Alternative Rock Nostalgia Buzz

Forgotten Songs of the 21st Century: Chevelle Chevelle released Vena Sera in 2007 and radio jumped all over the first single, “Well Enough Alone,” then cooled a bit on the follow-up, “I Get It” mainly because it had a softer beat and had a bit of a dance feel to it. But when the third single, “The Fad” was released, it hit with all the impact of a rock hitting a pillow. It’s amazing to believe that happened because without a doubt, “The Fad” is probably the best song the band have ever written. Kicking off with the traditional Chevelle riff, the song then dissolves into a pounding, heavy rock track about watching the future of the music industry and basically the future of entertainment in general. The message is excellent and the way the band delivers it makes it all the more compelling. By the time it gets to the chorus, the band is just playing for its life and it results in the hardest and loudest they’ve ever been. But I guess it just wasn’t enough for radio to pay attention to i...

Forgotten Songs of the ‘80s: Dangerous Toys When Dangerous Toys released their self-titled debut in 1989, the band were viewed quite differently than other hair-metal bands, mostly because of Jason McMaster’s voice which sounded like Janis Joplin if she gargled with blood. The best song of the band’s career is “Scared,” which has always been one of my favorites even when I first heard it. The song is supposed to be a tribute to Alice Cooper but the video is more of a tribute than the song because the song is like a power ballad but with balls and electric guitars instead of acoustic. I had forgotten about the song for years until the advent of VH1 Classic which played the video quite a lot and allowed me to remember a song from my youth I had wanted to hear again but had no way to. The song still sounds as good as it did in 1989 and the guitars still come straight at you like it was yesterday. While not everything else on the record stands up like “Scared,” that’s what you expect from ...

Forgotten Songs of the ‘90s: Flight 16 Back in 1998, there were many, many bands trying to hop onto the dying grunge bandwagon, many of them became almost as famous as the bands they were imitating: Creed, Nickelback and Matchbox Twenty while others just withered and faded away: Big Wreck, Athanaeum and the English band Flight 16. Flight 16 were trying to be like Pearl Jam or STP but couldn’t pull it off; the fact that they aren’t even remembered today isn’t really that much of a shame. But there is one thing that should be remembered: one song from their self-titled 1998 debut, “If All the World Hated Me.” While some people may say that the song is derivative and non-original, to me there’s no denying the power of the opening riff and the power that drives the song. Hearing the song for the first time eleven years after it was first released, you know it came from the nineties because it sounds the same as all the alt-rock songs of the decade. But it still sounds so good and interesti...

Forgotten Album of the Month: Saigon Kick From the opening of "New World", one is fully aware that they are listening to a different brand of hair metal. While most people will remember Saigon Kick fully for their hit ballad "Love Is On The Way", the band's self-titled debut is the place to start. This is where Saigon Kick started to develop the sound that they became best known for.While their sophomore album The Lizard is decent as well, it relies too heavily on gimmicks, including loopy instrumentals and sentimental ballads to gain sales. This album has none of that and succeeds in just about everything it tries.Matt Kramer's lyrics, which can veer from serious ("Coming Home" and "Down By The Ocean") to quite silly ("What Do You Do") help to serve the album in more ways than one. The music is eclectic as hell but again, it's only more of a drawing point for the band. And let's not forget the songs, most of which stil...

Material Issue were one of the best, most underrated bands of the last twenty years. The powerful songwriting of singer Jim Ellison helped the band leap years beyond the rest of the pack. Songs like "Everything" and the immortal "Valerie Loves Me" will live on in music lovers' hearts forever. Tragically, Jim committed suicide in June of 1996 and the band split soon afterwards. Their story is a warning for all bands that are dedicated to their music and will let nothing stop them from creating. On the brighter side, the music will forever live on. The following is an interview I did with drummer Mike Zelenko. Read and reminisce! When did you first become interested in music? i got into rock when i saw KISS on TV, i was like 8 yrs old. i got into music in high school when i discovered the Beatles like Junior year. When did you first get together with Ted and Jim? Jim answered an ad i had in the Illinois Entertainer for "drummer looking for band". He call...