In Your Ear-3.17.11

Sound Opinions Podcast 1/31/11

The guys at Sound Opinions took a look back at the year 1991. The podcast starts with Brian Adams, (Everything I Do) I Do It For You, which was played ad nauseam for what seemed like forever. The show quickly gets better as, twenty years on, they examine a year that set the stage for the next movements in music.

Here are some quick highlights from their show notes:

Nirvana and the birth of Grunge
My Bloody Valentine and the growth of Shoegaze
Lollapalooza and the rise of the Alternative Nation
N.W.A and the reign of Gangsta Rap
Massive Attack and the “tripping” of hip-hop

For full notes, visit: http://www.soundopinions.org/shownotes/2011/012811/shownotes.html

For me, it was grunge and the emergence of Alternative Rock. Nirvana burst on to the scene, there was Out of Time by REM (Losing My Religion), Gish by the Smashing Pumpkins, and Use Your Illusion I and II by Guns n Roses.

Other bands and albums:

13 Engines

EMF

Girlfiend by Matthew Sweet

Achtung Baby by U2

Road Apples by The Tragically Hip (although I didn’t know it at the time)

Pocket Full of Kryptonite by Spin Doctors (ugh)

Temple of the Dog

Anyone from GenX should listen to this podcast. Anyone from Gen whatever comes next, should check it out to get some context for what happened while you were in diapers. Another great show from this podcast.

Jet

Somehow Jet got on my music radar, so I took a listen. My previous experience had been Are You Gonna Be My Girl, which was used in the iTunes campaign a while ago. Their first album Get Born is tolerable. Some decent tracks (Cold Hard Bitch, Get Me Outta Here and Get What You Need) with catchy hooks, pop metal undertones and a punk vibe. The slow, girly songs are dreck. Overall, a decent debut effort.

The next album, Shine On, is utterly unremarkable. I played the CD in the background at work and not a single track stood out in any way. Just white noise. So that’s a pass.

What struck me after a while is that the band is a second or, dare I say, third rate Oasis. You can hear what they’re going for but never actualize. Maybe that’s a little harsh, but whatever.

Temper Trap

I checked out the album Conditions from the band Temper Trap. I knew Sweet Disposition from the 500 Days of Summer trailer and really loved the full track. The album gets off to a good start with the first three cuts. After that it meanders and doesn’t grab me until Resurrection, which I really liked. A hypnotic opening that slowly builds toward a kick ass conclusion.

Recent tracks on I’ve found on grooveshark.com:

• 1901 by Phoenix
• Desire by Deerhunter
• Budos Rising by Budos Band
• Still Alive by Three Mile Pilot