Tag Archives: 90s

May Summer Songs: “Up the Beach”

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Nothing's Shocking
Nothing’s Shocking

“Up the Beach”
by Jane’s Addiction
from the album Nothing’s Shocking
1988
Buy the album on Amazon

Lance already started off this month’s theme with Jane’s, but it’s this song in particular that matches the theme for me, for a very specific reason/memory. I grew up in CO, and one summer (probably after my sophomore year of HS?), my friend Chris and I decided to go camping at the Great Sand Dunes (totally recommended). I have lots of good memories from the trip, but one that’s always stuck with me is completely blasting this album on the drive there, awesome stereo, open road, being able to look for miles in all directions, windows down, hand riding the air (I’m a dolphin!), feeling epic.

May Summer Songs: “Surf Wax America”

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Weezer
Weezer

“Surf Wax America”
by Weezer
from the album The Blue Album
1994
Buy the album on Amazon

There are a lot of Weezer songs that are summer songs to me. They’re fun, they’re poppy, they make me want to turn them up and sing along and move (it’s tough for me to listen to Weezer at work). A lot of them also have an undercurrent to them that move them beyond a standard pop song.

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Karaoke Tuesday: “Glycerine”

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Sixteen Stone
Sixteen Stone

“Glycerine”
by Bush
from the album Sixteen Stone
1994
Buy the album on Amazon

I feel like Bush has gotten a lot of flack, but this album hit at a time where I got really into them (plus I admit, I had a man crush on Gavin Rossdale). I think I stopped listening to them after their second album, but still love Sixteen Stone (actually, looking at the tracklist, I realize I’m way overdue in revisiting it), and I saw them once in Atlanta with either Pearl Jam or No Doubt.

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Cover Friday: “3 Is A Magic Number”

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School House Rock! Rocks
School House Rock! Rocks

“3 Is A Magic Number”
by Blind Melon (originally by School House Rock!)
from the album School House Rock! Rocks
1996
Buy the album on Amazon

I found this track on a CMJ magazine sampler CD  sometime in 1996.  A few years later I totally got into MiniDiscs and transferred the tracks I really liked from those sampler CDs to MDs.  And then recently when I was moving down to Austin, I transferred those MD mix discs into iTunes.  This song has survived three generations of media, and rightfully so.  It’s fun, magical little tune and serves as double nostalgia: for Blind Melon and for School House Rock!

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May Summer Songs: “Give It Away”

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Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Blood Sugar Sex Magik

“Give It Away”
by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
from the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik
1991
Buy the album on Amazon

This song sweats, that’s all there is to it.  Even before Stéphane Sednaouie‘s gorgeous video confirmed it, the song had that dessert sun feeling to it.  It’s just stanky and funky.  I’ve performed this at karaoke a few times and it’s an exhausting song to sing.  The structure is relentless and punishing – there’s never a chance to catch your breath.   If you put it in the car and crank it and you’ll be excited for whatever adventure you’re driving towards, guaranteed.  It’s totally a summer party anthem.   Speaking of, this song brings to mind a very specific summer memory.

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Cover Friday: “Happiness is a Warm Gun”

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Pod
Pod

“Happiness is a Warm Gun”
by The Breeders (originally by The Beatles)
from the album Pod
1990
Buy the album on Amazon

I’m already a day late, and with 11 minutes to spare, nearly two days, so I’ll follow Lance’s lead and go with one where I’m slightly embarrassed to admit I only knew this cover version for a long time before I ever heard the original.

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Cover Friday: “Dead Souls”

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The Crow
The Crow

“Dead Souls”
by Nine Inch Nails (originally by Joy Division)
from The Crow Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
1995
Buy the album on Amazon

There’s been a definite pattern with my choice of cover  songs lately, in that I fell in love with the cover version long before I heard the original.   I don’t want to disappoint my loyal fan by diverging from this path so I present “Dead Souls” as performed by Nine Inch Nails.

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Karaoke Tuesday: “Lightning Crashes”

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Throwing Coppper
Throwing Copper

“Lightning Crashes”
by Live
from the album Throwing Copper
1994 Radioactive
Buy the album on Amazon

I’m totally behind on my posts, so I was feeling a bit stressed on what to pick for the karaoke entry.  I had something completely different in mind when I decided to hit MNP to see what Chris had cooked up for his entry.  Upon seeing “Brick” I thought FUCK IT and countered with my own depressing karaoke song.  Ladies and gentled, the song you should never sing with expectant parents in the room… “Lightning Crashes.”

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Karaoke Tuesday: “Brick”

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Whatever and Ever Amen
Whatever and Ever Amen

“Brick”
by Ben Folds Five
from the album Whatever and Ever Amen
1997
Buy the album on Amazon

This isn’t exactly a karaoke upper. For people who don’t know it, it’s a bit of a downer in sped, but if you do know what the song is about, it’s downright depressing. Which of course hasn’t stopped me from doing it a time or two.
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Cover Friday: “Love Hurts”

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Love and a .45
Love and a .45

“Love Hurts”
by Kim Deal and Robert Pollard (originally by The Everly Brothers)
from the album Love and a .45
1994
Buy the album on Amazon

I feel grossly uninformed, but until a week or two ago, I didn’t know anything about this song. It’s another one I randomly came across at some point and downloaded strictly because of Kim Deal (I never got into GBV). I was actually going to post it at the end of last month for #AprilDuets, but then when I started looking into it, i realized how much history the song had.

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