THE NINETIES-IST
Welcome to another edition of Brook Pridemore’s The Nineties-ist. This edition discusses 1992, Pavement sticking their heads out of the sand for the first time, Sinead O’Connor tearing up a picture of the pope, and John Frusciante’s love of herion. For earlier installments, go here.

All eyes on Seattle in 1992, right? Warrant lead singer Jani Lane commented (after the dust had settled) that in August 1991, Warrant had stepped into the offices of Columbia Records to their hit, “Cherry Pie,” blasting from every speaker in the house, giant posters of the iconic album cover all over the place. By the time Lane and Co. made their way back into the Columbia office in Spring 1992, they were practically persona non grata: their posters had been eschewed for an equally large, but bleak poster for the new Alice in Chains album, and that band’s specific, dour sounds were pouring out of the stereo, in place of Warrant’s party rock. Times had changed, and fun dumb stuff was out. Intellectual (or at least faux-intellectual, in the case of Alice in Chains) sounds, ushered in by the release of Nirvana’s Nevermind in September 1991, were in. American pop culture had changed for the good, and things would never be the same.

It couldn’t last, though. Within just a couple of years, all of the avenues that had been opened to forward-thinking, eclectic rock groups were closed again. Prefab music came back into vogue. The watershed of rock bands who had benefited from the early 90s boom mostly failed to capitalize on their initial momentum (Sonic Youth being particularly notorious for making a slew of bad albums in the 90s), sinking back into relative obscurity. But many still remained firmly enough planted in the public consciousness to make it impossible for any new upstart scenes to come up.
More on #9: 1992

DAILY NEWS PICKS

Stream New Sondre Lerche Single, “Good Luck” Off His Upcoming LP Heartbeat Radio; Released September 8 [Brooklyn Vegan]

Stage Collapses at Big Valley Jamboree Festival in Canada; 1 Dead, At Least 15 Injured [Rolling Stone]

Artwork To Jay Z’s Much Anticipated The Blueprint 3 Unveiled; Looks A Lot Like Michael Jackson’s “Scream” Video (I’d Kill To See A Video of Jay Dancing Through Space) [Idolator]

Wu-Tang Member Raekwon Releases Artwork For Equally Anticipated Only Built For Cuban Linx… Pt II; Features Raekwon Tied Up, Having Decapitated The Statue of Liberty With A Ninja Sword (Uh, Hell Yeah? I Guess?); Cuban Linx Due Out (Supposedly) September 8 [Pitchfork]

Red Hot Chili Peppers To Record In October; More Importantly Drummer Chad Smith, Already A Member of the Ludicrously Named Chickenfoot, Is Recording With A Band Called Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats (?…!) [Spin]

Heath Ledger-Directed Video For Mouse Mouse Song “King Rat” To Premier On Myspace Tomorrow [Pitchfork]

Island Def Jam To Advertise In CD Booklets, Starting With Mariah Carey’s Upcoming Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel; At Least They Aren’t Selling Ad-Space On The Album Yet [Prefix]

Brooklyn’s St. Vincent To Tour With Grizzly Bear – Tour Hypothesis: These Shows Will Sound Nice. [Pitchfork]

UK’s Bat For Lashes Debuts Video For Two Suns Single “Sleep Alone;” Video As Inexplicable And Plotless As The Recently In The Tube-d “Daniel” [Prefix]

by Max Sebela

ART OF SONG
“Under The Bridge”
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
1991 | Warner Bros.

Some well-known bands stick around for decades because they luxuriate in their superior talent, consistently crafting classic albums, with perhaps the occasional miss, and sounding excellent live. Others manage to maintain their audience despite their minimal talent by relying on marketing shtick guided by the dictations of actuaries. And still others hang around by routinely creating decent, but forgettable music that hovers in a lasting homeostasis of earnest mediocrity. The Red Hot Chili Peppers generally find themselves in this final category, releasing with commendable regularity albums that carry on their identity, which, to their credit, they have never sold out on, but that fail to deliver any indelible mark. That said, in their career, they have once managed to push beyond their limitations and produce a truly memorable album: 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik. And since the album’s release, “Under The Bridge” has remained one of its best tracks, providing an example of the lyrical gloss that makes Blood Sugar Sex Magik shine.

With it, the band revels in a type of storytelling, discussing heroin addiction and its former control over the lives (and, in the case of founding member Hillel Slovak, death) of certain band members. Anthony Keidis abandons his usual frenetic masculinity in favor of a nuanced handling of the lyrics. The rest of the musicians follow suit, holding back from stepping too heavily on the Alpha pedal, and instead exploring the melancholic depth and tone that give the track resonance. While this song is certainly a rare gem for the Chili Peppers, it secures their position as a respect-worthy group. After all, what beautiful song, regardless of who has created it, isn’t a rare gem?

by Alicia Dreilinger

http://www.redhotchilipeppers.com/

ART OF SONG
“Under The Bridge”
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
1991 | Warner Bros.

Some well-known bands stick around for decades because they luxuriate in their superior talent, consistently crafting classic albums, with perhaps the occasional miss, and sounding excellent live. Others manage to maintain their audience despite their minimal talent by relying on marketing shtick guided by the dictations of actuaries. And still others hang around by routinely creating decent, but forgettable music that hovers in a lasting homeostasis of earnest mediocrity. The Red Hot Chili Peppers generally find themselves in this final category, releasing with commendable regularity albums that carry on their identity, which, to their credit, they have never sold out on, but that fail to deliver any indelible mark. That said, in their career, they have once managed to push beyond their limitations and produce a truly memorable album: 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik. And since the album’s release, “Under The Bridge” has remained one of its best tracks, providing an example of the lyrical gloss that makes Blood Sugar Sex Magik shine.

With it, the band revels in a type of storytelling, discussing heroin addiction and its former control over the lives (and, in the case of founding member Hillel Slovak, death) of certain band members. Anthony Keidis abandons his usual frenetic masculinity in favor of a nuanced handling of the lyrics. The rest of the musicians follow suit, holding back from stepping too heavily on the Alpha pedal, and instead exploring the melancholic depth and tone that give the track resonance. While this song is certainly a rare gem for the Chili Peppers, it secures their position as a respect-worthy group. After all, what beautiful song, regardless of who has created it, isn’t a rare gem?

by Alicia Dreilinger

http://www.redhotchilipeppers.com/