From: Tom Kipp
Okay, so the other, later, shittier, magazine called Slant bequeaths unto us its "Albums of the Nineties" #61 through #100 today, precisely a decade too late, and I’m not sure there were ten really good albums in the lot.
I mean, the ’90s beat the ’00s all to hell in the rock-related [including indie, grunge, pop, hip-hop, all that] album sweepstakes, fair enough.
But no way they weren’t inferior to the THREE decades that preceded them on that front.
Oh well, the compiler would hardly be the first cub reportin‘ schlub to be delusional about the decade when he was, presumably, in high school and/or college! LOL
The music was that
Not maybe, baby….sans doubt!
– Tom Kipp
P.S. Perhaps Young Sal will redeem himself tomorrow….though breath will not be held!
Thanks Andy.
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From: Andrew Hamlin
Subject: Ah, those hazy, crazy days of the man called Bill in the White House…
http://slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-90s/251
Enjoy.
Best,
Andrew
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On Tue, Feb 15, 2011 at 12:45 PM, Kipp, Thomas J
> Okay, so the other, later, shittier, magazine called Slant bequeaths unto us
> its “Albums of the Nineties” #61 through #100 today, precisely a decade too
> late, and I’m not sure there were ten really good albums in the lot.
Throw down a gauntlet, why don’t you! Extract “really good” working only with nos. 100 through 61, eh Mr K.? Well, I count eight at the very least:
96. Bob Dylan, Time Out of Mind.
92. Beastie Boys, Check Your Head.
80. Talk Talk, Laughing Stock. (Probably one of the Ten Best Albums Of The ’90s, period)
72. Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes.
66. The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin.
65. Beck, Midnite Vultures.
64. Beck, Mellow Gold. (See Talk Talk note above)
61. Tom Waits, Bone Machine. (See Beck note above)
Might well have made above list if I’d listened to it more:
71. Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out.
Might well have made above list if I remembered them better:
83. Tori Amos, From the Choirgirl Hotel.
76. Beastie Boys, Ill Communication.
73. Annie Lennox, Diva.
Hoping Tom will explain what he (doesn’t) hear(s) in those. Anyone else?
– Andrew Hamlin
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And from the ever-reliable Tris McCall, a poetic countdown from (in his case) nos. 100 through 21, from the list at
http://slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-90s/251/page_1
I like 99.
like most of 92…
love 89.
now there’s a great album!
learned to love, or at least respect, 88.
like 72 a lot.
these people think deee-lite is better than atliens? wow.
love 60.
think very highly of 59, although it’s uneven.
love 58, respect 56.
wow, these people think two dee-lite albums are better than atliens.
that’s crazy.
i enjoy 51, but i don’t know if i would go to the wall for it.
love 50, 49, and 48.
like 42.
50 through 48 plus atliens are great.
39 is one of my all-time favorite albums. top five of all time.
33 and 31 are pretty great.
24 through 22 are on my awesome list, too.
– Tris McCall
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From: Tom Kipp
Subject: RE: Ah, those hazy, crazy days of the man called Bill in the White House…
To: Andrew Hamlin
Hi Andy:
I’ll keep it simple. These are the 1990s albums amongst those listed below that I consider Very Good to Excellent, and thus worthy of any consideration in a “Best of Decade” reckoning:
Bob Dylan, Time Out of Mind
Beastie Boys, Check Your Head
Beck, Mellow Gold
Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out
Beastie Boys, Ill Communication
And I prefer The Pet Shop Boys’ career-capping Very to all of them.
I consider 69 Love Songs a near-Masterpiece, so #88 seems an embarrassing miscalculation of its accomplishment.
MTV Unplugged in New York remains one of the great live albums of all-time, but is diminished by the carelessly low-ranking [#70] and middling company.
Pavement’s Crooked Rain [#52] was their peak, so belongs in any self-respecting Nineties Top Ten, perhaps as high as #4 or #5. Their Slanted [#40] should not be far behind.
I am also fond of Prince [#94], The Orb [#93], Aphex Twin [#91], REM [#84], PJ Harvey [#69], Sinead O’Connor [#58], U2 [#54], Tricky [#53], B&S [#49], NIN [#45], Massive Attack [#44], De La Soul [#39], and Hole [#38].
The “Top 30” will have to wait, Andy, but I hope this gives you some idea where my ears, brain and heart “stand” re: The Clinton Decade’s Top LP output.
The other albums listed I found/find largely inconsequential. This may be my failing, but I’ll stand by it.
There are so many at-least-Near-Great Albums missing from this list, including the Top 30, that I find mulling the precise merits of such marginalia/effluvia a poor use of our time, 11 to 21 years on.
We should be discussing Great(er) Music, and I hope we will….
– Tom Kipp
