Althouse: "1994 was a great year for me because that's when I started really discovering and learning to play music, around age 13."

March 8, 2019

"1994 was a great year for me because that's when I started really discovering and learning to play music, around age 13."

"And 25 years ago today, March 8, 1994, was a great day for music, because that's when Soundgarden released Superunknown, and Nine Inch Nails released The Downward Spiral. These weren't just some of the better records by a couple heavy, alternative bands of the mid-'90s. They were that, but they were something more. Listening to them now brings us back to a time when a rock band could be massively successful while daring to break out of formulas and challenge listeners. Here are 5 highlights from each album...."

Writes my son John on his blog, and if you go there, you'll get the 10 highlights, with discussion.

What were you listening to in 1994? I was listening to these recordings, because John was playing them, and I'm glad I had the experience, which I wouldn't have had if I'd been making my own selections at the time.

48 comments:

MadisonMan said...: Linger. Cranberries.; 3/8/19, 1:23 PM
tim maguire said...: I was still listening to my 80'as music. As I continued to do for another 10 years or so.; 3/8/19, 1:26 PM
Nonapod said...: What were you listening to in 1994?

I was 19-20 in 1994. I was in college and listening to Soundgarden's Superunknown and NIN's Downward Spiral. I was listening to a lot of Metal, and Punk and Hardcore back then.

Primus, Quicksand, Helmet, Suicidal Tendencies, Shootyz Groove (still the best Rap Metal group), Type-O-Negative, Therapy?, Biohazard, Sepultura, Ministry, Megadeth, Alice in Chains, Kyuss, Faith No More, Social Distortion, Tool... basically anything loud and aggressive I could find.; 3/8/19, 1:29 PM
Lyssa said...: That’s really nice. Johns a year younger than me, though I have to admit, I just never really got into music as a teen and don’t have much familiarity with these works. I find that now, though, when I’m, say, working in the kitchen and want some music, I get a real kick out of putting “90s alternative” on Alexa. I intentionally listen to songs from that era far more now them I ever did then.; 3/8/19, 1:32 PM
Ficta said...: The Downward Spiral and Nirvana Unplugged. Definitely Maybe was out, but I wouldn't get into Oasis until What's the Story Morning Glory in 1995. I'm not sure why, but Soundgarden never "clicked" for me.; 3/8/19, 1:32 PM
Robert Cook said...: In 1994 I was transitioning away from rock and pop music to free jazz. For over a decade I listened almost exclusively to just about every permutation I could find of amelodic, atonal jazz music, compared to which Coltrane at his wildest sounded conservative. Somewhere in the latter part of the first decade of the 21st Century, I started moving back to rock and pop music.; 3/8/19, 1:33 PM
PJ57 said...: 10000 Maniacs, Sheryl Crow, Gin Blossoms, Crash Test Dummies; 3/8/19, 1:33 PM
Robert Cook said...: Now, I often like to listen to the 70s pop music I hated when it was current (and omnipresent), and easy listening music.; 3/8/19, 1:35 PM
stevew said...: About the age then that John is now I was listening to all that stuff. All those grundge and alternative bands were great. WFNX in Boston was the go-to for that music. It was an exciting and creative period for rock/pop music, lots of great bands and songs that I continue to listen to.; 3/8/19, 1:37 PM
Carter Wood said...: Let Love In, Nick Cave -- including the great "Red Right Hand," which he performs in every show I've ever seen.

Middle-Class Revolt by The Fall and all things The Fall. RIP, Mark E. Smith.

And anything by Richard Thompson or Richard and Linda Thompson.

In my post-age-60 gleaning of CDs, everything goes except these artists. Goodbye, Bad Religion! Goodbye, Steve Earle! Goodbye, The Clash!; 3/8/19, 1:37 PM
Big Mike said...: In 1994 I was listening to Brooks and Dunn, Tobey Keith, "Summertime Blues" and "Livin' on Love" by Alan Jackson, and, of course, Garth Brooks.

I have friends in low places -- like the Althouse blog? Nope, the Althouse blog is where we debate the proper use of "whom." This clearly has to be the upper crust.; 3/8/19, 1:37 PM
Nonapod said...: Robert Cook said...
Now, I often like to listen to the 70s pop music I hated when it was current (and omnipresent), and easy listening music.

It's funny how that works. While I didn't necessarily hate the omnipresent pop music of my youth (the 1980s), I sort of just ignored it as background noise. In my middle age I've sort of grown to appreciate some of the 80s pop (Crowded House, Tears For Fears, Level 42 ect).; 3/8/19, 1:41 PM
J. Farmer said...: I was 12 in 1994 and also had Soundgarden and Nine Inch Nails. I also remember having the Portishead album Dummy and remember it sounding like nothing I had ever heard before. The genre would later go on to be called trip-hope, and Glory Box remains one of my favorite songs from the 1990s. Grace by Jeff Buckley was also released that year, but I didn't get it until a few years later. It included his fanastic rendition of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, long before that song would end up being covered to death.; 3/8/19, 1:42 PM
Kay said...: I was listening to the same things as your son. But I think my favorite in those days might have been Bjork, who turned me on to a lot of different styles of music that later I would get very deep into.; 3/8/19, 1:45 PM
tim in vermont said...: Zombie, Cranberries.; 3/8/19, 1:50 PM
Henry said...: Lyle Lovett (saw him in concert that year). Nick Cave. Tom Waits. Loudon Wainwright III.

I was also really into the local music scene at that time and listened to a lot of upstate New York alternative pop and alternative country. The Horse Flies is one example.; 3/8/19, 1:51 PM
Kay said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/8/19, 1:53 PM
Xmas said...: 1994 -- GWAR, NIN, SLE3P CHAMBER, and Ani DiFranco... Also Front 242 for some reason. And the Judgement Night Soundtrack (which was to blame for the late 90s into 2000s Rap-Rock BS.); 3/8/19, 1:54 PM
Kay said...: Also agree with John that Nine Inch Nails wasn’t really that depressing, though it may have seemd that way as a youngster. In later years, when I became more familiar with Trent Reznor’s influences, I considered it quite a talent for him to have been able to play in that sandbox, but still come up with a product that was suprisingly pop and accessible.; 3/8/19, 1:56 PM
Kay said...: J. Farmer said...
I also remember having the Portishead album Dummy and remember it sounding like nothing I had ever heard before.

3/8/19, 1:42 PM

This was definitely a classic record for me in those days and made a big impression on me.; 3/8/19, 1:59 PM
Henry said...: Oh yes, Jez Lowe -- also saw in concert around that time.; 3/8/19, 2:00 PM
Menahem Globus said...: A lot less than I was before 94. Soundgarden, Nirvana, and their ilk made rock music unlistenable. Billy Ray Cyrus made country an embarrassment for the better part of the next decade. I did stumble across John Hiatt around that time while Queen and Metallica adequately addressed my need for some sort of rock fix.; 3/8/19, 2:02 PM
Xmas said...: Semi-Related.

The Johnny Cash cover of 'Hurt' is so effing sad...; 3/8/19, 2:05 PM
Earnest Prole said...: It's such a relief and blessing when you find your kids inherited good taste.; 3/8/19, 2:06 PM
funsize said...: I was quite young, and despite living in the land of grunge, wasn't hugely exposed to it. I wouldn't get hooked until a few years later, sadly missing some of the pivotal years.

Those are excellent albums though, and I am really gratified I have since seen both NIN and Chris Cornell live.; 3/8/19, 2:16 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Xmas:

The Johnny Cash cover of 'Hurt' is so effing sad...

Rick Rubin's work with Johnny Cash on the American series of albums was a fitting epilogue to Cash's career. Covering NIN's Hurt was a brilliant stroke, but Mark Romanek's music video took it to the next level, a haunting and beautiful piece of work.; 3/8/19, 2:16 PM
Rick said...: What were you listening to in 1994?

The best release in 1994 was Throwing Copper by Live [Lightning Crashes, I Alone].

Awesome.; 3/8/19, 2:26 PM
tommyesq said...: SteveW, I loved FNX in Boston. At the time I was listening to the Pogues, REM, U2 (but liked their mid '90s stuff less than the early stuff), the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and local stuff like the Neighborhoods. I played in a Boston band, and had the pleasure of hearing one of our tunes on WBCN's "Nocturnal Emissions" show (played local acts on Sunday evenings), then flipped to FNX to hear one of our other songs on their local music show - closest we came to being rock stars!; 3/8/19, 2:35 PM
Wince said...: It is interesting to mention the older established artists who covered some of these song.

Obviously, Cash's version of Hurt is great.

Peter Frampton was enamored of Blackhole Sun even before Cornell's death, with ebow and Talk Box vocals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU8yuWddw0E

Others?; 3/8/19, 2:42 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: In 1994, I was listening to the same music I had been listening to in 1974.; 3/8/19, 2:42 PM
Jack Klompus said...: Minutemen, Portishead, Butthole Surfers, Tom Waits, My Bloody Valentine, Swans, Rolling Stones, pre-Dark Side Floyd, Bad Brains, Wire... Tons of stuff, little that came out c. 94. It seemed like electronic music was beginning to take over the "indie" scene along with angsty crap like Porn. Meh to that sound but Tool was coming on the scene and Undertow is a masterpiece.; 3/8/19, 2:53 PM
Jack Klompus said...: Korn that is. Porn of course is timeless.; 3/8/19, 2:54 PM
Wince said...: tommyesq said...
I loved FNX in Boston. At the time I was listening to... local stuff like the Neighborhoods.

Prettiest Girl was one my local favorites from 1979-80s.

This old live TV version is geeky and great all at the same time.

They look so young.; 3/8/19, 2:54 PM
Anthony said...: I was all over grunge (lived in Seattle at the time). Except Pearl Jam (blehh). Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Garbage -- Madison connection! -- Alice in Chains, Soundgarden (I told my (gorgeous) black friend about them and I remember she just looked at me and said "Sound Garden?"), Hair of the Dog, Jesus Jones. . . . . .tons of great stuff. We had KNDD then, who were awesome.

I much prefer Badmotorfinger to Superunknown though.; 3/8/19, 2:57 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Primus, Quicksand, Helmet, Suicidal Tendencies, Shootyz Groove (still the best Rap Metal group), Type-O-Negative, Therapy?, Biohazard, Sepultura, Ministry, Megadeth, Alice in Chains, Kyuss, Faith No More, Social Distortion, Tool

There is not one band in that group that I ever have heard of.; 3/8/19, 2:57 PM
Jack Klompus said...: I was all over grunge (lived in Seattle at the time). Except Pearl Jam (blehh).

Thank you! Pearl Jam suck and Eddie Vedder is a pretentious no talent pseudo woke douche.; 3/8/19, 3:00 PM
D 2 said...: Almost a decade older than John. Early 20s is not far off from early teens or late 40s. I like to think musical habits accrete. They can intensify on certain songs artists styles memory-laden notes. Years can past but surely one can listen to something again and still think, ok. It's not necessarily definitive to era.
I bought quite a few CDs that year. Both current stuff and "old" stuff. If that was the year Elvis Costello's Brutal Youth came out, I'd say the laser beam in the disc drive went over that quite a bit.; 3/8/19, 3:02 PM
Maillard Reactionary said...: "What were you listening to in 1994?"

Brahms, mostly.; 3/8/19, 3:19 PM
J. Farmer said...: 1994 was also a big year in hip-hop. The Notorious BIG and Outkast bothed debuted that year. Warren G was also big that year, and the Beastie Boys released Ill Communication, which contained their great single Sabotage.; 3/8/19, 3:26 PM
gg6 said...: "massively"? Really, John? Not the kind of adjective Ann at Althouse would typically let pass.; 3/8/19, 3:35 PM
tommyesq said...: The Neighborhoods was one of the best live bands I have ever seen - caught them about ten times around the city - the Rat, Bunratty's, a bunch of other places that are no longer around. The Boston live band club scene from the 90's is pretty much all high end condos and Gap stores now.; 3/8/19, 3:53 PM
Mark said...: daring to break out of formulas and challenge listeners

Eff that. You don't listen to rock to break out of formulas and be challenged. And besides, music in the 1990s, including those bands, sucked hard.; 3/8/19, 4:13 PM
gbarto said...: I was a senior in college and getting into classical. In '94 I discovered Shostakovich's String Quartets. But I heard a lot of Bjork, Portishead and Sarah McClachlan because that's what my much cooler younger sister was listening to. She also listened to Nine-Inch-Nails, which I never got into. Portishead and Shostakovich still get regular play on my phone. And there are days when you have to listen to Black Hole Sun, the only Soundgarden song we less sophisticated types got onto.; 3/8/19, 4:26 PM
chickelit said...: Althouse asked "What were you listening to in 1994?"

My detailed response (with links) posted several years ago.; 3/8/19, 6:22 PM
mccullough said...: I was 22 back then in college and liked that Soundgarden album and similar “Seattle stuff.” I also listened to a fair amount of Greatful Dead as they were still touring then.

Snoop’s album from ‘93 was pretty good and playing back them.

Cobain killed himself in spring of ‘94 and Chris Cornell killed himself 23 years later. It’s hard to listen to their music now knowing what happened to them.

Snoop’s still around; 3/8/19, 8:02 PM
Josephbleau said...: Gauss... and Euler.; 3/8/19, 8:29 PM
George Leroy Tirebiter said...: After being away from contemporary less-than-hits stuff for a few years due to family & long hours at a Silicon Valley startup, in 1994 was getting back into contemporary Power Pop, J-Pop and other melodic/harmonic music. Bill Lloyd's Set to Pop, several Cornelius & Denki Groove albums, the 1st Yellow Pills comp, Martin Newell, Weezer, Cardinal (duo w/Eric Matthews). Locally here in San Jose, there was a very cool pop/psych band Jupiter Sun with a lp (& saw a number of times), and Bay Area groups The Sneetches and The Loud Family issued records in 94. No doubt there were more...; 3/8/19, 8:34 PM
Rusty said...: I was listening to whatever my daughters were into.
John. See if you can find a track by the Chicago band 'Release(r)'. Like to knoiw what you think.; 3/9/19, 8:37 AM