Dig Me Out - The 90's Rock Podcast

So much to to talk about when we look back on 2024. Like with our previous year-in-review episodes, we look back at our favorite new album discoveries, most brought to us by our Patreon community, as well as our most enjoyable round table experiences, and our favorite 80s Metal episodes, before previewing what's in store for next year. Here's to season fifteen in 2025!   Songs In This Episode Intro - Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney 5:17 - 0 for 1 by Poster Children 10:40 - Don't Go Out with Your Friends Tonite by Ho-Hum 18:07 - Love Bomb Baby by Tigertailz Outro - Mirror Mirror by Blind Guardian   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

We're always looking at new ways to approach the 90s, and in the past we've revisited the output from bands and artists that got that start in the 1970s and 80s, like Tom Petty, KISS, Van Halen, and others. At the suggestion of our friend and 80s Metal co-host Chip, we've revamped the format for a fresh start. We kick it off with progressive arena rock veterans Styx, and start by checking out their 70s and 80s greatest hits to re-familiarize ourselves with the songs that became staples on classic rock radio for decades - "Come Sail Away," "Renegade," "Mr. Roboto," "Lady," and many more. Then we check out their 90s releases - the 1990 album Edge of the Century, which did not feature guitarist Tommy Shaw, then guitarist for Damn Yankees, and then their 1999 reunion with Shaw, and last with lead singer/keyboardist Dennis DeYoung, Brave New World. Unlike many of their classic rock peers, Styx managed to score a hit single at the start of the decade with the ballad "Show Me The Way." From their, we catch up with t

From the ashes of acclaimed but underheard Royal Crescent Mob, bass player Harold "Happy" Chichester switched to guitar and lead vocal for his new band Howlin Maggie, who released their debut album Honeysuckle Strange in 1996. With an all-star cast of Columbus, Ohio players, the band produced a fierce yet catchy album for Columbia Records at the height of alternative rock, but didn't make a dent with national radio or MTV. Which is a shame, because Honeysuckle Strange is more than just your run-of-the-mill 90s alt-rock album. Carrying over from his funk rock background in RC Mob, the album never rests on simple rhythms, chord progressions, or vocal hooks, always coming up with something a bit more interesting or challenging, even if it means pushing the volume and harshness up a notch.   Songs In This Episode I Intro - Miss Universe 18:54 - Rubbing The Industry Raw 21:40 - You Are 25:57 - $3.99 31:45 - Promise To Be Happy 34:56 - I'm A Slut 40:13 - How The West Was Won Outro - Easy To Be Stupid (Beautiful Gir

San Diego-based band No Knife released their sophomore album Hit Man Dreams in 1997 during the peak era of underground emo and post-grunge indie rock. The album marked a pivotal moment in their evolution thanks to the intricate guitar work by Mitch Wilson and Ryan Ferguson, who blend angular post-hardcore riffs with melodic indie rock sensibility. Tracks like "Your Albatross" and the title track showcase the band's knack for crafting dynamic compositions that shift seamlessly between tension and release. Producer Mark Trombino dials in their sound to perfection, highlighting the two-guitar attack and melodic vocals that define their style. While the band isn't as well know as many of their former pre-00s emo and post-hardcore contemporaries, Hit Man Dreams and the pair of album that follow suggest a serious reconsideration.   Songs In This Episode I Intro - Roped In - Lock On 13:30 - Your Albatross 21:34 - Charades 30:25 - Median Outro - Jackboots   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen t

It's our fifth year of getting the patrons together and giving thanks for the new music that gave us happiness and good vibes in 2024. There's a wide array of bands and artists, new and old, that helped make 2024 a great year for music. New albums from 1980s, 90s and 00s artists like The Cure, Pearl Jam, Judas Priest, Underworld, The Black Crowes, John Davis (Superdrag), The Sheila Divine, Jack White, Pig, the Pixies, Watershed, Sebastian Bach, Silver Sun, D-A-D, J. Mascis, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Primal Scream, The Smile, and many more all released great late career records, while newer bands like Return to Dust, Ahem, Friko, The Blackburns, Crows, and several others landed on our radar.   Songs In This Episode Intro - Alone by The Cure (from Songs from a Lost World) 3:38 - Trust In Me by Silver Sun (from Mild Peril) 11:49 - (Hold On) To The Dream by Sebastian Bach (from Child Within The Man) 18:11 - Lapdog by Ahem (from Avoider) 21:34 - Fallout by Pig (from Feast of Agony EP) 31:17 - Free To Fall by Jo

The 1994 album Let Love In by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is a masterful exploration of beauty and brutality. Blending gothic rock with bluesy undertones, Cave delivers haunting melodies with vivid, poetic lyrics. Tracks like "Do You Love Me?" and "Red Right Hand" showcase Cave's magnetic storytelling and the band's dynamic range, taking the wildness of his previous band The Birthday Party, and the noisy experimentation of fellow Aussies The Dirty Three, and utilizes it in surprisingly restrained ways. Themes of passion, despair, and redemption weave through the music, and while a few of the louder tracks break up the flow, overall the album creates a dark, immersive experience unlike anything from the decade.   Songs In This Episode Intro - Red Right Hand 15:55 - Do You Love Me? 20:02 - Ain't Gonna Rain Anymore 23:45 - Jangling Jack 27:06 - Do You Love Me? (Part 2) 30:48 - Thirsty Dog Outro - I Let Love In   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.

The 1998 concept album Nightfall in Middle-Earth by Blind Guardian brings the epic scope of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion to life through power metal. The album tells the tragic tales of elves, men, and gods embroiled in a war against the dark lord Morgoth, blending rich lyrical storytelling with complex arrangements, and finds a sweet spot between the technical skill of bands like Metallica and Helloween with the melodic bombast of Queen. Each track serves as a chapter in the larger saga, with both interludes and full songs capturing key moments via a variety of unique approaches. Mixing soaring vocals, symphonic elements, and Brian May-esque guitar riffage, the band create a sense of grandeur that mirrors the mythic subject matter.   Songs In This Episode Intro - Into The Storm 14:49 - A Dark Passage 19:42 - Nightfall 24:50 - The Eldar 34:08 - Thorn 38:53 - Mirror Mirror Outro - The Minstrel   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Almost Here is the 1998 debut album by the Unbelievable Truth, fronted by Andy Yorke, who you may have just discovered (like us) is the younger brother of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. Infused with haunting melodies and introspective lyrics that lean on melancholy, emotional conflict, and introspection, the album showcases Yorke's evocative vocals and a minimalist approach Throughout the album, songs like "Settle Down" and "Stone" highlights the band’s thoughtful arrangements and subdued sound, tasteful integrating keys and organs without overpowering the mix.   Songs In This Episode Intro - Solved 15:27 - Higher Than Reason 18:02 - Stone 25:57 - Settle Down Outro - Finest Little Space   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

The 1991 debut album Gish by The Smashing Pumpkins marked the band's entry into the alternative rock scene with a unique mix of psychedelic rock, heavy metal, and dream pop elements. Produced by Butch Vig, who would later work with Nirvana on Nevermind, the album showcases the band's early experimentation with layered guitars, intricate rhythms, raw energy, and dense sonic textures that would become hallmarks of the Pumpkins sound. Although Gish did not initially achieve mainstream success, it garnered a strong underground following, helping to set the stage for the band's breakthrough with Siamese Dream in 1993. Celebrated for its unique blend of intensity and melody, it serves as an early glimpse into the Pumpkins' evolving musical ambitions, complete the fingerprints of Jane's Addiction, Van Halen, and Black Sabbath.   Songs In This Episode Intro - Tristessa 16:57 - I Am One 21:57 - Rhinoceros 30:36 - Window Paine 33:46 - Siva Outro - Bury Me   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to

Most people know Jesus Jones from their big hit in 1991, "Right Here Right Now." Thanks to the explosion of grunge and alternative rock that was already bubbling up from the underground to the mainstream, the techno-rock of Jesus Jones took a back seat and relegated them to one-hit wonder status. But instead of changing their sound to blend in with the loud guitars from Seattle, the band and primary songwriter/singer Mike Edwards went in the opposite direction and leaned into their electronic elements for 1993's Perverse. Recorded entirely on computers, the album marks on the second fully digital release, and the sounds Edwards and band created sound positively futuristic compared the 1993 musical landscape.   Songs In This Episode Intro - Zeroes and Ones 24:43 - Spiral 27:49 - The Devil You Know 41:09 - Yellow Brown Outro - Magazine   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

An original member of KMFDM, producer, musician and singer Raymond Watts has been ensconced in the electronic and industrial music scenes for going on five decades. His own project PIG started out far more raw and aggressive, but over time Watts evolved the sound and eventually found a home on Trent Reznor's NOTHING label for the 1996 release of Sinsation (released the previous year in Japan only). With nods to Reznor's Nine Inch Nails and fellow industrial metal act Ministry, among others, Sinsation adds some unexpected and well-placed orchestra and horn samples to give the album a cinematic feel that would sound appropriate backing a dystopian science fiction film.   Songs In This Episode Intro - Hamstrung on the Highway 16:01 - The Sick 22:04 - Serial Killer Thriller 30:31 - Transceration 35:48 - Hot Hole Outro - Paniac   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Although they've released over a dozen albums covering four decades, odds are if you ask someone on the street to name a song by Soul Asylum, it's going to be the mega-hit "Runaway Train" off their 1992 album Grave Dancers Union. There were other singles, "Black Gold" and "Somebody To Shove" off Grave Dancers Union, "Misery" and "Just Like Anyone" off the follow-up Let Your Dim Light Shine, but those albums and songs represented a band that had worked and toured and recorded since the early 1980s, taking a primordial post-punk and hardcore sound and slowly evolving album by album, starting with their debut Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold The Truck in 1984. Like their Twin/Tone Records labelmates The Replacements, the manic youthful energy gave their lead singers an opportunity to gradually find their literal and lyrical voice. On each successive album, and a jump to major label A&M, the band continued to refine and improve their brand of midwestern alternative college rock, and reached the heights

On their second album Young And Full Of The Devil, Magic Dirt blended fuzzed out psych and stoner riffage with a grunge-tinged snarl. The throat shredding vocals of Adalita Srsen lend comparisons to bands like Hole, The Distillers, or L7, but the band delves into darker, scuzzier territory on tracks like the opening opus "Babycakes" and the closer and bonus track "Babycakes You Always Freeze Me Up." The foursome display a penchant for uptempo riffage on songs like "Rabbit With Fangs" and the appropriately titled "She-Riff" layered in a variety of guitar pedals and effects, but some odd choices on the back half of the record left us scratching our heads about what started out with strong intentions but veered into less concise territory.   Songs In This Episode Intro - Short Black 22:03 - Shrinko 28:54 - She-Riff 35:02 - Ascot Red 43:36 - X-Ray Outro - Rabbit With Fangs   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

It's hard to reconcile the importance of a band like Pavement considering their lack of mainstream popularity and pedestrian album sales But like The Velvet Underground and others before them whose underground popularity helped launch a thousand bands, Pavement's twisted takes on pop rock, post-punk, jam bands, and even country somehow make their 1994 sophomore album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain made a big impression on those looking for something the radio and MTV didn't offer. Witty lyrics, slacker vibes, jangly and occasionally conflicting guitars were present on their debut, but the band honed their skills to craft catchy, off-kilter melodies on tracks like "Cut Your Hair" and "Range Life."   Songs In This Episode Intro - Cut Your Hair 24:36 - Silence Kid 37:06 - Fillmore Jive 46:59 - Heaven Is a Truck 56:53 - Range Life Outro - Gold Soundz   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Like so many second and third wave grunge bands, aka post-grunge, the opportunity for chart and sales success depended on a big hit. For Atlanta, Georgia's doubleDrive, they didn't manage to score the big radio or MTV single in 1999 with their debut album 1000 Yard Stare, but what they produced was something more interesting than what many of their contemporaries had to offer. The production gives the entire band a chance to shine, and the twin guitar attack gets closer to the post-hardcore of Helmet, Quicksand, and Handsome at times. Unlike their post-grunge contemporaries Puddle of Mudd or Creed, the band doesn't slog around the mid-tempo for long, injecting plenty of energy and avoiding a ballad completely. But also like their post-grunge contemporaries, a reliance on the vocal stylings of singers like Eddie Vedder and Scott Weiland put a stamp on the sound that chips away at the originality.   Songs In This Episode Intro - 1000 Yard Stare 22:31 - Belief System 27:12 - Tattooed Bruise 35:02 - Vamp 38:45 -

The only way a radio listener or MTV watcher could avoid Basket Case, Longview, Welcome To Paradise, or When I Come Around in 1994 or 1995 was to be in a remote jungle or alone on the moon. The pop-punk explosion, led by the Bay-area trio Green Day and followed a few months later by The Offspring, would unseat grunge as the dominant underground scene making waves in the mainstream and open the door for a plethora of bands getting signed to major labels, like Rancid, NOFX, and Jawbreaker. With Dookie, the band found the perfect collaborator in producer Rob Cavallo, who kept punk energy and edge while helping the band dial in the guitars, bass, and drum sounds that would pop off the speakers. Thirty (!) years later, the album retains its energy, and repeated listens get under the hood of the band, showcasing the lock-step rhythm section of drummer Tre Cool and bassist Mike Dirnt that often carries the songs while lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong crafts catchy, relatable lyrics with tasteful harmonies that eleva

Not many 90s rock bands called Arkansas home, and even fewer looked to the straightforward radio pop of 1970s and 80s as a launching point for their sound. Yet on Ho Hum's 1996 debut Local, the band from Bradley, Arkansas tuned the radio dial to sounds of Big Star, The Plimsouls, The Knack, Dramarama, and early Tom Petty, to name a few, for their catchy, unpretentious sound. Though released in the middle of alternative decade, there isn't a note of angst or grunge to be found, instead forging a sound closer to likes of Velvet Crush, Sloan, Superdrag and Matthew Sweet at their most straightforward. From uptempo gems like opener "Around the World" to the infectious "Don't Go Out with Your Friends Tonite," to soulful ballads "Disappear" and "Superhuman," both featuring horn sections, the band clearly has an ear for an earworm melody.   Songs In This Episode Intro - Around the World 21:15 - Here She Comes 24:41 - Pills and Guns 27:04 - Frozen 31:06 - Disappear 34:12 - Superhuman Outro - Don't Go Out with Your Fri

Emerging from the same mid-90s Chicago scene that saw bands like Veruca Salt, Loud Lucy, Menthol, Triple Fast Action, and Local H get signed to major labels, Fig Dish delivered alternative guitar rock that paid homage to the legends of Mt. Rockmore - Zander, Mascis, Mould, and Westerberg - under the Polygram Records (and subsidiaries) banner. Their discovery is the stuff of legend: the band sent demo cassettes to various major labels with a handwritten note from “Steve,” claiming to have found a band worth checking out, banking on the idea that everyone knows a Steve and the label would think it was a genuine tip. Despite their immediately catchy songs that could easily fit into any alternative rock radio playlist, the band (Blake Smith - vocals/guitar, Rick Ness - vocals/guitar, Mike Willison - bass, Andy Hamilton - drums) struggled to grasp the elusive brass ring. Their single “Seeds” was released with a video but saw limited play on MTV’s 120 Minutes. Touring across the country, they opened for acts like J

Is Nü Metal the most divisive music subgenre of the 1990s? It sure seems to generate a lot of hate, but is also beloved by millions of fans. Eschewing the traditions of classic NWOBHM bands (guitar solos, leather, fist-pumping athems), Nü Metal rose from the same underground that embraced both hip-hop and mosh pits, with its own style (baggy pants, tracksuits, baseball caps) more reminiscent of Run D.M.C. than Judas Priest. In the same way that punk was a response to the bloated stylings of 70s corporate and progressive rock, Nü Metal stripped away the overindulgence of previous metal incarnations and focused on rhythm and catharsis. Bands like Korn, Papa Roach, and Linkin Park wrote about the dark underbelly of suburban home life, with varying musical approaches, while others like Slipknot, Mudvayne, and Static-X added a layer of theatrical presentation in their looks. We revisit not just the Nü Metal period, but also what came before it, bands like Anthrax and Public Enemy teaming up, the alternative approa

Bands scoring a hit with a single that doesn't sound much like the rest of the album is not unusual. Blur, Sugar Ray, the Butthole Surfers, Nada Surf, and more had hits that might have confused buyers when the bought the respective albums, and the same goes for Faithless, and their 1998 album Sunday 8 PM. Thanks to the uptempo house hit "God Is A DJ," the band gained fans on both sides of the Atlantic. However, aside from one other track, the rest of the album runs at half that speed, mixing electronic downtempo and soul sampled trip-hop. It results in an uneven album that feels more like a collection of really good singles instead of a cohesive musical statement, but the highs, including a stirring vocal performance by Boy George, make the record one worth checking out.   Songs In This Episode Intro - The Garden 20:19 - Why Go? 32:02 - Hour of Need 36:01 - Rock That Doesn't Roll / Dope Nostalgia podcast promos 39:03 - Bring My Family Back 42:12 - God Is A DJ Outro - Killer's Lullaby   Support the podcast, jo