36. Iggy Pop, Naughty Little Doggie I think everyone in college radio was always rooting for Iggy Pop to make a great album, but man alive did he crank out some bad stuff. Of course, when those albums have centerpiece … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 36 and 35
38. Reel Big Fish, Turn the Radio Off Good lord, just look at that hideous album cover. Turn the Radio Off is the sophomore effort for punk-ska band Reel Big Fish and their first after being signed to the Mojo … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 38 and 37
40. Dog’s Eye View, Happy Nowhere Much as I complain about the monolithic grunge sound that dominated any radio station that aligned itself with the “alternative” movement in the mid-nineties, in some ways the real problem was that many of … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 40 and 39
42. Odds, Good Weird Feeling The Odds were a Canadian power pop band that were highly successful in their northern homeland, but never quite managed to break through in the States. Wisconsin, of course, is right up there by our … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 42 and 41
44. Chinadoll, Tango Usually I try to find a song or two to nestle into hyperlinks in these reviews, but that’s proving undoable for anything off of Chinadoll’s Tango release, which isn’t that surprising as I can barely find material … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 44 and 43
46. Aimee Mann, I’m with Stupid Aimee Man is perhaps the quintessential example of the perils of the sort of pop stardom MTV delivered in the mid-eighties. Her band ‘Til Tuesday had a true smash with their first proper single, “Voices Carry,” (following a big, local hit in their hometown of Boston with a a song that proved to later be something of a dud when released nationwide) but it so completely defined them that it obscured Mann’s skill as a songwriter, something should have been evident to anyone paying attention. After ‘Til Tuesday’s final album, released in 1988, it … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 46 and 45
48. Cowboy Junkies, Lay It Down During my years as a student in college radio, I offered some fairly unkind assessments of albums by Cowboy Junkies. When I arrived in 1988, the Canadian band was just starting to experience some … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 48 and 47
50. The Heads, No Talking, Just Head Now this is a mess. A few years after the end of the amazing and fantastically important band the Talking Heads, an end largely precipitated by frontman David Byrne’s desire to move on … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 50 and 49
52. The Wallflowers, Bringing Down the Horse Here’s what rock ‘n’ roll nepotism sounded like in the early-to-mid-nineteen-nineties. Bringing Down the Horse was the sophomore effort from the band the Wallflowers, fronted by Bob Dylan’s son Jakob. The group is … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 52 and 51
54. The Cure, Wild Mood Swings Many observers thought the Cure might be finished after their 1992 album, Wish, though that was hardly the first time the disintegration of the band was predicted. (There may have been some who would have preferred the band shuffle away for good after the their yucky Judge Dredd theme song.) Those doomsayers forgot Robert Smith’s endless capacity for regenerating his chief creative outlet and eyeliner-streaked cash cow. Wild Mood Swings, the band’s tenth album, was released in the late spring, the precise time frame that worked well for them since 1987’s Kiss Me, Kiss … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 54 and 53
Coffee for Two 