Alternative Rock Nostalgia Buzz

Forgotten Songs of the ‘90s: Fighting Gravity This is going to be more of a personal preference but that’s alright because I’m the one updating this blog. Fighting Gravity are probably one of the best known, least known bands to break out of Virginia in the late ‘90s. The band were one of the biggest concert attractions in the city of Richmond and grew a devoted fan base that got so big they had a seven page article in Rolling Stone before they’d even signed with a major label. Once that happened with Mercury Records in 1997, the band released You and Everybody Else in 1998 and launched the album with “Wait for You.” The song, produced by Cracker’s David Lowery, is a great pop song that deserved to be bigger but wasn’t. Led by frontman Schiavone McGee, the band immediately launch into a perfect blend of harmony and melody that explodes into an instantly memorable chorus. This method was always one of the band’s biggest trademarks and while always capable of writing great pop songs, th...

Forgotten Songs of the 21st Century: Sparta When at-the-drive-in disbanded suddenly in 2000, people were left scratching their heads and asking questions like, “What the hell are these guys going to do now?” The first ones out of the gate with new projects were Tony Hajjar, Paul Hinojos and Jim Ward with the powerful Sparta. Just over a year later, Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez came out with the Mars Volta, which everybody who was anybody jumped on and proclaimed one of the greatest bands of the 21st century. After that happened, Sparta were left behind and had to struggle for every bit of attention they received which is more than unfair because in my opinion, The Mars Volta are one of the most overrated bands of all time. But anyways, Sparta came out first in 2002 with The Wiretap Scars and one of the greatest debut singles of all time, “Cut Your Ribbon.” Beginning with a great drum intro courtesy of Tony Hajjar, frontman Jim Ward launches into a diatribe against a nameless perso...

Forgotten Album of the Month: They Might Be Giants Nowadays, everyone knows that They Might Be Giants are legends and geniuses but back in the mid nineties, their stock was declining and album sales were slowing down. But that has never mattered to the band and in some cases, they will still be able to make some really excellent music. One of those cases was 1994, as their record label, Elektra’s interest in them was falling, they emerged with what I feel is one of their best records, John Henry . Their first record with a full-fledged band, in this case, the kickass rhythm section of drummer Brian Doherty (The Silos) and bassist Tony Maimone (Pere Ubu), Johns Flanburgh and Linnell came back after the relatively disappointing Apollo 18 with a strong collection of bathed in fuzz rock songs. Kicking off with the experimental “Subliminal,” which contains at the end, the song in reverse, the band came out with undoubtedly their funkiest single ever, “Snail Shell,” which contains a great b...

Forgotten Songs of the ‘80s: The Clash The Clash were one of the best punk bands of all time, everyone knows this. But around 1980, the band began taking several detours, sound wise, some were successful and some were not. One of their best detours was dub/reggae, which peaked with the single release of “Bankrobber.” The song begins with a slower than usual Clash intro with the band playing as one and getting a groove going right off the bat. Then Joe Strummer comes in with incredibly melodic lyrics about his daddy being a bankrobber. The song is without a doubt, one of the best Clash songs ever. But as always, it’s the combination of Strummer’s vocals and lyrics and the power and strength of Paul Simonon, Mick Jones and Topper Headon. By keeping locked in the groove and not swaying in any way, the band were able to make the song more memorable. The song’s direct message and almost swaying, reggae beat set it apart from other Clash songs but again, that’s what made the band so damn spe...

Forgotten Songs of the ‘70s: Heatwave I know it has been quite a while since I’ve done anything about the seventies but recently, I had a revelation. Listening to some old Heatwave recently, I came across a powerhouse song called “Mind Blowing Decisions,” a song from their 1977 sophomore record, Central Heating . Unlike other Heatwave songs, this one was written by band leader Johnnie Wilder, Jr. and while he never wrote many songs in the band’s catalog, this is one to treasure. What on the surface sounds a relatively simple love song quickly becomes a look into the mind of someone who’s being torn apart by love. The main question being raised whether the man wants to stay with the woman as boyfriend or husband. Wilder’s voice keeps the song up at all times and the power of his words will make the hair stand up on your arms all the way through. With very light, almost orchestral accompaniment from the rest of the band, “Mind Blowing Decisions” is quite unlike any other R&B ballad f...

Forgotten Album of the Month: Crowded House This may strike some people as rather odd because Crowded House are more on the pop side of things as opposed to other bands on this blog but that’s at least one thing that makes them so special, that even a diehard alternative rock fan can dig some good Australian pop. In 1988, when they released their sophomore effort, Temple of Low Men , they were cast aside because many people found the record too dark and hard to swallow in light of their hits “Something So Strong” and “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” But on this record, frontman Neil Finn began to really find his voice and the result was a collection of some of the best written songs of the late ‘80s. While some songs like “Kill Eye” may strike the listener as incredibly dark, it’s merely an appetizer for what else the record holds. Without a doubt, one of Crowded House’s best ever songs, “Into Temptation” is a ballad about what lies on the other side of marriage. The way the acoustic melody an...

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 ...