Glad to see this album successfully pitched! There were some fantastic albums in 1994 (Superunknown, Illmatic, Weezer, Jar of Flies, Protection, No Need to Argue) but for me the album of the year has to be Portishead’s Dummy, an instant and enduring classic. Just my $0.02
Making Vs. an "official" pick would've been good for mustering all of us pedants to our keyboards to share our many thoughts & opinions on the record. Spoiler alert: It rules.
I think you could make a plausible argument for Snoop Dawg's "Doggystyle" as well. Not exactly on-brand for Newbury Street, but it's hard to argue against how much it changed the music landscape.
My actual vote from the top 20 that you haven't already covered would by August & Everything After. Yeah, Adam Duritz seemed insufferable, but for coming up on 30, it sounds surprisingly good. I'm listening to "Murder of One" as I type this. You know, for research.
I did August and Everything After a year or so ago. I’m not a huge fan of Snoop’s music, but he seems like he’s absolutely mastered life and I admire that greatly. He never seems to have a stress in the world. (I know about Snoop’s legal troubles over the years and it all hopefully seems to be behind him)
He sure seems to be living his best life, doesn't he?. I worked in a record store when this came out. We literally could not keep it in stock. We'd get a shipment in, and it'd be gone by the end of the night.
Rap is definitely a collective blind spot for EONS, although I wouldn't be surprised to see "Paul's Boutique" make an appearance. I maintain a classic rap playlist, but my tastes run to the corny, pre-gangster stuff.
Ken’s big secret is to go heavy on the vanilla and the sugar. That’s like my “secret” banana bread recipe (add a lot of chocolate and it’s much better!)
Just a quick reminder that "grunge" was not a tag these musicians chose, or even wanted; it was a media "hook" invented by Sub Pop Records that bigger labels and big magazines ran with.
Not sure where the slam on PJ's other musicians came from; it's kinda like dogging Humble Pie for having Steve Marriott. A good singer matters, a great singer matters more; that's just how folks perceive these things. The PJ guys lifted a fairly average singer (but stellar front performer), the late Andrew Wood, in a band called Mother Love Bone to the big-label minors before Wood's death in 1991. That's not nothin'. Nobody wanted instrumental virtuosity in the 90s anyway, we'd had our fill of Yngwies and Sheehans in the late 80s.
Anyway, I'll throw an album into the hopper for consideration: Kyuss' 1994 album "Welcome To Sky Valley".
I'm a huge Mother Love Bone fan. But when I pitched "Apple" a couple of years ago, these guys destroyed me. https://eons.substack.com/p/mother-love-bone-apple Listening to Kyuss this morning. Will get back to you.
Okay, you've made an impression with Kyuss. I didn't love all of it, but "Gardenia" and "Demon Cleaner" were standouts. They kind of remind me of Red Fang and even a little bit of Mastodon--two great bands from the Relapse Records catalog. Not a shot Mitch and Ken would make it through the first side, but I've got a couple of new songs to add to my playlist.
If you did a Kyuss/Tool double pitch I would abandon this earthly plane and go back to my home planet. I still haven't fully recovered from Mother Love Bone.
Thank you for taking the chance on it. Personally, I'm always gonna love "Blues For The Red Sun" more; but this is the album I saw them tour on, and they don't deserve to be forgotten.
Living in Seattle during their heyday it was semi-mandatory to appreciate Pearl Jam. I’ve seen them in concert enough times to disagree with the diss of the guitar and bass talent. I agree on the difficulty following their lyrics, but when I last saw them at Ohana Festival in Dana Point last year I seemed to be the only audience member who didn’t know every word to every song.
PS Ohana is the best old guy festival ever. Two stages side by side so one act is setting up while another plays. Audience doesn’t need to decide which act to forego to walk miles between a headliner and a more obscure act on a side stage, or to move at all except for pee breaks and concessions.
The Ohana setup sounds amazing! It would be even better if they had a place where you could nap between sets. Or catch a little golf on TV. Your choice.
I’m not really a big STP or grunge fan but Purple and Tiny Gift Shop are solid albums
Glad to see this album successfully pitched! There were some fantastic albums in 1994 (Superunknown, Illmatic, Weezer, Jar of Flies, Protection, No Need to Argue) but for me the album of the year has to be Portishead’s Dummy, an instant and enduring classic. Just my $0.02
Making Vs. an "official" pick would've been good for mustering all of us pedants to our keyboards to share our many thoughts & opinions on the record. Spoiler alert: It rules.
I think you could make a plausible argument for Snoop Dawg's "Doggystyle" as well. Not exactly on-brand for Newbury Street, but it's hard to argue against how much it changed the music landscape.
My actual vote from the top 20 that you haven't already covered would by August & Everything After. Yeah, Adam Duritz seemed insufferable, but for coming up on 30, it sounds surprisingly good. I'm listening to "Murder of One" as I type this. You know, for research.
I did August and Everything After a year or so ago. I’m not a huge fan of Snoop’s music, but he seems like he’s absolutely mastered life and I admire that greatly. He never seems to have a stress in the world. (I know about Snoop’s legal troubles over the years and it all hopefully seems to be behind him)
He sure seems to be living his best life, doesn't he?. I worked in a record store when this came out. We literally could not keep it in stock. We'd get a shipment in, and it'd be gone by the end of the night.
Wait, are you describing Snoop or me as mastering a no stress life?
You and Snoop may have been separated at birth. Still trying to verify through 23 and Me
We actually did "August & Everything After". I'm a big fan of the first 3-ish Counting Crows albums...https://eons.substack.com/p/counting-crows-august-and-everything
Rap is definitely a collective blind spot for EONS, although I wouldn't be surprised to see "Paul's Boutique" make an appearance. I maintain a classic rap playlist, but my tastes run to the corny, pre-gangster stuff.
That's what I get for not checking the archives first! My taste in rap run to the very bouncy, sounded-great-at-a-house party style as well.
If you can pitch "Doggystyle" to Mitch and Ken, I will support that effort with all my heart.
(cracks knuckles)
I'm on it. Just gonna need Ken's cookie recipe. This seems like the kind of assignment that takes a lot of fuel.
It’s the Toll House recipe with a sprinkle of cinnamon and an extra 1/4 cup of choc chips. Enjoy
This is the content I’m here for.
Ken’s big secret is to go heavy on the vanilla and the sugar. That’s like my “secret” banana bread recipe (add a lot of chocolate and it’s much better!)
Just a quick reminder that "grunge" was not a tag these musicians chose, or even wanted; it was a media "hook" invented by Sub Pop Records that bigger labels and big magazines ran with.
Not sure where the slam on PJ's other musicians came from; it's kinda like dogging Humble Pie for having Steve Marriott. A good singer matters, a great singer matters more; that's just how folks perceive these things. The PJ guys lifted a fairly average singer (but stellar front performer), the late Andrew Wood, in a band called Mother Love Bone to the big-label minors before Wood's death in 1991. That's not nothin'. Nobody wanted instrumental virtuosity in the 90s anyway, we'd had our fill of Yngwies and Sheehans in the late 80s.
Anyway, I'll throw an album into the hopper for consideration: Kyuss' 1994 album "Welcome To Sky Valley".
I'm a huge Mother Love Bone fan. But when I pitched "Apple" a couple of years ago, these guys destroyed me. https://eons.substack.com/p/mother-love-bone-apple Listening to Kyuss this morning. Will get back to you.
Okay, you've made an impression with Kyuss. I didn't love all of it, but "Gardenia" and "Demon Cleaner" were standouts. They kind of remind me of Red Fang and even a little bit of Mastodon--two great bands from the Relapse Records catalog. Not a shot Mitch and Ken would make it through the first side, but I've got a couple of new songs to add to my playlist.
If you did a Kyuss/Tool double pitch I would abandon this earthly plane and go back to my home planet. I still haven't fully recovered from Mother Love Bone.
I'm listening to Tony Thompson's Blue Rodeo suggestion right now. It's quite good and I think that's more your speed.
*what he said ☝️
Thank you for taking the chance on it. Personally, I'm always gonna love "Blues For The Red Sun" more; but this is the album I saw them tour on, and they don't deserve to be forgotten.
Living in Seattle during their heyday it was semi-mandatory to appreciate Pearl Jam. I’ve seen them in concert enough times to disagree with the diss of the guitar and bass talent. I agree on the difficulty following their lyrics, but when I last saw them at Ohana Festival in Dana Point last year I seemed to be the only audience member who didn’t know every word to every song.
PS Ohana is the best old guy festival ever. Two stages side by side so one act is setting up while another plays. Audience doesn’t need to decide which act to forego to walk miles between a headliner and a more obscure act on a side stage, or to move at all except for pee breaks and concessions.
The Ohana setup sounds amazing! It would be even better if they had a place where you could nap between sets. Or catch a little golf on TV. Your choice.
I don't remember Blue Rodeo. Will have to check them out. Glad the continent worked out for you even if the marriage didn't.
Enjoyed Blue Rodeo. Kinda had a Jayhawks vibe for me. Nice easy listening for a rainy Monday.