"Pretty much the first time, I've done a little bit [writing] before, but this... was... y'know, a diary, I was literally writing whatever I felt on any given day, and it would become a song. And, just, trying to find a honesty with that and not have to be what I've been before or what people see me as being."
Kylie's first real foray into songwriting would be what many find her most vulnerable and precious, tapping into her own anxieties as an artist and her personal experiences. Mixed in with this genuinity was a desire to experiment with a diverse audio footprint, which wasn't exactly new to Kylie or pop musicians from the 1980s, but to the lengths Kylie and her collaborators were willing to go was certainly beyond the pale.
Prior to Impossible Princess, Kylie had a track record of experimenting within pop music for essentially two albums. The other three were pretty much run of the mill (though well executed) dance-pop. Let's Get to It and her self-titled follow up played with hip hop and R&B accents, and budding electronic scenes such as house to create an attempt to move her sound forward. It worked well enough. Kylie was Australia's premier pop star and not seeming to slow down despite the Australian and British press being relentless on her mental health. This would not change with Impossible Princess, but moving from singer to songwriter is always a loaded choice; but as history has shown us it always has more benefits than risks.
This is an album that is Kylie's greatest triumph. It's musical ambition is wide and it's lyrical depth really makes that net even wider. In the United States, Kylie's contemporary, Madonna, was going through a similar change but as good as Bedtime Stories and Ray of Light were they did not have the full range of introspection and emotional vulnerability as seen here--and Ray of Light wouldn't be released for nearly a year. With Impossible Princess Kylie grabbed onto the pulse of the emerging trip-hop scene alongside further expanding her interest on electronic music; House, Downbeat, Drum and Bass, Alternative Dance are all present on this record and arranged in such a careful and precise fashion. But such musical diversity and lyrical vulnerability would have its own cost despite itself going Platinum in her home country of Australia. At the Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards of 1998 she got her first ever nomination for Album of the Year, but lost out to Regurgitator's Unit. Natalie Imbruglia would win out over her as best Pop Release. With all the ambition it seemed the press just wasn't ready for Impossible Princess. The press called the record a "low point" and all of the pressure seemed to angle Kylie to straight out retire from the industry.
Kylie would never be as vulnerable again. A loss of the ages.
While there will likely never be a Impossible Princess 2, the fact this album exists in the archives shows how interesting the 90s was and how ambition can be as taxing as it is creatively brilliant. I consider it one of the greatest pop albums of the 90s-no, one of the greatest pop albums ever.
Kylie has been on my shortlist for years and this might be the most interesting thing I've read about her music. Really piqued my interest, thanks for the review. _________________ Finally updated the overall chart
Kylie has been on my shortlist for years and this might be the most interesting thing I've read about her music. Really piqued my interest, thanks for the review.
Australia's Madonna in many ways. The way she continues to reinvent and keep a high level of quality in her music is impressive. You should really go through her discography when you have the time. A lot of great material!
Kylie has been on my shortlist for years and this might be the most interesting thing I've read about her music. Really piqued my interest, thanks for the review.
Australia's Madonna in many ways. The way she continues to reinvent and keep a high level of quality in her music is impressive. You should really go through her discography when you have the time. A lot of great material!
I've been on the roll when it comes to pop, dance and similar songs with UK dance background. These house, trip hop and dnb influences would fit right in that mold. _________________ Finally updated the overall chart
I've been on the roll when it comes to pop, dance and similar songs with UK dance background. These house, trip hop and dnb influences would fit right in that mold.
Yeah.
The run Kylie had from Kylie Minogue (1996) to Fever (2001) was really impressive. A lot of poptimists cite her work pretty prominently and given her later experimentation with some disco elements, her versatility is really understated.
Release Date: 1992
Genre(s): Industrial Hip Hop; Electro-Industrial, etc.
Origin: United States
The legacy of Consolidated seems one that is largely lost to time. If you ask who invented industrial hip hop, someone might tell you Dälek or one of his many contemporaries. Someone more informed might go deep in the vault and look into groups such as The Beatnigs or one of the many early experiments by some industrial or rap group they can date. Consolidated, while not the inventor themselves, were by my books the first prominent group to define it. The group formed in 1988, right as The Beatnigs released their innovative debut. They would outlast the group, and even later employ one of the members on their later works. I'd say they are the most important group to employ industrial and rap together in unity.
They were also radicals, or at least the press thought so at the time.
But the journalist who deferred them as mushy liberals couldn't have been further from the truth. In today's world, Consolidated would be considered "far left" progressives who aggressively and loudly preach to their audience about their strong opinions for gun control, abortion, veganism, animal rights, and so forth. Samples in their earliest samples would indicate their opinion of neo-conservatives as fascists. Their message has seemed to be more and more applicable almost twenty-one years later after the fact. These opinions were not just held within the lyrics and imagery of their music, but their concerts in general. Adam Sherburne, the leader of the collective, would pass the microphone around the concert, forming a sort of working class debate and exchange of ideas about their message. Some of these thoughts would be later sampled on records they'd produce. Within Play More Music you see this very quickly with retorts like "I didn't pay fifteen bucks to listen to CNN" and "If you don't like it here, don't live here" echoing on the record.
For their third album, I think this is the fully realized Consolidated. Their experimentation within where industrial music was at, the incorporation of guitars, the aggressive politics that sprawl through every song they made, and the deep involvement of their audience in their music... Consolidated was something I really wish I knew of years ago.
Release Date: 1998
Genre(s): Pop-Punk
Origin: United States
Pop-Punk certainly has changed a lot in the last four-or-so decades.
The progeny of the Ramones, the genre has often become the proverbial punching bag of every cynic talking about the state of punk. But not every pop punk band turned into corporate mandated skater bro music by the 1990s.
The Vandals were formed in the 1980s, as part of that first huge wave of bands influenced by the Ramones. Alongside The Dickies, The Vindictives, and a few others The Vandals stood as one of the more consistent pop-punk bands to survive well into the pop-punk boom. They were also, by my measure, one of the funniest. Hitler Bad, Vandals Good was the Vandals in usual Vandals-style, tongue-in-cheek, and with a snarky, irreverent wit. One could easily perceive them as snotty, cynical teenagers if not for the fact that they were snotty, cynical teenagers nearly a decade prior. It is not a surprise that on the subsequent tour the group paired as support to The Offspring. It's a shame that the Vandals would not strike gold again quite like this record, but them's the breaks. If this is where you want to start with The Vandals, it's not a bad place.
Release Date: 1995
Genre(s): Alternative Rock, Power Pop
Origin: United States
It's interesting where the beginning is for artists.
Colleen Fitzpatrick, a red-haired pop songstress is probably best remembered for a singular pop hit she wrote long before she dabbled as an executive at Netflix and Nickelodeon. You've probably heard it... if you're older than thirty.
But 1999's Graduation was not who Colleen was. While she settled away from the spotlight following her second album (and cancelled third album) effort, Colleen had embraced many ideas of her musical ambitions, but ultimately it was started as a simple girl from Old Bridge, New Jersey. After dabbling as a dancer and actor, it was the connections she made at New York University that really started her musical journey. Eve's Plum was formed in 1988, crafting a half power pop half rough-and-tumble alternative rock sound that wouldn't lend much success, but it was enough for them to survive for two records over the course of a half-decade. Their sound wouldn't be too far from contemporaries like the Lemonheads or Magnapop.
Colleen tapped into a sense of angst, whimsy, and quirky hop-stepping energy that, to my ears, was fantastic. With songs like Blue, I Want It All, and Die Like Someone there was a blueprint for success in the grunge era, but for some reason they never really hit it big. Despite decent promotion by Sony only I Want It All charted on the billboard charts. It's still a bit of a mystery to me how an album like this didn't become more of a success with Colleen's range and the Kotch twins sense of rhythm and catchy grungified power pop hooks. But even with appearances in Beavis & Butthead and one of the Karate Kid films, it just didn't happen. Pressure for the band to succeed couldn't be any higher.
And so came the sophomore album. Cherry Alive.
Dropping some of the grunge elements and emphasizing the heavy power pop instead, the band took to creating a hit and I honestly don't understand why they didn't get one. The label had more or less given up on Eve's Plum before it even hit the shelves.
Michael Kotch wrote:
The second record didn't do as well as we'd hoped, and we received not-so-subtle hints from our label that they weren't going to support us with it shortly after it was released. So there was a morale issue for sure. Then my brother Ben the drummer decided he didn't want to stay with it and that pretty much killed the whole thing, though we did play a number of shows without him.
The legacy of Eve's Plum isn't much of one. One of the "almost was" stories we see littered in the record industry. They had all of the qualities to succeed, but it just never clicked. It really comes to show how much luck determines your fate, even with a major label behind you.
With Repo's 1990 coming up you might be seeing some stuff here. Anything specific you want me to revisit, discuss, etc. Maybe not just albums but moments, scenes, etc? Let me know.
How about your ten favorite movies or tv shows from 1990? I need some stuff to watch! Maybe watch & then review something cool.
That's an interesting idea, though this diary was always supposed to be about music. It is interesting none of us have made film/tv/etc. diaries before. The only thing I can think of is the "best paintings" thread in general? I guess we didn't want to saturate that subforum with diaries?
Last edited by mickilennial on 11/27/2022 17:33; edited 1 time in total
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