band into a 5 year disappearing act. Maybe this came from hardship and created more, but I'm sorry Weezer, I sure wish you still wrote stuff like this. 

Best songs: "Why Bother," "Across The Sea," "The Good Life," "El Scorcho," "Pink Triangle," "Butterfly"

1. Marilyn Manson- Antichrist Superstar

Most of my friends will probably be horrified that I put Marilyn Manson ahead of Weezer, but to me, this is a far superior album, and I was fairly obsessed with it between 1996-1997. 

I got into Marilyn Manson only a few months before this came out, seeing "Sweet Dreams" on MTV and being absolutely blown away at just how disgusting, creepy, evil, etc it was. I wondered how in the hell something like that got on MTV, and freaked out and bought it as soon as I could. But that EP wasn't that good. When "The Beautiful People" hit the radio, I made sure to buy this album immediately, in hopes that it would be all I wanted Marilyn Manson to be- a perfect combination of really heavy metal and industrial music with creepy dudes dressing in weird clothes and being weird and creepy. I'd been very much into the darker side of music for a long time, and Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral brought me farther in. Seeing a guy as disgusting and horrifying as Marilyn Manson make music that was like Nine Inch Nails but heavier and catchier made me pretty psyched- I instantly liked and hated him. Based on seeing kids in the mall wearing his shirts, I didn't want to like his music, but I couldn't fight it- it was perfect to my ears. 

From the opening crowd noise and grunting to the violent explosion of fuzz riffs to the chorus of "FUCK IIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTT" of track 1, "Irresponsible Hate Anthem," I knew this album was going to be everything I wanted. I remember sitting in my room, playing it quietly on my boombox so my parents wouldn't hear what sick shit I was listening to, mind being blown more with every song. The production was phenomenal, Marilyn's vocals were perfect in every voice he chose to use, the album artwork was creepy and satanic-themed, the cover was horrifying, the booklet was the same, the back had a picture of him with tubes coming out of his crotch, going to gasmasks on band member's faces, etc. The font was even perfect. Song titles were words I didn't understand. There were references to biblical themes just as much as Satanic themes. I didn't understand a lot of the points, but it was all perfect, creepy lyrics bringing out imagery of everything I wasn't supposed to be thinking, hearing, or seeing. He ripped up the Bible at shows, he cut himself and fought people on stage. He was sick, perverted and as vocal as the best of rock stars. And it all worked towards the feel of this, their greatest work. This was an ALBUM, from the flow of track to track to the complete feel of everything surrounding the band and album itself. 

And the music is the only album I can think of that was the perfect mix of the heavier side of alternative rock mixed with the creepy nihilsm and destructive darkness of Nine Inch Nails. Trent Reznor's involvement in this certainly helped. As did drugs.

Lots of drugs. Sure, lots of this was just sex, drugs and rock and roll. Sure, a lot of it turned out to be shock rock image or Marilyn trying to make points that a lot of people didn't care about. Sure, the band (or Marilyn and whoever he hired) would really only put out one decent album (Mechanical Animals) after this followed by a ton of garbage. But this album stands as perfect in my eyes. A classic collection of angry, destructive evil that blew a suburban white kid living in the woods of Maine's mind. This slowly became a standard album to listen to on long drives in the dark in the backseat of my parent's car, but they never really knew what I was listening to. I hid this from my parents just as I hid his book (which was also great), and kind of broke it easily to my friends how much I loved this at the time, but now I'll shout it from the rooftops. And it still sounds fantastic and works just as effectively. "The Reflecting God" (my favorite) in particular is still massive and terrifying. A lot of friends may disagree, but I love everything about this album and wish so so so much that I had gotten to see them live in this era. That, and that they still made music like this. 

Best songs: "Irresponsible Hate Anthem," "The Beautiful People," "Little Horn," "Cryptorchid," "Mister Superstar," "Kinderfeld," "1996," "The Reflecting God," "Man That You Fear"