Alternative Rock Nostalgia Buzz

Forgotten Songs of the 21st Century: Apex Theory This is going to be a bit different than previous posts because for one thing, I’ll be writing more about the music than the lyrics here. You will find out why shortly enough. The band was Apex Theory, the year, 2002, the song “Shh… (hope diggy).” The band came out in the wake of bands like Linkin Park and System of A Down and like SOAD, the band was Armenian and their frontman was once System’s drummer. Being produced by Linkin Park’s producer certainly didn’t hurt and the band enjoyed some brief radio success with this out of the world song. First off, the music is extraordinary, particularly the drumming which seems to almost be superhuman during the verses and normal during the choruses. The guitar bounces off everything else and does whatever it wants. What really makes the song stand out, however are the lyrics, courtesy of short-lived frontman Andy Khachaturian who changed his name to Ontronik. Sample some of these lyrics and try ...

Forgotten Songs of the ‘90s: Rocket from the Crypt Rocket from the Crypt were one of the most unique bands to come out during the ‘90s alt-rock explosion; a punk rock band with horns! Believe it or not, this combination created some enduring memories and some kickass songs, most notably “On A Rope” from 1995’s Scream, Dracula, Scream! Kicking off with some excellent guitar work, the band works their way into a mid-level groove when frontman John Reis comes in with lyrics about holding out hope for love that is pushing him to the end of the proverbial rope. He continues in this fashion for about a minute and a half; at that point, the band begins speeding things up until they revert back to their old ways until the climax just gets in your face to the point where you want to punch someone or kick their ass. The one thing that could’ve hurt the song’s chances of becoming a hit was the video which showed them playing with kittens and generally being cheesy. But overlooking that, the song ...

Forgotten Songs of the ‘90s: This Picture This is probably one of the greatest songs that no one has ever heard but thanks to the good people at VH1 Classic, the video has been rediscovered and a new generation of people can hear what marvelous sounds like. This Picture, a short-lived British rock band broke onto the scene in late 1991 with the driving “Naked Rain,” off of their debut album, A Violent Impression . The song begins with a sleight string-laden intro until the vocals of Symon Bye come in in the best way imaginable, slow and quiet. Then drummer Duncan Forrester counts off and the band comes in at full speed. From there, the song takes off in extremely interesting ways. While it is another song about love lost and trying to regain, it stands out because the music is so dynamic. When the chorus comes in, the band are at the peak of their power and they know it and they keep driving the song until it reaches its powerful crescendo. I’m basically saying that once this song hits...

Forgotten Album of the Month: Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are best known for their self-titled debut which contains classics like “Add It Up” and “Blister in the Sun” but without a doubt their best album is the follow-up, 1984’s Hallowed Ground . The story goes that drummer Victor DeLorenzo and bassist Brian Ritchie didn’t want to record frontman Gordon Gano’s religious songs on the first album but afterwards, they warmed up to them and the band ended up recording what could essentially be called a religious folk record but it’s so damn good. Kicking off with the immortal “Country Death Song,” the band come across loud and clear with their intentions. The songs all come across a bit long except the less than two minute “I Hear the Rain” but everything sounds so good. By the time “Never Tell” comes around, the listener should be enthralled with what they’re hearing because while the songs are religious, they don’t sound very preachy, just dark and foreboding. Then there’s songs like “...

A Guide to The Toadies When talking about 90’s alternative rock, there are many bands that were swept under the rug by more popular bands, some (The Nixons, The Urge) deservedly so, others like the Toadies got swept away because they were away for so long; after coming back in 2001 after seven years, it was like they were obsolete. But after looking over their catalogue, it was clear that they were one of the best bands to emerge during the alternative era. In the 90’s, Texas had a strange scene going on, bringing us Rev. Horton Heat, Brutal Juice, Tripping Daisy, Course of Empire, Baboon, Deep Blue Something and others; Toadies, hailing from Dallas were one of the few bands from the area to break national and one of the only ones to still get radio play. By going through their discography, it should become clear to more than most that the band is still relevant and even the old stuff still sounds as good as it did in 1994. Rubberneck (1994) After releasing an EP, Pleather in 1993, t...