90s british 'alternative' music - it was shit wasn't it?

[milesy]

the 90s were the time for the indie bands of the 80s to claim "we've always had a dance element to our music" and get the remixers in

 

[clandestino]

I am struck by the fact that at no point in the 90s did a new alternative music scene appear - more that people spent the 90s discovering how good the 80s were - in indie at least.

actually what happened is that the music that was previous deemed alternative entered the mainstream as britpop. so there was a huge british "alternative" music scene in the 90s. as big as it gets in fact.

 

[killer b]

actually what happened is that the music that was previous deemed alternative entered the mainstream as britpop. so there was a huge british "alternative" music scene in the 90s. as big as it gets in fact.

true - but with a very small amount of decent bands - and before the britpop 'explosion', it was much worse (if that's possible...)

 

[BadlyDrawnGirl]

true - but with a very small amount of decent bands - and before the britpop 'explosion', it was much worse (if that's possible...)

That was when rave was everything - from approximately '90 to '93 guitar music was only acceptable if it referenced dance (baggy/rave etc.) in some way. It could be said that Suede were the only eyes-down guitar band to defy that in the popular consciousness.

 

[tangerinedream]

I seem to remember thinking music was great then. I don't really see a point in listing the bands, but loads of stuff affected me. I think britpop was largely rubbish, but to generalise and say 'british music was pants' seems wrong. I mean, Leftfield were good, so were tindersticks as were compulsion as were supergrass and certainly belle and sebastian and also mogwai and so on including infinate amount of things I liked and loads more I'm not cool enough to name.

I've listened to a few 'golden age' peel programmes and I don't find them any more exciting than I did mid 90's peel. - skink/the fall/face puller/belle and seb/coldcut being a tracklisting of a tape I know fairly well from my walkman days. - nor for that matter than I find Da Bank or resonance FM or peel this decade.

I miss him

 

[BadlyDrawnGirl]

Peel

I miss him

I miss him too, man.

 

[Jo/Joe]

nirvana, mudhoney, rocket from the crypt, pavement, sebadoh, silver jews, slint, bitch magnet, tortoise, buffalo tom, plush, palace brothers, scud mountain boys, superchunk, apples in stereo, flaming lips, mercury rev, shellac, the breeders, poison idea, labradford, yo la tengo, sleater-kinney...

Some quality there for sure, but still not a much for the 80s - Sonic Youth, Pixies, Big Black, Swans, BUtthole Surfers

 

[herman]

The Auteurs were pretty good.

 

[killer b]

to generalise and say 'british music was pants' seems wrong.

generalise? us?

never!

it was though. all of it.

 

[tangerinedream]

I miss him too, man.

when he went, I didn't notice it that badly, but it was when he never came back it really hit me. I'd do anything to hear him tonight playing a mad gabba record, then some totally beautiful piece of lovelorn country music and knowing here was sitting there listening to it, smiling to himself, just as I would be and knowing that he meant what he said and when he liked a band he told you cos he liked it and nothing else.

I remember him playing this radiohead track once (I don't remember him playing them often) and it was like, the second time on the radio or something - at the end all he said was "I've always thought that boy should make a country record, great voice for country music, now this is good *insert random mail order only 7 inch peel band here*"

only peel could have so little respect, yet so much at the same time.

It's wank, but I've actually grieved for him a lot - I never grieve for anyone famous, normally it disgusts me, but peel.

anyway - erm, cornershop - they were good!

 

[ether]

Carter, Verve, Tricky etc, Julian Cope, Leftfield, Alabama 3, Spiritualized, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, KLF, Orbital, general Junglism, (some) Manics, Jah Wobble, Pulp, SFA, Primals, Prodigy, Kenickie, UNKLE, PJ Harvey, Oasis, Billy Bragg, Levellers, and so on and so on...

 

[888]

Yes the Auteurs were damn good.

ianw didn;t even mention the greatest of all time in his list.

Afghan Whigs? Nah, they started in the eighties as well.

I don't know why people are saying the 80s were better than the nineties though, unless you only count when bands started.

 

[lizzieloo]

Some quality there for sure, but still not a much for the 80s - Sonic Youth, Pixies, Big Black, Swans, BUtthole Surfers

British?

 

[tangerinedream]

ianw didn;t even mention the greatest of all time in his list.

Afghan Whigs? Nah, they started in the eighties as well.
.

oh dear oh dear.

No mention of the true 'white trash heroes'

 

[888]

Who? Nirvana are shite.

 

[killer b]

Who? Nirvana are shite.

and not british.

who are these white trash heroes?

 

[tangerinedream]

"Speeding past, collide and crashing, I'm in paradise".

 

[Jo/Joe]

British?

Nope, I was responding to a list that was American.

 

[BadlyDrawnGirl]

Clearly the greatest British band to emerge in the '90s was Shonen Knife...?

 

[mauvais]

A quick trawl through Media Player:

The Verve (1990)
Beth Orton (1997)
Cast (1993)
The Divine Comedy (1989)
Gomez (1998)
Half Man Half Biscuit (1985)
McLusky (1998)
Mogwai (1996)
The Prodigy (1990)
Ten Benson (late 90s)

I reckon they're all British/good, but I like anything! I bought more CDs back then too, and haven't looked at those...

Anyway there's loads!

 

[sam/phallocrat]

cecil were cool

 

[dangerouscolin]

the riot grrl stuff was good

No it wasn't. It was shockingly poor and usually involved Esher gymkhana enthusiasts experimenting with hair dye and yelling out of tune about their 'angst'. I much preferred, the smooth lounge tones of the late, great Luther Vandross who I'm sure you'll agree went through something of a purple patch during the 90s clitpop boom.