Dig Me Out - The 90's Rock Podcast

Plenty of bands messed around with a lo-fi sound in the 90s, sometimes to euphoric effects, sometimes not so much. Swell dabbles: a white noise fractured guitar lead here, a flat acoustic guitar riff there. But on Too Many Days Without Thinking, they are merely small pieces of a more layered puzzle. Had it been played on Les Paul's through big amps, the album would have sounded very familiar, so dialing back the noise and putting it to sparing use helps elevate the band above their 90s rock peers.   Songs in this Episode: Intro - Make Mine You 14:27 - When You Come Over 19:08 - Throw the Wine 22:36 - What I Always Wanted 29:01 - (I Know) The Trip Outro - F*ck Even Flow   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Well-regarded music historians often explain the 90s explosion of alternative music into the mainstream boiled down as the rise of Seattle grunge, the So-Cal pop-punk sound going national, and the movements that followed like the swing revival, electronica, nu-metal, and more. But lost in that simplicity is the more difficult and (quite frankly) weirder starting point of the decade, where bands were mixing and moshing across a spectrum of hard rock, funk, and more. A prime example is the one-and-done band Hash, who released their self-titled album on Elektra in 1993. The band sounds comfortable mixing Red Hot Chili Peppers-style funk with Living Colour-esque swagger and shredding with touches of 60s sitar-spiked psychedelia, all topped with big melodies and harmonies. It's a talented if at times overcooked stew, but finding bands that can play in this many sandboxes and maintain a level of quality is few and far between, even if some of the big swings are misses.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - Twilight B

Lots of bands have brothers, but how about two pairs of brothers? Perhaps growing up with a musical sibling is the reason the Kerns and Dahle brothers are able to crafty such a hooky and satisfying album of power-pop tinged rock on their third and final released as The Age of Electric - 1996's Make A Pest A Pet. Along with fellow Canadian 90s rock bands like Sloan, Odds, and Zumpano, TAOE bring their own take to the nebulous power-pop genre, bashing through three-minute guitar lead bursts without sacrificing dynamics or melody.    Songs In This Episode: Intro - Remote Control 18:56 - Mad at the World 21:34 - Nothing Happens 29:35 - Don't Wreck It Outro - Unity or Grenadine   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Launched in 1991 by Perry Farrell as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction, Lollapalooza immediately became the defining musical tour of the decade. Inspired by the UK festivals like Reading, Farrell concocted an underground music celebration based on the bands he wanted to see and tour with - Siouxsie and the Banshees, Living Colour, Nine Inch Nails, Ice-T & Body Count, Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band, Violent Femmes, and Fishbone. After it proved a success, the tour exploded in size until, but seemed to lose steam at point through the decade, as the once groundbreaking festival became another opportunity to chase trends and showcase already hugely popular bands. We look back at each tour in the 90s, as well as compare it to the current incarnation as a corporate-driven destination festival in Chicago.   Songs in this Episode: Intro - Smells Like Teen Spirit by Soundgarden (Nirvana cover, 7/22/92) Outro - Sabotage by Beastie Boys (8/6/94)   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen

Of all the bands to release big albums in 1994, there may be none bigger than Live's sophomore album Throwing Copper. In the studio heavyweights like Jerry Harrison (production), Lou Giordano (engineering), and Tom Lord-Alge (mixing) helmed the album that prepared the band for multiple radio singles, MTV hits, album sales around the globe. It also helped that they leaned into their successful influences, channeling U2, R.E.M., and Pearl Jam without coming across as imitators. Revisiting an album that was everywhere for over a year (it took fifty-two weeks to reach number one, the third-longest ever), digging into the lesser-known album tracks reveals a band that could embrace simplistic fun as easily as dour universalism.   Songs in this Episode Intro - All Over You 17:19 - Selling The Drama 22:11 - Stage 33:13 - Lightning Crashes 44:19 - Waitress Outro - I Alone   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

With vocals equal part sneer and sweet, supported by a thick and fuzzy bass, Moler is a little pop, a little punk, slightly grunge, and very interesting on their lone album from 1997, Golden Duck. The three-piece is at no loss for volume, cranking out over a dozen two and a half to four-minute gems that have plenty of attitude and energy. Lead singer and bassist Helen Cattanach, along with Julien Poulson on guitar and Steven Boyle on the drums, are a tight unit that only falters when the melodies don't shine, which happens a few times on the back half of an otherwise engaging album.   Songs on this Episode: Intro - Mustang Base 11:35 - Pseudoephedrine 23:06 - I Do, I Do 31:39 - Warning Sign Outro - Red Light Disco   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

We've revisited many 90s rock bands from Australia of various types, but Big Heavy Stuff is the first to nail the post-hardcore sound made (underground) famous by bands in D.C., Kansas City, and Chicago. On 1997's Maximum Sincere, the band takes full advantage of the spacious room recording to showcase the drumming via slowed tempos and minimal arrangements that spark and blaze sonically at just the right times. There is enough melody and interesting guitar work to keep the album interesting, always a tricky proposition when slowing down, but that leads to some less than stellar material on the back half the overall strong album.   Songs in this Episode: Intro - The Train Stops Here 14:07 - Maximum Sincere 25:31 - Cheating on a Dead Wife 29:43 - May Outro - Big Mouth   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Few bands are more rightly associated with the rise of alternative music from the underground to the mainstream than Soundgarden. Starting out in the mid 80s as a prototypical Seattle band backed by Sub Pop, produced by Jack Endino, and indebted to the heavy thud of 70s Black Sabbath combined with punk aggression, the original line-up quickly coalesced, releasing a slew of material in just three years. With Sub Pop in financial dire straits, the band recorded the debut album for SST, and showcased Chris Cornell's unique falsetto paired with the band's growing technical proficiency. A year later, they would end the decade on A&M records and release Louder Than Love, which further evolved the band into the metal sound that drove original bassist Hiro Yamamoto to quit, unhappy with the musical direction of the band. Within these recordings are the DNA that would lead to the breakthrough Badmotorfinger, and set the band up as the pre-eminent hard rock band of the 90s.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - Hands

For such a short career, Jellyfish managed to pack decades worth of musical ambition and melodic knowhow into just two studio albums. The comparisons are nothing new - The Beatles, Queen, The Beach Boys, Badfinger, Wings - but while plenty of bands have been tagged with the "power-pop" label over the years, Jellyfish occupy a unique space of both defining and transcending the label. On 1993's Spilt Milk, for as much Raspberries and Cheap Trick influence a listener can spot, the band is clearly going for a bigger, more grandiose sound that draws inspiration from the stage and screen.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - Joining A Fan Club 17:36 - All Is Forgiven 28:13 - Brighter Day 32:55 - Sebrina, Paste and Plato Outro - New Mistake   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

On their 1995 sophomore album Killjoy, New Zealand's Shihad might fool you with their opening Helmet-like salvo of "You Again" and "Gimme Gimme," two tracks of chugging down-tuned riffage with bass and kick locked-in. But this is not a Helmet clone, or a clone of any American post-punk band you might conjure, as the band shows off a variety of stylistic and rhythmic approaches that recall late 80s albums by The Cure. Somehow this band managed to slip under our radar in the mid-nineties, which is surprising considering the comparisons to bands such as Barkmarket and Jawbox.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - You Again 19:22 - Deb's Night Out 26:55 - The Call 34:34 - Bitter 41:49 - Silvercup Outro - Gimme Gimme   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Eclectic bands can be a tricky proposition. Too much genre-switching and musical diversity can strip a band of an identity, with the disparate parts not adding up too much. But done right, and finding a unified sound in the song-to-song evolution, can make for an exciting listen. Luckily, with Boston's Tribe and their 1991 album Abort, it's the latter. While chronologically they're at the start of the emerging 90s rock scene, their sound harkens back to the 80s in a variety of ways, weaving in new wave, jangle pop, and underground college rock with layered harmonies, nods to shoegaze and dream pop, while keeping the arrangements tight.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - Joyride (I Saw The Film) 19:19 - Abort 21:03 - Here At Home 29:42 - Jackpot 32:25 - Daddy's Home Outro - Tied   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Regionality isn't talked about much outside Seattle with regard to 90s rock, but just like how the Pacific Northwest was experimenting with punk and metal in unique ways, other parts of the United States had an impact on the bands from their locales. Like our recent Better Than Ezra episode, Cowboy Mouth is from Louisiana, a state which boasts a deep and rich musical history that can't help but imprint on the latest generation. In the case of Cowboy Mouth and their 1996 album Are You With Me?, and the members' previous 80s bands Dash Rip Rock and Red Rockers, the influence of roots rock, blues, Americana, and more can be heard throughout in subtle nods and swinging rhythms. Unfortunately, some of the personality gets sanded off for a sound that is ready for mainstream radio, but also lacking some needed edge.   Song In This Episode Intro - Jenny Says 20:39 - Man On The Run 30:27 - God Makes The Rain 34:28 - Love Of My Life 38:02 - How Do You Tell Someone Outro - New Orleans   Support the podcast, jo

Lo-fi isn't unique to the 1990s, but it is the first decade that the recording technique (meaning literally "lo-fidelity") merged with indie rock and take on a genre identity. Artists like Pavement, Sebadoh, Guided By Voices, Liz Phair, and more found their bedroom and basement recordings appealing to more than just a tape-trading crowd with the advent of cheap CD reproduction and small labels with better distribution. But it begs the question - is lo-fi simply a recording technique based on circumstance, or an aesthetic artists strive for to attain a particular emotional effect.   Song In This Episode Intro - I Am A Scientist by Guided By Voices 12:57 - Splendid Isolation by The Bevis Frond 22:49 - Drive All Over Town by Elliott Smith 32:37 - Losercore by Sentridoh 45:56 - Parting Shot by The Grifter 1:06:38 - Anytime You Want by Eric's Trip Outro - Summer Babe (Winter Version) by Pavement   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

After the early 90s explosions of Seattle grunge and alternative rock, labels swept up bands from across the country (and globe) that had any sonic resemblance to the chart toppers. By 1994, the signing frenzy was in full swing, and bands new and old found their way to major labels. Some were teenagers from Australia, while others might have veterans of midwestern hard rock and metal bands, as was the case with Sponge. If there is a reason why their major label debut Rotting Piñata from 1994 sounds so confident, it's because these weren't first timers figuring it out. That confidence shows as the album balances tight, melodic singles with album tracks that incorporate a wide pallet of influences from 80s Psychedelic Furs and R.E.M. to 90s shoegaze and metal.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - Molly 16:32 - Miles 18:00 - Neenah Menasha 28:00 - Giants 31:36 - Pennywheels Outro - Drowned   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Bands only get to make their debut album once, but for Jimmie's Chicken Shack, a few practice swings paid off. Taking tracks from several low-profile independent releases and combining them for the 1997 major label debut means the material on Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope sounds refined and well-thought-out without being stale and lifeless. Unlike some contemporaries who relied on thick, down-tuned guitars to push their angst, JCS work in layers of intricate guitar leads that recall 1970s progressive rock or 90s math rock but with a funk metal twist.   Songs In This Episode Intro - High 21:00 - Dropping Anchor 24:16 - When You Die You're Dead 33:14 - This Is Not Hell 36:02 - Milk Outro - Hole   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

We've listened to plenty of Australian 90s rock that made little to no impact in the United States many times but rarely has a band sounded so US-based in its influences as Hoss. On their third album Bring On The Juice, swinging punk rhythms recall Detroit's 70s action rock scene, while more dissonant moments sound like pre-90s grunge from the likes of Mudhoney or early Dinosaur Jr. Attitude, confidence, and swagger abound on these eleven tracks, sometimes leading the band into overly long excursions that could use some trimming. But overall, Hoss finds a way to sound off the moment and timeless concurrently, not an easy feat to pull off.   Songs In This Episode Intro - 11:11 Again 21:36 - Mighty Hand 28:04 - Lip From Lip 31:27 - Gentle Claws Outro - The Tiredest Man Awake   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

While 1996's Congratulations, I'm Sorry charted higher than 1992's New Miserable Experience for the Gin Blossoms, it failed to produce the same number of singles and managed only a quarter of the sales. The simplistic answer is to pin the decline on the loss of guitarist and songwriter Doug Hopkins, who penned their biggest and most enduring hit "Hey Jealousy." But as we have learned, the landscape changed fast for bands in 90s rock. NME singles made an impact in 1993 and 1994, and the band's contribution to the Empire Records soundtrack, "Til I Hear It From You," was also a hit. Is it possible listeners had Gin Blossoms fatigue in 1996? The album charted well upon release, and "Follow You Down" was a hit, but no other singles connected, and the band would break-up the following year for a four-year hiatus. So does Congratulations, I'm Sorry deserve its sophomore slump status, or is it worthy of redemption?   Songs In This Episode Intro - Follow You Down 20:38 - Virginia 30:54 - Day Job 45:46 - Competit

By 1995, it was difficult for American "alternative" bands to make a dent in the US, let alone a rookie Australian band on a new label with just a handful of releases to crack MTV and radio. Ammonia did that with the quirky single "Drugs," which found singer/guitarist Dave Johnstone melding the quiet/loud bombast of Nirvana with a delivery more reminiscent of Wayne Coyne. But "Drugs" is the classic case of a single not exactly representing the sound of the record, as the rest of Mint 400 shifts between big fuzzed-out riffing in the vein of Swervedriver's shoegaze and Superchunk's early noise pop. The band works best in short, loud bursts, only losing focus when the tempo drops and running time drags.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - Drugs 22:17 - Suzi Q 30:40 - Ken Carter 43:41 - Mint 400 Outro - Sleepwalking   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Of the all bands that scored alternative hits in the 90s rock, few managed to recapture that sales magic on ensuing albums. But that doesn't mean their follow-ups records were lesser, and in some cases they made superior albums that got overlooked by fickle record buyers. Case in point: Better Than Ezra. After having their 1993 self-released sophomore album Deluxe repackaged and reissued by Elektra in 1995, and scoring a hit single with "Good," the band quickly reconvened and recorded the follow-up Friction, Baby. What the 1996 album lacks is the killer-hook single, but what it gains is confidence. While still boasting a pair of quality radio friend tracks in "King of New Orleans" and "Desperately Wanting," the album overall has the air of a band confident and secure in the sound while still stretching. That can lead to some magic, like on the blazing "Long Lost" and somber "Speeding Up To Slow Down," but also some hubris to go too far on the bad funk of "Normal Town" and "Still Live with Cooley."   Songs I

The balance between the "pop" and the "punk" in "pop-punk" can be tricky, especially when a band comes from the latter scene. On the Shades Apart 1999 album Eyewitness, the punk of the 90s (i.e. Green Day, The Offspring, Blink-182, Rancid, etc.) is represented more in the songwriting than the speed, something a lot of those bands would incorporate as time wore one. But Eyewitness goes one step further by adding subtle yet effective ska and reggae flourishes more akin to The Police than Less Than Jake. With producer Lou Giordano behind the board, the band crafts a well-manicured sonic pallet but like many, falls victim to the late 90s/early 00s guitar tones that haven't aged as well as the songwriting.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - Edge Of The Century 19:35 - Stranger By The Day 31:14 - One Starry Night 37:03 - Chasing Daydreams Outro - 100 Days   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.