FRIDAY FLASHBACK: Every Friday we set the Hot Tub Time Machine to one year in rock history and give you the best (and worst) music from that year, all day long beginning at 1:00 AM EST and running for 24 hours on Jivewired Radio powered by Live365.
This week: 1991
Next week: 1970
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Album art from 1991 - Click album cover to purchase at Amazon.com
1991 Album I Wish I Owned: Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
1991 Album I'd Give Back If I Could: We Can't Dance by Genesis
1991 Most Underrated Song: Love Rears It's Ugly Head by Living Colour
1991 Most Overrated Song: Something To Believe In by Poison
1991 Most Memorable Song: Losing My Religion by R.E.M.
1991 Most Significant Song: These Are The Days Of Our Lives by Queen
1991 Most Forgotten Song: Sax And Violins by The Talking Heads
1991 Fan's Choice For Most Popular Song: Losing My Religion by R.E.M.
1991 Most Likely To Start A Party Song: You're Unbelievable by EMF
1991 Please Don't Play Anymore Song: More Than Words by Extreme
1991 Song That I Like More than I Actually Should: High Enough by Damn Yankees
Overplayed In 1991: Jesus Jones
Not Played Enough In 1991: Material Issue
Greatest Single Chart Re-Entry from 1991: Light My Fire by The Doors (1967)
Best Cover Song Of 1991: Mustang Sally by The Commitments (originally by Wilson Pickett)
An unheralded great album from 1991: Temple Of The Dog by Temple Of The Dog
An unheralded great single from 1991: Nothing Can Stop Us by Saint Etienne
Best Soundtrack of 1991: The Commitments
Our Top Five Songs Of The Year
01. Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
02. Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam
03. Lithium by Nirvana
04. Even Flow by Pearl Jam
05. Losing My Religion by R.E.M.
Our Top
01. Nevermind by Nirvana
02. Ten by Pearl Jam
03. Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers
04. Out Of Time by R.E.M.
05. Temple Of The Dog by Temple Of The Dog
06. The Sky Is Crying by Stevie Ray Vaughan
Pearl Jam. Nirvana. Soundgarden. Kurt Cobain. Eddie Vedder. Chris Cornell. Andy Wood. Mother Love Bone. Seattle. Flannel Shirts. Grandpa Sweaters. These are just a few of the things that effectively ended the reign of the glam metal groups that enjoyed massive success in the 1980s like Mötley Crüe, Poison, Warrant, Cinderella, and Ratt, whose sales and critical viability had already begun to decline.
If that is all you remember from 1991 you're certainly not alone.
Oh yeah. R.E.M. exploded in 1991 so you probably remember that too.
And who could forget all those sappy love songs by hair metal bands? Hard rock went a little soft in 1991, and people dug it, though nobody will admit it today.
The music industry wanted to contain and protect their product, namely their historical best sellers. Maybe there were too many dollars invested in Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and U2. Quite honestly, 1991 might have been the turning point where Bono went from super cool to super pretentious. He had George Bush to fight, Bill Clinton to support, Ireland's honor to defend, starving people to feed, homeless people to shelter, sponsors to dine, Desmond Tutu to revere, God to debate and a dozen or so modeling shoots. Thankfully he also had the Edge to keep him in check. Somewhat. No wonder we clung to our flannel shirts and grandpa sweaters.
Homogenization -- As I said, 1991 was the year that the music industry attempted to homogenize itself, though admittedly this may be a gross over-approximation. Over the decades rock music had always been the soundtrack of alternative youth lifestyles. Still, a distinct separation always existed between alternative and mainstream rock. In an exercise of extreme shortsightedness the music industry tried to consolidate new wave, alternative, pop and rock genres and their respective sub-genres into what was termed general rock. The labels wanted to protect their historically successful artists like The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney, and by marginalizing musical genres, the hope was to keep the aging icons relevant when they really weren't anymore.
The result of this shortsightedness may have been the launch of the second counter-culture movement, as 1991 instead saw popular music further separate. A veritable bounty of sub-genres, including lo-fi pop, industrial, gothic, roots-rock, noise-rock, indie-pop, techno, ambient and shoegazer, etc., multiplied and evolved in a fashion largely independent of the others. Historically speaking, the attempted miscibility of general rock as a whole gave birth to the indie label movement. It makes sense: as the major labels tried to homogenize music, music itself countered the trend and rebelled against the norm.
1991 offered breakthrough mainstream success for many crossover artists that had previously found limited, short-range appeal. The massive success of Garth Brooks in 1991 set the stage for the mid-1990s influx of pop-oriented country musicians like Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. In addition, several soon-to-be pivotal bands formed or released debuts, including the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Live, Phish and the Spin Doctors. Metallica also released their most commercially successful self-titled album, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers crossed over to the mainstream with their critically and commercially acclaimed "Blood Sugar Sex Magik." R.E.M. released their massive commercial breakthrough album "Out of Time" and debuts by Pearl Jam ("Ten") and Nirvana ("Nevermind") were immediate hits.
1991 in many ways also marked the birth of the provincial-independent movement. The broadening use of the internet may have been the catalyst, as local bands with local sounds could reach national and world-wide audiences. Seattle, Washington and Athens, Georgia were the first localized areas to bear the fruits of expanded independent musical coverage. Seattle, led by the bands Pearl Jam and Nirvana, offered a revivalist hard rock sound that was coined grunge music. Athens, led by the band R.E.M. (and to some extent Widespread Panic), offered an intermixture of college rock, pop and roots music that was coined, for lack of a better term, alt-rock.
An involuntary catalyst for the commercial success of the various sub-genres was Billboard Magazine. In 1991 the trade magazine and industry leader finally changed the way it ranked singles and albums by tallying actual sales at retail stores. Until then, Billboard relied on the very subjective method of polling retail outlets and radio stations to see what was hot rather than relying on verified retail sales references. Suddenly, rock outsold pop, and minority genres such as hip-hop and country entered the charts. The biggest winners were the sub-genres and independent releases, thanks again in large part to the growth of the internet, as word-of-mouth acclaim produced rapidly increasing sales and ultimately Billboard rankings for the first time for many artists and genres.
Ironically enough Sire Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records, may have also aided in the birth of the second generation of the counter-culture. Sire Records founder Seymour Stein ostensibly seemed a throwback to an earlier era when mini-moguls stamped their label's releases with their own idiosyncratic tastes. But Sire's impossibly rich canon instead argues Stein was driven more by a shrewd, far-ranging artistic vision than mere personal musical obsessions. It was during this movement that Sire became synonymous with groundbreaking music, launching many of the most popular artists of that era.
Sire's uncompromising passion and willingness to take risks set a new standard for artist development and creative vision in the record world. Indeed, a look back at their stable of artists reveals the visionary that was Seymour Stein. Star acts included Madonna, The Ramones, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Primal Scream, Seal, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Pretenders, The Replacements, Depeche Mode, Lou Reed, English Beat, Ministry, The Talking Heads, and many, many more.
Similarly, Sub-Pop Records Records opened doors for their artists as well. Sub Pop, started in the early 1980s by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman, owed much of it's early success to the breakout of Nirvana, but artists like Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Afghan Whigs and Saint Etienne helped garner the small indie label from Seattle national attention.
Pavitt and Poneman were serious about creating a brand for the label that would rival classics like Motown or Blue Note. Many of their early releases featured a uniform look: a black bar across the top, with the band’s name in all capital letters, followed by the release name, all in a sans-serif font. Many of those early records also featured the iconic, action-packed rock photography of Charles Peterson. Tastemaker Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth offered props to both Nirvana and Mudhoney in interviews. Bands that once drew 100 hipsters to Seattle clubs were now selling out the city’s Moore Theater. Meanwhile, Sub Pop released records by heavy rockers Tad, the universally offensive Dwarves, and feminist badasses L7, among scores of others on their way to critical and mainstream success.
On a sad note, 1991 also marked the death of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, who passed due to complications from AIDS.
Gone Too Soon:
- Leo Fender (March 21)
- Odia Coates (May 19)
- David Ruffin (June 1)
- Stan Getz (June 6)
- Dottie West (September 4)
- Tennessee Ernie Ford (October 17)
- Freddie Mercury, Eric Carr (November 24)
I choose "Dare"
Madonna's 1991 film documentary is in reference to the party game "Truth or Dare?" but the original working title of the documentary was "Truth or Dare: On the Road, Behind the Scenes and In Bed with Madonna".
The film documents Madonna's first major tour of the 1990s beginning in April 1990 in Mukuhari, Japan and ending in August in Nice, France. The tour hit 27 cities and sold out every show except in Italy where one show was canceled apparently to objections over its content.
During the summer of 1990, Madonna hired director Alek Keshishian, to film backstage and onstage footage of her Blond Ambition World Tour. The entire documentary is filmed in Black-and-white, except for onstage sequences which are in full color. There are appearances from celebrities such as Al Pacino, Mandy Patinkin, Olivia Newton-John, Antonio Banderas, Sandra Bernhard, Kevin Costner and Warren Beatty, whom she was dating at the time.
We just like the gratuitous shots. Otherwise we never would have included this blurb.
Tastes Great. No, Less Filling.
"This live rock show is brought to you without commercial interruption." That cheesy line got the Black Crowes booted from ZZ Top's headlining tour in 1991.
In an interview on Rockline, the Crowes' lead wailer Chris Robinson said the band was bounced from its opening act slot by ZZ Top's management firm, Lone Wolf Management Company and the group's corporate sponsor, Miller Brewing Company.
The origin of the Crowes' dismissal on March 25 -- in the band's hometown of Atlanta, no less -- seems to have taken root after Lone Wolf repeatedly told Robinson to stop dropping cracks about their corporate sponsorship.
Said Robinson, "They weren't allowing us to be the Black Crowes. They were trying to censor what I was trying to say." So they fired them. And the lesson learned is this: That's how you end up with one hit album in a career that has spanned twenty years.
Don't You Knock The Knack Mister!
The Knack reunited in 1991 after a ten-year hiatus and released a straight-to-discount-bin album called "Serious Fun." It seriously flopped. Still, the band's website and subsequent press release claimed that: "The Knack's fourth studio album is serious fun! Some of the best music the band ever made."
Raise your hand if you own a copy of this album. Anybody? Hello?
Musician Magazine panned the album, stating that "Anyone who believes the musical legacy of the '70s is nothing to be ashamed of might want to reconsider after hearing this one." Critic William Ruhlmann with Allmusic commented that "it's hard to imagine anyone other than die-hard Knack fans expressing any interest in it."
Don't fret, Knackwhacks, the band had a serious third comeback attempt after the 1994 movie "Reality Bites" featured their hit single from 1979, "My Sharona." So they released another album in 1998 called "Zoom" that suffered a fate similar to "Serious Fun." Not so much fun, apparently.
It just sounded better than the Farrell Farewell Tour
Conceived and created in 1991 by Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell as a farewell tour for his band, Lollapalooza ran annually until 1997, and was revived in 2003 when the band got back together. The inaugural festival is where Farrell coined the term "Alternative Nation." The inaugural 1991 lineup was made up of artists from diversified genres, such as post-punk's Siouxsie and the Banshees and rap and hip-hop icon Ice-T, as well as industrial rockers Nine Inch Nails in addition to Jane's Addiction.
The word Lollapalooza dates from a late 19th/early 20th century American idiomatic phrase meaning "an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance." In time the term also came to refer to a large lollipop. Farrell, searching for a name for his festival, liked the euphonious quality of the now antiquated term upon hearing it in a Three Stooges short film. Paying homage to the term's double meaning, a character in the festival's original logo holds one of the lollipops.
Now there is a [insert name]-apalooza for just about everything. Some people just lack Farrell's creativity.
Go forth, for you are the future of rock & roll........
The following bands were formed in 1991: Dave Matthews Band, Oasis, Luscious Jackson, Three 6 Mafia, Portishead, The Chemical Brothers, Temple Of The Dog, Counting Crows, Rage Against The Machine, Incubus, The Spinanes, Sloan, Candlebox and Cake. On the flip side, 1991 also gave us Vertical Horizon, Utah Saints, Brooks & Dunn, The Wiggles and Frente!
Playlist For Friday Flashback 1991:
001. Losing My Religion by R.E.M.
002. Maybe For Sure [Tuskunga Event 7" Mix] by Deborah Harry
003. Rocket Man by Kate Bush
004. More Than Words by Extreme
005. Silent Lucidity by Queensryche
006. Calling Elvis by Dire Straits
007. American Music by The Violent Femmes
008. Outshined by Soundgarden
009. Mad About You by Sting
010. Bagheera by Blues Traveler
011. Rusty Cage by Soundgarden
012. Not Too Soon by Throwing Muses
013. Kiss Them For Me by Siouxsie & The Banshees
014. Pushin' Forward Back by Temple Of The Dog
015. Under The Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers
016. Black by Pearl Jam
017. Justify My Love by Madonna
018. Rush by Big Audio Dynamite II
019. Loaded by Primal Scream
020. Love Song [Live] by Tesla
021. You're Unbelievable by EMF
022. Badfish by Sublime
023. New Grass by Talk Talk
024. Soon by My Bloody Valentine
025. Gypsy Woman by Crystal Waters
026. All This Time by Sting
027. Carpe Diem [Transmission Mix] by BiGod 20
028. I Wanna Be Adored by The Stone Roses
029. Love To Hate You by Erasure
030. Breaking The Girl by Red Hot Chili Peppers
031. Type by Living Colour
032. What's For Breakfast? by Blues Traveler
033. Hunger Strike by Temple Of The Dog
034. One by U2
035. Jeremy by Pearl Jam
036. Boot Hill by Stevie Ray Vaughan
037. Chitlins Con Carne by Stevie Ray Vaughan
038. When The Beatles Hit America by John Wesley Harding
039. Holy Water by Soundgarden
040. Falling by Julee Cruise
041. Life By The Drop by Stevie Ray Vaughan
042. Cream by Prince & The New Power Generation
043. Mea Culpa by Enigma
044. The Planetarium Scene by The Ocean Blue
045. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You by Bryan Adams
046. Have A Heart by Bonnie Raitt
047. Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
048. Classic Girl by Jane's Addiction
049. Diane by Material Issue
050. So You Think You're In Love by Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians
051. Falling Away by Richard X. Heyman
052. Half A World Away by R.E.M.
053. I Have My Moments by Blues Traveler
054. Dress by PJ Harvey
055. Chorus by Erasure
056. Gett Off by Prince & The New Power Generation
057. The Girl Tried To Kill Me by Ice-T
058. Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
059. Lithium by Nirvana
060. Me In Honey by R.E.M.
061. Love Letter by Bonnie Raitt
062. I Still Believe by Tim Capello
063. Smoke Two Joints by Sublime
064. Crazy by Seal
065. My Ever Changing Moods [Live] by Paul Weller
066. Caribbean Blue by Enya
067. Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me by Roger Daltrey
068. I Wanna Sex You Up by Color Me Badd
069. To Be With You by Mr. Big
070. Help Us Somebody by Chris Thomas
071. Evangeline by Matthew Sweet
072. Wicked Game by Chris Isaak
073. Love Will Never Do Without You by Janet Jackson
074. 3 A.M. Eternal by The KLF
075. Future Love Paradise by Seal
076. Hole Hearted by Extreme
077. Stop by Jane's Addiction
078. All I Want by Toad The Wet Sprocket
079. Rush, Rush by Paula Abdul
080. Groovin' (Out On Life) by UB40
081. Puke + Cry by Dinosaur Jr.
082. High Enough by Damn Yankees
083. Heavy Fuel by Dire Straits
084. Chain Of Fools by The Commitments
085. Nothing Can Stop Us by Saint Etienne
086. Gonna Make You Sweat by C&C Music Factory
087. I Touch Myself by DiVinyls
088. Near Wild Heaven by R.E.M.
089. Hit by Sugarcubes
090. The Sky Is Crying by Stevie Ray Vaughan
091. Judge Fudge by Happy Mondays
092. Mustang Sally by The Commitments
093. She Talks To Angels by The Black Crowes
094. The Way You Do The Things You Do by UB40
095. Mysterious Ways by U2
096. November Rain by Guns 'N' Roses
097. Thorn by Mudhoney
098. Come As You Are by Nirvana
099. Justified And Ancient by The KLF Feat. Tammy Wynette
100. Body Count by Body Count
101. Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega
102. Empty Arms by Stevie Ray Vaughan
103. Renee Remains The Same by Material Issue
104. Good Vibrations by Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch
105. Shiny Happy People by R.E.M.
106. So Like Candy by Elvis Costello
107. Timebomb [Single Mix] by Royal Crescent Mob
108. Wind Of Change by Scorpions
109. Say Hello 2 Heaven by Temple Of The Dog
110. Thing Called Love by Bonnie Raitt
111. Wish Me Luck [Karamazov Mix] by Ofra Haza
112. Polly by Nirvana
113. Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam
114. Sax & Violins by The Talking Heads
115. True Devotion by The Bodeans
116. November Spawned A Monster by Morrissey
117. Something To Believe In by Poison
118. Into The Great Wide Open by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
119. Something So Clear by Mudhoney
120. Valerie Loves Me by Material Issue
121. Enter Sandman by Metalica
122. Two Princes by Spin Doctors
123. It Ain't Over Til It's Over by Lenny Kravitz
124. Love Rears It's Ugly Head by Living Colour
125. Good Times by INXS
126. Another Girl Another Planet by The Mighty Lemon Drops
127. Chocolate Cake by Crowded House
128. Little Miss Can't Be Wrong by Spin Doctors
129. Principles Of Lust by Enigma
130. Even Flow by Pearl Jam
131. Show Me The Way by Styx
142. Give It Away by Red Hot Chili Peppers
133. Jesus Built My Hotrod by Ministry
134. Talkin' Bout The Smilin' Deathporn Immortality Blues by The Flaming Lips
135. Solace Of You by Living Colour
136. Set Adrift On Memory Bliss by P.M. Dawn
137. All Saint's Day by Van Morrisson
138. Jealous Again by The Black Crowes
139. Right Here Right Now by Jesus Jones
140. Weather With You by Crowded House
141. Until The End Of The World by U2
142. Walkin' (For Your Love) by Widespread Panic
143. Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet
144. Jimmy Olsen's Blues by Spin Doctors
145. Lounge Act by Nirvana
146. Turn On The Water by Afghan Whigs
147. Groove Is In the Heart by Deee-Lite
148. Learning To Fly by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
149. Sir Psycho Sexy by Red Hot Chili Peppers
150. Rescue Me by Madonna
151. Radio Song by R.E.M.
152. Now That We Found Love by Heavy D & The Boyz
153. In Bloom by Nirvana
154. These Are The Days Of Our Lives by Queen
155. Remember The Time by Michael Jackson
156. Belong by R.E.M.
157. Fight The Power by Public Enemy
158. Groovy Train by The Farm
159. I've Been Waiting by Matthew Sweet
160. The Song That Jane Likes [Live] by The Dave Matthews Band
161. Suck My Kiss by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Previous In This Series: Friday Flashback 1980
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