Interscope wasn't very nice to Toadies. I'm a long time fan, so I know more about this than I probably should. The album they eventually ended up putting out in 2021 (Hell Below/Stars Above) is a better album with better songs, but the label didn't work it at all. You all would be surprised to know they were still putting out albums... they've put out 4 since then with new stuff, and they eventually re-tracked the songs, then released the album that Interscope rejected in the late 90s.
I was neighbors in LA with an Interscope artist whose previous LP went Diamond (10x platinum) with a lead single that also went 3x platinum. The label "didn't hear a single" from the proposed followup and kept sending them back into the studio. By the time Interscope finally released the followup almost 5 years later, most of the momentum from the previous album had been lost. As I heard the story as it was happening, I wondered just how many records you had to sell for the label to stop fucking with you.
Love the Toadies and always try to catch them live when possible. I live in the Bay Area and have seen them almost every time they pass through in addition to flying down to Ft. Worth 3-4 times. Definitely a band that should have been bigger.
The second wave of grunge was not my thing unless you count Alice In Chains' self-titled album, which I listened to a lot in 1995. My top 5 albums might be:
Five indisputable classics. I'm not sure anyone appreciates just what an incredible body of work Dwight has produced. If he had been less commercially successful, he would be labeled Americana and recognized as the influence he is on the current generation of talented country artists.
"Radio, once a champion of underground and experimental sounds, was dialing things back."
That depends on what station you were listening to and where you were listening. Here in Canada the CBC was starting to reinvent itself in new ways, including reaching out to the Canadian portion of this generation of musicians with live concert broadcasts and interviews on their flagship talk/music shows. However, the private sector stations were starting to regress into the bland corporate music format in which they now exist.
You are in my wheelhouse for newfound music. I love the 90s. I started listening to the music three years ago and absolutely can't seem to get out of it.
Sublime, STP, REM (I know technically 80s, but they blossomed in the 90s), Soundgarden, Third Eye Blind, Red Hot Chile Peppers... I can't get enough of this music! I'm almost 67. I'm supposed to be nostalgic over the 70s and 80s (didn't listen to it then, and especially not today), but it does nothing for me! Anyway, the second coming (Bush, U2, etc.) didn't quite hold the same candle but still far and above anything prior... though I do hold a candle up for certain 60s music, but again, not my go-to.
“Radio also changed dramatically. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 allowed corporations to buy up local stations en masse, turning regional radio into a homogenized, national playlist. DJs who once took risks on local bands were replaced by corporate programmers sticking to familiar hits.”
I did not realize this. That explains a lot. I noticed the change but didn’t know why. Thanks for writing this column. Interesting stuff.
It kicked off a sea change. I’m really glad James brought it up during our conversation; it’s had a huge role in how we get music and led to a bunch of 2nd order effects.
I remember in 1995 that’s when I started hearing about clear channel buying up our local radio stations. In Boston we ended up losing WZLX and WBCN and got weird radio stations called the river and names like that instead of call letters. Having grown up in the Boston area I was blessed with multiple college radio stations to listen to so I didn’t really listen to commercial radio anyhow. But it still sucked.
That’s so awesome you remember WCBN. My favorite station then was WZBC. I still remember when I first heard Jane’s says in 1989. I had to go into downtown crossing to stairway to heaven and buy the cassette. Such great time for music.
I was in radio from 1989 to early 1997. I lived/worked through multiple shifts during that period. I'm not sure there's been anything like it, before or since then. Much of 1990 to early 1991 still sounded like the late 80s, but there was definitely changes happening. 1995 was a confusing year - a cornucopia of everything. I got to a point where I didn't know the difference in genres anymore. It was just "hit music" to me. I could go on for days about this stuff....
Cornucopia of everything is a great way top put it. We touched on that a bit in the episode, but just running down the list of artists on the Hot 100 it's a wild mix-- there's something for everyone. .
As for going on for days about this stuff, I'm always down for hearing more!
While Alanis gets all the credit for that year (and it was ubiquitous at the time for sure, which kept me from appreciating it until many years later), this was also the era of Bjork's 'Post' and PJ Harvey's 'To Bring You My Love'. So many excellent albums produced by women that kept at it for decades to come.
The funny thing about focusing on a year as pivotal is that it doesn't always take into account the spillage from previous years. I graduated from high school in 1995 so was in my peak years of music obsession, which meant I still listened to all the things I loved from 1990 and 1993 and every year prior. It wasn't like you ONLY listened to 1995 music in 1995—just the radio hits. Music fandom was quite different in the '90s since I was still lugging around my suitcase of CDs and wearing them out while driving around in my car.
Good point on the spillage. We touched on it briefly in the episode but there was an element of commitment to fully absorbing an album when you had no money and CDs cost $18+. If I didn't get it on the first listen you can bet I was going to get my money's worth and listen to it until I appreciated something about it.
Interscope wasn't very nice to Toadies. I'm a long time fan, so I know more about this than I probably should. The album they eventually ended up putting out in 2021 (Hell Below/Stars Above) is a better album with better songs, but the label didn't work it at all. You all would be surprised to know they were still putting out albums... they've put out 4 since then with new stuff, and they eventually re-tracked the songs, then released the album that Interscope rejected in the late 90s.
I was neighbors in LA with an Interscope artist whose previous LP went Diamond (10x platinum) with a lead single that also went 3x platinum. The label "didn't hear a single" from the proposed followup and kept sending them back into the studio. By the time Interscope finally released the followup almost 5 years later, most of the momentum from the previous album had been lost. As I heard the story as it was happening, I wondered just how many records you had to sell for the label to stop fucking with you.
Love the Toadies and always try to catch them live when possible. I live in the Bay Area and have seen them almost every time they pass through in addition to flying down to Ft. Worth 3-4 times. Definitely a band that should have been bigger.
That's a typo, I meant 2001, hopefully you could tell from context
The second wave of grunge was not my thing unless you count Alice In Chains' self-titled album, which I listened to a lot in 1995. My top 5 albums might be:
Mobb Deep - The Infamous
Tricky - Maxinquaye
Björk - Post
Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball
Dwight Yoakam - Gone
Five indisputable classics. I'm not sure anyone appreciates just what an incredible body of work Dwight has produced. If he had been less commercially successful, he would be labeled Americana and recognized as the influence he is on the current generation of talented country artists.
Yes! He and Pete Anderson were unstoppable for a while there.
Mobb Deep! Yes!
"Radio, once a champion of underground and experimental sounds, was dialing things back."
That depends on what station you were listening to and where you were listening. Here in Canada the CBC was starting to reinvent itself in new ways, including reaching out to the Canadian portion of this generation of musicians with live concert broadcasts and interviews on their flagship talk/music shows. However, the private sector stations were starting to regress into the bland corporate music format in which they now exist.
You are in my wheelhouse for newfound music. I love the 90s. I started listening to the music three years ago and absolutely can't seem to get out of it.
Sublime, STP, REM (I know technically 80s, but they blossomed in the 90s), Soundgarden, Third Eye Blind, Red Hot Chile Peppers... I can't get enough of this music! I'm almost 67. I'm supposed to be nostalgic over the 70s and 80s (didn't listen to it then, and especially not today), but it does nothing for me! Anyway, the second coming (Bush, U2, etc.) didn't quite hold the same candle but still far and above anything prior... though I do hold a candle up for certain 60s music, but again, not my go-to.
Really enjoyed this article!
Awesome. Thanks for reading and make sure you check out the podcast episode. We go way deeper on 95.
“Radio also changed dramatically. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 allowed corporations to buy up local stations en masse, turning regional radio into a homogenized, national playlist. DJs who once took risks on local bands were replaced by corporate programmers sticking to familiar hits.”
I did not realize this. That explains a lot. I noticed the change but didn’t know why. Thanks for writing this column. Interesting stuff.
It kicked off a sea change. I’m really glad James brought it up during our conversation; it’s had a huge role in how we get music and led to a bunch of 2nd order effects.
I remember in 1995 that’s when I started hearing about clear channel buying up our local radio stations. In Boston we ended up losing WZLX and WBCN and got weird radio stations called the river and names like that instead of call letters. Having grown up in the Boston area I was blessed with multiple college radio stations to listen to so I didn’t really listen to commercial radio anyhow. But it still sucked.
When I was on air at WHRB, I listened to a lot of WBCN. It was maybe the greatest commercial rock station of all time.
That’s so awesome you remember WCBN. My favorite station then was WZBC. I still remember when I first heard Jane’s says in 1989. I had to go into downtown crossing to stairway to heaven and buy the cassette. Such great time for music.
Awesome. It was a fun and enlightening conversation. If you haven't, check out the full podcast episode as it goes even deeper on all of this.
I was in radio from 1989 to early 1997. I lived/worked through multiple shifts during that period. I'm not sure there's been anything like it, before or since then. Much of 1990 to early 1991 still sounded like the late 80s, but there was definitely changes happening. 1995 was a confusing year - a cornucopia of everything. I got to a point where I didn't know the difference in genres anymore. It was just "hit music" to me. I could go on for days about this stuff....
Cornucopia of everything is a great way top put it. We touched on that a bit in the episode, but just running down the list of artists on the Hot 100 it's a wild mix-- there's something for everyone. .
As for going on for days about this stuff, I'm always down for hearing more!
While Alanis gets all the credit for that year (and it was ubiquitous at the time for sure, which kept me from appreciating it until many years later), this was also the era of Bjork's 'Post' and PJ Harvey's 'To Bring You My Love'. So many excellent albums produced by women that kept at it for decades to come.
The funny thing about focusing on a year as pivotal is that it doesn't always take into account the spillage from previous years. I graduated from high school in 1995 so was in my peak years of music obsession, which meant I still listened to all the things I loved from 1990 and 1993 and every year prior. It wasn't like you ONLY listened to 1995 music in 1995—just the radio hits. Music fandom was quite different in the '90s since I was still lugging around my suitcase of CDs and wearing them out while driving around in my car.
Good point on the spillage. We touched on it briefly in the episode but there was an element of commitment to fully absorbing an album when you had no money and CDs cost $18+. If I didn't get it on the first listen you can bet I was going to get my money's worth and listen to it until I appreciated something about it.
We did an episode on Jagged Little Pill last year and found a whole new appreciation for it https://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/p/alanis-morissette-jagged-little-pill?utm_source=publication-search
Oh dear, I love that Pulp song. How'd I manage to never hear that one?