Mix 09: Pulling for a Pulse - 1994 Revisited (Part IV)

As the final entry in this collaborative, explorative venture, Pulling for a Pulse searches in multiple directions for the heartbeat that drove 1994 to be one of the great years in our collective musical history. As Chris correctly noted, 1994 seems to be, in many ways, the apex of the scene. Some of the major players such as Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, The Jesus and Mary Chain and Soundgarden recorded their final noteworthy albums while former foundation musicians of great bands, such as Frank Black of the Pixies, attempted to recreate or expand their image and style as solo artists or with new incarnations. Simultaneously, a few new artists emerged and gave us a glimpse into things to come.

Pulling for a Pulse attempts to capture both the twilight of the music that was and the dawning of the music that would become. Lush's first track is the only song off of their album Split that seems to harken back to their beautifully dark album Spooky. Pearl Jam follows with "Corduroy" from Vitalogy to remind us why we all fell for this band as soon as Ten hit the shelves back in 1991. Live's Throwing Copper remains one of my favorite albums (the only really good, consistent one from the band) and "I Alone" is a highlight on their sophomore breakthrough. The Cranes are a mixed bag as a whole but "Beautiful Friend" is an insanely enrapturing song. The next two songs underline how Bob Mould and Frank Black removed the shackles from their previous efforts and moved in new directions as a band (Sugar) and as a solo artist respectively. Beck's album Mellow Gold exposed the irresistible, avant-guarde, lo-fi pop that he would continue for the next 15 years and "Snoozer" seems to encapsulate this style perfectly. And finally, the last three songs punctuate what I consider to be each artist's final profound execution.

I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I have putting it together with my longtime friend. Onward we go while reflecting on where we came from.

01. Lush - Light from a Dead Star

02. Pearl Jam - Corduroy

03. Live - I Alone

04. Cranes - Beautiful Friend

05. Sugar - Your Favorite Thing

06. Frank Black - Headache

07. Beck - Snoozer

08. Jesus and Mary Chain - Sometimes Always

09. Nine Inch Nails - March of the Pigs

10. Ride - How Does It Feel to Feel

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Mix 08: Style and Substance - 1994 Revisited (Part III)

Trying to find time to write an introduction to this week's mix has been difficult, so we'll make this short and sweet. Style and Substance, the third entry in our series, is intended to showcase a few bands that defy conformity and challenge expectations.

For some listeners, these songs may be mere forays into stylistic expression, nothing more and nothing less. I would argue, however, that even though style is paramount to the execution of this material, each song is substantive in its own right. Scratch beneath the surface, and you'll find creative artists at the top of their game. Style and Substance... Is the title of this mix making sense now?

The mix begins with a sample of dialogue from Pulp Fiction, a film rife with style and substance; it contains one of the most popular and influential soundtracks of all time. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion kicks off the music and is followed by one of my favorite tracks by the Beastie Boys. Marilyn Manson turns up the volume with an Alice Cooper-influenced tale of a drug-addled magician (hey, it's a creative song), followed by an acoustic number by the Violent Femmes (a band who has incorporated nearly every musical style available). The rest, my friends, will speak for itself. Enjoy!

01. Ezekiel 25/17 • Samuel L. Jackson
02. Bellbottoms • The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
03. Sabotage • Beastie Boys
04. Dope Hat • Marilyn Manson
05. I'm Nothing • Violent Femmes
06. Possum Kingdom • Toadies
07. In The Mind Of The Bourgeois Reader • Sonic Youth
08. Biscuits For Smut • Helmet
09. Hole In The Bucket • Spearhead
10. Screenwriter's Blues • Soul Coughing
11. Safeway Cart • Neil Young

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Mix 07: Tumbling into Texture - 1994 Revisited (Part II)

Just prior to embarking on his journey to Vietnam, Carl Beach managed to put together and submit the second volume in our series exploring the sounds of 1994. Though he didn’t have time to write an introduction, Carl commented that the mood of Tumbling into Texture aptly captures the way he felt in 1994. Poetic? Melancholy? Sensitive? Reflective? Disillusioned?

One look at the artists presented here, and you’ll know the correct answer is "all of the above." From Massive Attack to the Cure, Tumbling into Texture finds beauty in darkness, colors in sepia tone, hope in despair. “Burn” remains one of my favorite Cure songs, and I’m always stunned by the sadness that ultimately displaces and haunts the seemingly callous encounter in “Chopsticks.”

Though I have many of these albums in my collection, there are a handful of tracks that are completely new to me (Stina Nordenstam, Tori Amos, Ani Difranco); a reminder that there are so many great artists, songs and albums yet to grace my eager ears. Enjoy.

01. Protection - Massive Attack
02. When Debbie's Back From Texas - Stina Nordenstam
03. Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley
04. Chopsticks - Liz Phair
05. Strangers - Portishead
06. Thirteen - Johnny Cash
07. Past The Mission - Tori Amos
08. If He Tries Anything - Ani Difranco
09. Fear - Sarah McLachlan
10. Burn - The Cure

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Mix 06: Aged to Perfection - 1994 Revisited (Part I)

Aged to Perfection is the first volume in a multipart series set to explore the musical environment of 1994. To help in this undertaking, friend and blog contributor Carl Beach has agreed to alternate weeks and mixes with me—giving you an overview of 1994 from two distinct perspectives.

Looking back on the 1990s, I find at least two exceptional years for music: 1991 and 1994. In 1991, college radio and alternative music crept into the mainstream and began its meteoric rise to cultural dominance. Grunge would destroy the already imploding bands of hair metal, while bands like U2 would help ignite a renaissance in musical experimentation. In the next couple of years, a plethora of new and exciting bands would debut, substituting formulaic stock with more original ingredients.

The scene would essentially peak in 1994. In that year, Kurt Cobain took his own life, placing a final exclamation mark on grunge—a genre marked by angst, despair and nihilism. But 1994 was also a year marked by exceptional albums, debuts and artistic triumphs. In the years to follow, radio and MTV would succumb to the sounds of recycled post-grunge, watered-down “alternative” and teen pop. But for a few years in the early 90s, the music scene was ripe with remarkable work.

Aged to Perfection is primarily rooted in classic rock—capturing the authenticity of spirt and the musical exploration first mined by veteran bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones. That bands like Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots and The Black Crowes would borrow heavily from these masters is simply a testament to the timeless appeal of the music generated in the late 60s and early 70s.

Hope you enjoy this first volume in our series. I’m not sure what Carl has planned for Volume Two, but I can tell you that Volume Three (tentatively titled Style and Substance) will be vastly different from this first entry. Stay tuned...

01. Vasoline • Stone Temple Pilots
02. A Conspiracy • The Black Crowes
03. Backwater • Meat Puppets
04. Struttin' • Primal Scream
05. What Do You Want From Me • Pink Floyd
06. Head Down • Soundgarden
07. Moon Is Up • The Rolling Stones
08. Send Me On My Way • Rusted Root
09. Friends • Page & Plant
10. Where Did You Sleep Last Night? • Nirvana

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Guest Mix 05: Synth Pop

As promised, this week's mix comes courtesy of Travis Dyer. Known as DJ Illustrious to his Charlottesville, Virginia, radio show listeners, Travis's musical tastes run the gamut. From hip hop to electronica, industrial to metal, Travis delivers the goods. His first contribution to this blog is a journey back into the sounds of 80s synth pop — a sound that a slew of contemporary bands (Killers, Dandy Warhols, MGMT, more) have successfully been revisiting. Eschewing more popular 80s gems, Travis dug a little deeper to give us a mix that doesn't sound nearly as dated as you might think (my horrible album cover doesn't give this collection much justice).

So, what is synth pop?

Synth Pop emerged during the early '80s, as a variation of New Wave. Where New Wave utilized guitar considerably, Synth Pop often pushed that traditional rock and roll instrument completely out of the picture and moved keyboards, drum machines, and samplers to the forefront. Synth Pop has its own stylistic tendencies which differentiate it from other music produced by the same means. These include the exploitation of artificiality (i.e., the synthesis of sounds from waveforms) where the synthesizers are not used to imitate acoustic instruments, the use of mechanical sounding rhythms, vocal arrangements as a counterpoint to the artificiality of the instruments.

Enjoy the mix!

1. Forever Young - Alphaville
2. The Great Commandment - Camouflage
3. Blasphemous Rumours - Depeche Mode
4. Save A Prayer - Duran Duran
5. Two Tribes - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
6. Everlasting Love - Howard Jones
7. Walking Away - Information Society
8. Never Ending Story - Kajagoogoo and Limahl
9. True Faith - New Order
10. Don't Go - Yaz

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Upcoming

Alas, dear listeners, I've failed to deliver on my weekly commitment. Rest assured, Audio Autocracy will return next week with a guest submission from Travis Dyer, AKA DJ Illustrious—a bona fide DJ from Charlottesville, Virginia. Travis turned in a really cool "synth pop" mix many days ago, but due to child-rearing responsibilities and a subsequent lack of sleep, I've been unable to post it. Look for it next week.

Shortly thereafter, Carl Beach and I plan on alternating weeks with a series of mixes that explore some highlights from music released in 1994. In addition, I hope to have a folk-country mix ready which will feature tracks from the newly released Johnny Cash album (his last recordings), the Avett Brothers, Ryan Bingham and others.

But first, dear listeners, comes sleep. I'm overdue.

Guest Mix 04: a.fluid.affect: volume V

Thanks to a recent week off from work, I am able to rejoin this project again. My newest mix begins with some smooth electronica and quickly moves into contradictory pop territory: from a song recently featured as a Starbuck's single to one of my favorite longtime artists, Suzanne Vega, to a funky cover of Beyonce's 'Halo' to a song featured on a Korean Gap ad (and one I couldn't get out of my head for weeks) to some indie rock to pure, unadulterated K-pop that I hear incessantly from my students' iPods (and therefore, can't get out of my head for weeks). Thus, to say the least, this mix is all over the place. So, like a venereal disease, in the name of sharing for pleasure, get the latest goods. Yiggay'all, Carl.

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