82. Oasis, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? In the mid-nineteen-nineties, there was no shortage of music critics who were ready to declare Oasis the next major band, the one that would endure for years and years, delivering one masterpiece after another. This was somewhat driven by the ever-excitable U.K. music press, although authoritative co-signers rushed in from all quarters. Oasis were enormously successful in their homeland, basically from the very beginning (their first single, “Supersonic,” charted in the Top 40 on the British charts, although peaking at a surprisingly modest #31). Songs from their debut album, Definitely Maybe, garnered healthy modern … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 82 – 80

84. Letters to Cleo, Wholesale Meats and Fish About the only things that’s really worth knowing about Letters to Cleo these days is that fictional municipal executive Ben Wyatt is a fan. The band, fronted by Kay Hanley, had a solid radio hit with “Here and Now,” a song that appeared on their debut release, the unfortunately-titled Aurora Gory Alice. The band and their label clearly hoped to leverage that tantalizing taste of success with the release of their sophomore album, Wholesale Meats and Fish, and it initially seemed they might be able to develop some reasonable longevity. “Awake,” the … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 84 and 83

87. The Freddy Jones Band, North Avenue Wake Up Call At the time North Avenue Wake Up Call was released, the Freddy Jones Band included the following members: Jim and Rob Bonaccorsi, Wayne Healy, Simon Horrocks, and Marty Lloyd. According to Wikipedia, others who can claim one-time membership in the group are Jeff Duffy, Mark Murphy, and Scott Larned. Not a single “Freddy” or “Jones” among them. Evidently, the band has never revealed the derivation of the moniker that gives them their name. This is exactly the sort of generic roots rock that expect to flourish at my broadcasting alma mater … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 87 – 85

90. The Falling Wallendas, The Falling Wallendas The Falling Wallendas were a power-pop outfit out of Chicago, close enough to 90FM’s Central Wisconsin home base that there was surely a little regional affection and pride for many of the deejays that played their self-titled debut. After an admittedly cursory search, I wasn’t able to find any music from this album readily available on the interweb for open listening. The closest I got was a live version of the song “Porn,” which appears in its studio version on their sophomore effort, Belittle. That second outing was also their last. Besides having an aces band … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 90 – 88

I don’t orchestrate when certain countdowns will start or end. It is my good fortune that it is time to begin a new exercise in counting backwards on the first Sunday in 2015, allowing me to unveil a chart from twenty years ago (or, technically, from nineteen years ago since it would have been presented on the last day of the calendar year in question, but this is the anniversary year of much of the music contained herein). Such round-numbered ages aren’t a necessity for our charts. It’s still nice when it happens. This is third time this feature will … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, An Introduction