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Six weeks away from our wedding day. Dresses and tuxes–check. Cake–check. Invitations, music for reception–check and check. Chicken pox–check? |
My sister Amy and I had managed to avoid chicken pox growing up. In our early 30s, however, we independently contracted the disease almost simultaneously. Amy got ’em from her two-year-old when it made the rounds at his daycare. I’ll never know for sure what happened with me, but I’m pretty sure there was this kid at church… My case honestly was pretty mild and I was back to normal quickly; Sis, on the other hand, had more of that proverbial “worse as an adult” thing happen. At least it went down in early June instead of early July. (And you can bet old-man me has gotten the shingles vaccine.) |
As for some of what I could have heard on the radio during those waning days of bachelorhood… |
38. Patti Rothberg, “Inside”
A favorite from the get-go, and so good that I’m surprised Rothberg never got another crack at a major label release. I’ll be spinning Between the 1 and the 9 today; if you like this, please also check out the twitchy and clever “Treat Me Like Dirt.” |
33. Imperial Drag, “Boy or a Girl”
Five years ago in February, the Bay Area pop band Jellyfish received passing mention in this space for “That Is Why,” from their debut disk Bellybutton. Jellyfish went splitsville in 1994; co-leader Roger Manning went on to (briefly) form Imperial Drag. It feels like I heard “Boy or a Girl” a time or two in real time; it more than earns the descriptor ‘glam’ I’ve seen in more than one place while preparing this post. |
25. Lush, “Ladykillers“
Best song in this set: tight playing, sharp and to-the-point lyrics, the typical fab harmonies from Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson. I guess they were never gonna be stars, but any chance of long-term success for Lush would end with the suicide of drummer Chris Aclund in October. |
21. Paul Westerberg, “Love Untold”
Charming and heartbreaking at the same time. Westerberg’s gravelly vocals notwithstanding, this shoulda been a hit. |
20. Jewel, “Who Will Save Your Soul“
Another favorite at the time. I was mesmerized by both its lyrics and the vocal delivery. |
One of my current departmental colleagues is the son of one of my original departmental colleagues. He was a student in my first days at Georgetown, and the two of us wound up in the Science Center at night on occasion, he studying, I grading. The slow-breaking Pieces of You was one of his go-to CDs. |
Maybe it’s just where I was musically back then, but it felt like Jewel’s subsequent new releases were considered big events: “Hands” and “Standing Still” both landed squarely in front of me without necessarily seeking them out. |
18. The Refreshments, “Banditos”
Had forgotten about this one but the line, “I’ve got the pistols, so I’ll keep the pesos,” brought it back. Our second Roger–lead vocalist Roger Clyne–does plenty of mugging in the vid, but I’m finding the lack of self-consciousness on display, well, refreshing. I do catch of whiff of Cracker’s “Teen Angst” in the melody. |
15. Porno For Pyros, “Tahitian Moon”
Oh, Perry. Your love for songs that don’t do all that much for me holds on, holds on. |
13. The Nixons, “Sister”
Another that I’m finding resided on the periphery of my memory. Heartfelt and sincere, but it could be that in the moment I simply found Zac Maloy’s vocals a little too Vedder-esque to give the song much mind. |
9. Goldfinger, “Here in Your Bedroom“
Not quite a one-hit MRT wonder, but it’s the only thing I can recall hearing from this LA-based ska/punk outfit. Catchy enough, fun enough–I’ll give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. |
7. The Verve Pipe, “Photograph”
Much, much better than that godawful song about freshmen, which you can count on me ignoring when it’s in the top 10 of this chart a year from now. |
6. Dave Matthews Band, “Too Much”
Even if I don’t highlight every single from Crash over the next year-plus, rest assured DMB will be hovering, lurking, trying to seep into the collective consciousness of readers of this series. Overall, I prefer the hits from their sophomore effort to those from Under the Table and Dreaming.
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4. Dishwalla, “Counting Blue Cars“
Has to be the song from this list that reached the most ears in the moment. Would spend 48 weeks on the Hot 100, reaching #15. Positing God as female was no doubt meant to provoke reaction, and I imagine it did. |
2. Tracy Bonham, “Mother Mother”
I purchased The Burdens of Being Upright, but it never found its way into rotation. “EVERYTHING’S FINE” certainly found its way into my head, though. |
“Mother Mother” ascended to #1 the following week; it would be 2013 before another solo female artist–Lorde, with “Royals”–would hit the top spot on this chart. I kinda wonder if my waning interest in alternative music toward the end of the 90s was related to a lower proportion of women’s voices? |
1. The Cranberries, “Salvation“
Closing as we opened, with a song that clocks in under 2:30. I like it fine, far cry as it is from the delights of their debut album three years earlier. Within weeks of this topping MRT, Delores O’Riordan would beg off the majority of dates for their scheduled lengthy tour, citing exhaustion. |
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