1991

Things are heating up around here, so it's been a little difficult to put together an intro this week. Just so you know what's going on, I'm going to be in Boston and New York next week. I will be updating the site next monday, but the monday after that I will be on a plane home, so you'll have to wait for the 80s a little bit longer. That week, the first week of the new year, I will be putting up old mixes that some of you latecomers may have missed. Hopefully, I'll be able to put them all up, but if there is a specific one you have missed that you would like (and please don't say 1992-2004, pick one) please request them below either this week or next week.

Okay, 1991. Three of the most important albums of all time in their respective genres: Loveless, Smells Like Teen Spirit, and Blue Lines, and that's without mentioning Tribe's The Low End Theory and The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is, of course, the 800 Pound Gorilla here (I saw Kong yesterday). But there are some other notable rock hits on the mix: the commercial peak and slow artistic decline of Metallica, awkward hand movements from Anthony Kleidis of Red Hot Chili Peppers in the "Under the Bridge" video, and Guns 'N' Roses' pompous epic.

1991 was my first conscious music year. I still remember when Nirvana hit, when Slash stood on the piano at the Mtv Music awards and wailed his way through the "November Rain" solo, and when Michael Stipe hopped around on Saturday Night Live (probably one of the first episodes I ever saw of that at its regular time). I was too young to notice Negativland, too American to notice Massive Attack or The Orb, and too white to notice Geto Boys or Black Sheep (though everyone knew Naughty By Nature's "O.P.P." - even nine year olds). But what evolved out of 1991 was the music that defined the nineties, and the music that would shape my taste. I do often wonder what nine year olds are exposed to these days, what music they have to look up to (or more importantly, look forward to), and maybe I'm not as pessimistic as would be expected. As evidenced by the year end lists that come around about this time, and my own arranging of my 2005 mix, I can see how much music has changed, but how much artists have remained the same. They are still pushing boundaries, exploring new sonic territory, and creating new genres and subgenres for future generations to discover.

Sorry for the ramblings. Carry on.

Download the mix.

1. Only Shallow - My Bloody Valentine - 4:17
2. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana - 5:01
3. Enter Sandman - Metallica - 5:31
4. Mind Playing Tricks On Me - Geto Boys - 5:05
5. O.P.P - Naughty By Nature - 4:30
6. The Choice Is Yours - Black Sheep - 3:23
7. Finally - Cece Peniston - 4:40
8. Losing My Religion - REM - 4:28
9. She Moves In Mysterious Ways - U2 - 4:03
10. U2 (special edit radio mix) - Negativland - 5:48
11. Summertime - Will Smith - 4:30
12. Scenario - A Tribe Called Quest - 4:09
13. Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack - 5:08
14. Little Fluffy Clouds - The Orb - 4:26
15. Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chile Peppers - 4:24
16. November Rain - Guns n' Roses - 8:55