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Post by Stacy Heydon on Jul 18, 2023 10:50:31 GMT
And you've always been wrong about that.. I think the lists are proving my point!
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Jul 18, 2023 11:04:19 GMT
1996
I was going to go for something more obviously musical, but in the end I couldn't overlook one of the UK's most memorable and extraordinary number ones. 'Firestarter' treads a careful line between something genuinely disturbing and a pantomime flamboyance, if it fell too solidly in either camp it wouldn't be half as effective. More than anyone else, Howlett really picked up the legacy of Public Enemy in the way they used samples as a dramatic form of sonic assault. Here you have a cacophony of pummelling drums, disembodied voices, scratches and thuds all revolving around Flint's incendiary lines. Rather than a contemporary dance act, I reckon its closest cousin is Sweet's 'Blockbuster' with which it shares its exciting brash and provocative theatre. Plus, as an added bonus, it's always guaranteed to wind up the music snobs! The last genuine UK pop culture moment innit? Certainly the last one when the alternative and the mainstream collided to such powerful effect with some added tabloid style "please think of the kids" outrage and danger thrown in for good measure. It was huge at the time and rightly so because it's a very exciting, distinctive record. Listening to it now you can detect similarities with PE (the atonal, bombastic quality) but it's also a peculiarly British record and I guess the apogee of the rave subculture that had been bubbling away for a few years by the mid 90s. I mean Keith Flint and his persona here couldn't really come from anywhere else. Half John Lydon, half grotesque, pantomime dame on ecstasy. Dancing and gurning away like an Essex lad at an all night rave in a smelly warehouse. Throw in a memorable black and white video (actually pretty classy and well done) and there was something darkly hypnotic and powerful about the whole thing but also quite laddish and working class too. The last gasp of something vaguely counter cultural and transgressive throwing out a dancefloor curveball into the British pop charts before we retreated into the post-Britpop blandness of Travis and the eventual dominance of bland "EDM" production belt pop music aimed at simpletons.
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Post by fonz on Jul 18, 2023 11:12:33 GMT
Yeah. My wife fucking loves ‘Firestarter’.
Brilliant
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Post by Stacy Heydon on Jul 18, 2023 11:15:58 GMT
1996
I was going to go for something more obviously musical, but in the end I couldn't overlook one of the UK's most memorable and extraordinary number ones. 'Firestarter' treads a careful line between something genuinely disturbing and a pantomime flamboyance, if it fell too solidly in either camp it wouldn't be half as effective. More than anyone else, Howlett really picked up the legacy of Public Enemy in the way they used samples as a dramatic form of sonic assault. Here you have a cacophony of pummelling drums, disembodied voices, scratches and thuds all revolving around Flint's incendiary lines. Rather than a contemporary dance act, I reckon its closest cousin is Sweet's 'Blockbuster' with which it shares its exciting brash and provocative theatre. Plus, as an added bonus, it's always guaranteed to wind up the music snobs! The last genuine UK pop culture moment innit? Certainly the last one when the alternative and the mainstream collided to such powerful effect with some added tabloid style "please think of the kids" outrage and danger thrown in for good measure. It was huge at the time and rightly so because it's a very exciting, distinctive record. Listening to it now you can detect similarities with PE (the atonal, bombastic quality) but it's also a peculiarly British record and I guess the apogee of the rave subculture that had been bubbling away for a few years by the mid 90s. I mean Keith Flint and his persona here couldn't really come from anywhere else. Half John Lydon, half grotesque, pantomime dame on ecstasy. Dancing and gurning away like an Essex lad at an all night rave in a smelly warehouse. Throw in a memorable black and white video (actually pretty classy and well done) and there was something darkly hypnotic and powerful about the whole thing but also quite laddish and working class too. The last gasp of something vaguely counter cultural and transgressive throwing out a dancefloor curveball into the British pop charts before we retreated into the post-Britpop blandness of Travis and the eventual dominance of bland "EDM" production belt pop music aimed at simpletons. It took me a while to appreciate how good Prodigy were. Like a lot of dance snobs, I dismissed them initially as their early records were breakbeat affairs with kids tv samples, plus they were from Essex! Music For The Jilted Generation made me realise there was more to them. I rather like those early records now..they're fun and have their own energy.
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Post by fonz on Jul 18, 2023 11:16:22 GMT
The last time the squares and the cool kids could join as one, coalescing into a youth culture the likes of which we will not see again.
Watershed
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Post by osgood on Jul 18, 2023 12:24:45 GMT
My daughter was 8 yo in 1996, so for me it will always be the year of Wannafuckinbe, but I will resist the temptation of nominating that. I'll go for this which looks like a nice counterpoint.
1996 Nick Cave & the Bad Sees - Henry Lee
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Post by riggers on Jul 19, 2023 11:28:59 GMT
1996 Super Furry Animals-"The Man Don't Give A Fuck"
A solid groove from December 1996. Brit pop by extension, but they skillfully built a career from a jump off point. As with the 60's, for me the 90's got more interesting musically as we got into the latter half. More 'head music' and drugs as opposed to swaggering about or pretending to be a chimney sweep.
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Deleted
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Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2023 12:23:12 GMT
So we just post a good tune (in your mind) from 96?
Gentlemen!!!!
C'MON.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Jul 19, 2023 12:29:25 GMT
1996
Well I started a thread on it so why not? Things were starting to dip musically in '96 as I said elsewhere. I don't recall much from this year that really stood out although I was tempted to choose Beck again and the marvellous New Pollution but I can't really overlook this one.
Powered by the success of Trainspotting it seemed to be everywhere for a period and similar to Firestarter it felt like a pop culture moment at the time. A crossover dance hit that captured the booze/drug hedonism of the period with its laddish "lager lager lager" chant and ecstasy inspired euphoria with a drum track that could loosen your fillings. If you were between 16 ish and 30+ at the time it's impossible not to hear the opening and not picture Renton choosing life. An indelible image burned into the memories of a generation.
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Post by oh oooh on Jul 19, 2023 16:13:24 GMT
fucking hell
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Post by DayoRemix on Jul 19, 2023 16:37:04 GMT
1996"Christiansands" Tricky
Thankfully, Prodigy, DJ Shadow and Nick Cave were taken off the board. Decided to go with the oh so "Middle Class/Middle Age friendly" ( ) Tricky, who's excellent second album often gets overlooked..Sorry to Crescent,Dr.Octagon and Cibo Matto.. Think it's time we pinned this thread..
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Post by riggers on Jul 19, 2023 16:41:32 GMT
Loved that second Tricky album, was tempted to go for something from that.
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rayge
Administrator
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Posts: 8,797
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Post by rayge on Jul 19, 2023 23:34:07 GMT
Think it's time we pinned this thread.. yep
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Post by Stacy Heydon on Jul 23, 2023 14:29:17 GMT
1997
I'm going with The Chemical Brothers 'The Private Psychedelic Reel' which seemed a really exciting way of taking influences from the past and totally fucking with them to create something new and exciting. I don't think anything they did subsequently matched it.
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Post by fearlessfreap on Jul 23, 2023 14:56:46 GMT
1997
A little bit of Bob James goes a long way, but this is like really good Bob James
Air - La Femme d’Argent
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