I want to give a good look at the year 1999, one of my favorite years for anything ever. 20 years later, there are bound to be some "20th anniversary" releases of albums from that year, as there are any other year. However, instead of going over the anniversaries that are deserved, I want to look at the ones that will likely not be celebrated; the albums that have aged like a glass of milk. So, let's dive into the first hot mess...
I have these inexplicable memories of The Matrix and Gattaca whenever I look at the album cover or listen to the tracks held within. That sickly green color, and the "technocracy" theme of the album are most likely the reasons for it, but, unlike this album, I like both of those movies. (And what's up with that futuristic beekeeper?). I think most of the comments that are already on this site about the album sum it up nicely, Bush tries really hard to put some different elements in their music, but Gavin Rossdale and co just end up sounding nearly identical on most of the tracks. "The Chemicals Between Us" is a classic, and hearing Rossdale do his best to yell, "I know that's a pisser baby", gets me everytime.
Whew, I need to catch my breath. I have so many thoughts on this album I can't keep them straight. Which is the feeling I think they had making the album.
Here are some of the lyrics for the song that pretty much sums up the whole album in one track. It's called "Disease of The Dancing Cats", and it sounds like Jello Biafra had an aneurysm while writing the Dead Kennedy's song "Cesspools In Eden".
Infested, polluted
Eighty tons of mercury dumped in the bay
It's bleeding, there's no roof
That's no way to treat a good friend
Your whiskey talks louder
Than most things I've read you've said
In situ, in place now
Sit back, unwind and relax
Big cheese is all greed
It's all relative to what you need and
Happy birthday, happy birthday
Happy birthday, here's your nerve gas
All the fishermen and their families
All sickly crumbling cerebellum
It's all over for orangutans
Looks like they're back on the street again
Mistrusted, disrupted
Rape land and kill good habitat
A world weary, a world broken
A world spent and money money money money
I'll let those lyrics speak for themselves. As for the music, there is a main heavy riff for the verses, lighter chords for the chorus, and some electronic type sounds put in the bridge to make it sound futuristic. Here's a performance at the illustrious WOODSTOCK '99, which is going to get a lot of coverage in this diary. (Don't forget to check out Gavin humping some speakers at the 3 minute mark!).
The music on the album is not horrible, and there are a few tracks that I can dig like "Warm Machine", "Altered States", and "Prizefighter", but Gavin Rossdale makes this album feel like a slog. He is just not a good vocalist. Completely limp and emotionless, he sounds like he's just folding laundry while he's singing. His performance brings down most of the OK to good things that are on this album, which is why it comes out to being mediocre.
I did an interesting test after listening to this album, and I put on "OK Computer" directly after it. Ahh, now I see what they wanted to do. This might be one of the first attempts to replicate that album's themes and "experimentation" (I'm using that word loosely for both albums). So, in short, this is a mediocre post-grunge Radiohead clone. Yikes.
If you've heard this album, what do you think of it? Haven't listened to it in awhile? I urge you to give it another listen and see if I'm on the right track here.
The midwest is completely iced over at the moment, and I have no school today, so it looks like I am going to have a lot to say today. Next up on the list is a classic, and a CD that was spun mercilessly in my mom's 1998 Explorer.
Let's get this out of the way immediately. This is not a Santana, as in the original band Santana, album. The artist line should read "Carlos Santana & Friends", since Mr. Santana is joined by a featured contemporary artist, brought in by the record company, or an old friend of his, on nearly every track. And, the original line up for Santana, which released a classic bevy of late 60s and early 70s albums, was long since disintegrated.
This is a quote directly from the wiki article, [Santana] pressed his desire to produce more concise and radio friendly songs with strong melody lines and lyrics that a wide range of people could relate to. He convinced Davis "wasn't stuck in the '60s; I was adaptable to these times", and cited Miles Davis and John Coltrane as artists who went on to change musical directions towards pop in their later careers. Davis agreed to assist on the project and signed the band to a record deal, aiming to have the new album surpass sales figures of the band's second album Abraxas (1970) which had sold over 4 million copies in the US at the time. Davis realised that the album had to be "vintage Santana" with "contemporary influences that Carlos was very much feeling" and saw the task of contacting potential artists to collaborate with the guitarist which he found particularly exciting."
So, this was an album that was calculated to sell. And sweet lordy did it sell! It sold over 30 million copies worldwide, won record of the year and album of the year at the grammys (and the latin grammys of course) and was owned by nearly every white-suburban Dad or Mom with an SUV or minivan. Going to school? Supernatural. Going to the park? Supernatural. Going to Grandma's? Supernatural. Going to the grocery? Supernatural. (OK, you get the picture.) However, not only was this the soundtrack on the way to the destination, but, once you were there, it was likely still playing. It was also released at what was, at the time, the peak crossover of the Latin and American Pop Worlds. Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias (who's really from Spain right?) and Marc Anthony.
Actually, let's take a moment to listen to the 1999 hit "I Need To Know".
Oh man, I bet you forgot about that one, didn't you?
Ok, so the album is not bad by any means. It's fun, easygoing, and in nearly every aspect, safe. It's directionless, meandering, and follows the same formula throughout (insert guest singer, hook, Santana plays a solo and improvises over the verses), but actually hating this album would be mean. Carlos Santana is a cool uncle who slipped you a couple cervezas at the family party when you were younger. You just can't get mad at him. And, when there aren't the obvious pop singles, the album sounds like paint by numbers smooth jazz from the weather channel.
I hadn't listened to this in a long time, so this first track really caught me off guard.
That is THE Weather Channel guitar tone. It's undeniable. (Also, the keyboard on this album sounds like a basic Yamaha I have in my basement; some of the backing instrumentation on this album sounds like it came from the pre-programmed Latin midis that you can play over).
Anyways, I could talk about some of the tracks in detail, and how most of the features on this album are now totally irrelevant, I'm looking at you Everlast and Eagle-Eye Cherry, but I know what you, or probably just me, is waiting for.
Make sure you stick around for after the 4:35 mark, I think Rob Thomas starts speaking in tongues, and I can't believe I only just now discovered this. (I also want a GIF made of the guy dancing at 5:37 if anyone knows how to do that).
"Smooth", was so popular it became a meme almost 20 years later. Now, that's some staying power. This song probably has more literature on it than some of Bach's masterpieces at this point, and, instead of making my own research essay, I'm just going to leave some links to some great articles.
Best Quote: "When they sent me the demo, it felt a little like in an embryonic state. I couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl singing. By that time, I was getting antsy pantsy" --Carlos Santana
Best Quote: "Everywhere I turned, there was that song, and anywhere I went, there was the song. It was just always playing. And that one part, “Or else foh-get about it.” -- Brent Hinds
Thomas: It was an amazing experience to get on that stage and accept the Grammy from one of my heroes, Bono. When Bono handed me the award I said, “Fuck you, Bono! Go to hell, you stupid bastard.”
Bono (singer, humanitarian): Rob Thomas is a nice young man in leather pants who wrote the song about the very hot day. He’s a genius. I tried to embrace him but he slapped me so hard my silly glasses fell off. I bent over to pick them up and Rob stepped on them. The glass crunched beneath his boot. He told me to crawl away like the worm that I was. “Worms don’t have arms!” he screamed at me.
OK, if you are still here at this point, then, good for you! You have now been through the gauntlet that is Supernatural by Santana, and my rantings and ravings. I hope that you learned something new today.
I want to give a good look at the year 1999, one of my favorite years for anything ever. 20 years later, there are bound to be some "20th anniversary" releases of albums from that year, as there are any other year. However, instead of going over the anniversaries that are deserved, I want to look at the ones that will likely not be celebrated; the albums that have aged like a glass of milk. So, let's dive into the first hot mess...
Are u taking your Chiefs loss to my Pats out on the rest of us?!?!
I have no intention of listening to either of these albums. Ever!!!
I've been trying to think of the worst '99 hip-hop album, but it turns out I have a soft spot for the vast majority of critical failures. Sure, Nas released a couple of duds, but they aren't entirely unlistenable. Puffy's album has pretty dope beats (see also: Ma$e). Akinyele is funny. Goodie Mob's global stylings are cringeworthy, but still feature charming camaraderie. Ja Rule was a likeable cut-rate DMX before he made summer anthems. I've always liked Silkk the Shocker, despite him regularly being mentioned among the worst rappers ever (staying on beat is mad overrated). Willennium is jiggy as fuck, in the best sense.
Would love to hear your thoughts. Be warned, it is fucking terrible. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
This might be my morbid way of catharsis, yes. This was the first Superbowl that I didn't watch, because I couldn't see them do it again. I really wish that Kareem Hunt wasn't a criminal.
@ Skinny
Yeah, the "rap" metal of the time is where most of my ire is drawn, and even the subpar rap albums still have a certain endearing quality to them. Juvenile's Tha G-Code is one I have thought about, but The Hot Boys and a Young Lil Wayne are all over the album, so I'll probably enjoy that more than I remember.
The Bloodhound Gang and ICP both have albums this year, so they will be discussed.
I have never listened to that Raekwon album; I'll put it on my list to look at.
For me, there is an entire (relatively) down decade that starts in the mid '90s and runs through the mid '00s, and of course '99 sits smack in the middle of the period.
Here's the biggest downfall that comes to my mind:
The Moodies were at one point my favorite group and the run of the classic seven is still far and away the greatest seven run of any group IMO. I even loved Octave, really loved Long Distance Voyager and still loved the very much a product of its time The Present.
But after that, the decline became too precipitous, and save for a good individual song here or there, the albums were anything but worthy.
Even so, I remained a completist and ensured I had every Moodies recording I could legally obtain. That all ended here. I actually traded this one in to a used disc store. Now truth be told, it may actually be a slight step up from its predecessor, Keys of the Kingdom, but it was still just one bad album too many and the bond was finally broken. Coincidentally, this would be their final album of all new studio material.
For me, there is an entire (relatively) down decade that starts in the mid '90s and runs through the mid '00s, and of course '99 sits smack in the middle of the period.
Here's the biggest downfall that comes to my mind:
The Moodies were at one point my favorite group and the run of the classic seven is still far and away the greatest seven run of any group IMO. I even loved Octave, really loved Long Distance Voyager and still loved the very much a product of its time The Present.
But after that, the decline became too precipitous, and save for a good individual song here or there, the albums were anything but worthy.
Even so, I remained a completist and ensured I had every Moodies recording I could legally obtain. That all ended here. I actually traded this one in to a used disc store. Now truth be told, it may actually be a slight step up from its predecessor, Keys of the Kingdom, but it was still just one bad album too many and the bond was finally broken. Coincidentally, this would be their final album of all new studio material.
Nice, I put this one on my list, because albums by 60s and 70s bands in the 90s tend to go one of two ways: they try way too hard to implement contemporary pop idioms into their music (see Santana, above), or they keep it real and deliver more of the same, just with updated digital production. I actually kind of like the Yes album "The Ladder" from this year, but they are an exception to the rule.
I have no intention of listening to either of these albums. Ever!!!
The Bush album is decent. Before the Chief poisoned it, I'd bet you'd have liked it.
I do have a soft spot for Bush though. I was once on a long flight with an absolutely atrocious person behind me, and I used consecutive Bush albums to save me from her. _________________ Some New Ordeal (Spotify/iTunes/Deezer)
For me, there is an entire (relatively) down decade that starts in the mid '90s and runs through the mid '00s, and of course '99 sits smack in the middle of the period.
Nope! '97 to '06 might very well be the best 10-year run of music in my lifetime. _________________ Some New Ordeal (Spotify/iTunes/Deezer)
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