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J and Tim dig into the grunge, alt-rock, and indie albums that changed everything—the forgotten classics, the underappreciated masterpieces, and the legends worth hearing again. One album at a time. Let’s dig it out.
Episodes
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
Were the 90s just Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and various other grunge bands and their followers? Of course not, but revisiting Morphine's 1993 album Cure For Pain makes a strong case that the true alternative of the decade never bubbled up to MTV TRL, Clear Channel playlists, or Rolling Stone covers. A horn driven, blues and jazz influenced rock band that channeled Tom Waits and The Velvet Underground was never going to sell ten million albums. But along with fellow outsiders like those in Soul Coughing, The Jon Spencer Blue Explosion, and others, there was room on college radio and 120 Minutes for more askew views of what rock and pop meant.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Buena
24:28 - Thursday
29:53 - A Head With Wings
32:42 - I'm Free Now
35:56 - Let's Take A Trip Together
Outro - Cure For Pain
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Tuesday Aug 11, 2020
Tuesday Aug 11, 2020
It's episode 500 of Dig Me Out! At our Patreon page, we asked our patrons to pick a record for this special occasion, but not just any record. We gave them the top ten best-selling rock albums of the 1990s, and let them choose from Alanis Morissette, Kid Rock, Santana, Hootie & The Blowfish, No Doubt, Matchbox 20, Metallica, Green Day, Creed and Nirvana. Thanks to their votes, we got the chance to revisit possibly the most iconic and legendary album of the decade - 1991's Nevermind. But we weren't alone, as we invited our patrons and past guests to join us via a group Zoom chat to dive into this record, the shifting musical landscape of the early 90s, the evolution of discovering new music over the past few decades, and much, much more during our two-hour extravaganza.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Outro - Territorial Pissings
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Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
Aimee Mann. Jackson Browne. Jon Brion. Nicky Hopkins. Benmont Tench. Steve Nieve. Jim Keltner. What do all those names have in common? They played on Murray Attaway's 1993 album In Thrall. But wait, there's more! Pat Mastelotto of King Crimson and Mr. Mister. Robbie Blunt from Robert Plant's solo band. Alex Acuña of the Weather Report. Sid Page of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. Steven Soles and David Mansfield from Bob Dylan's band. How did all these people end up playing on the lone solo release by the former singer/guitarist of Athen's, Georgia jangle-pop band Guadalcanal Diary? We have no idea, but it makes for an interesting listen, as Attaway's indie-pop songwriting sensibilities are filtered through a variety of talented players on both sides of the recording booth window. Did we mention there is a Lord-Alge brother involved?
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Under Jets
18:58 - No Tears Tonight
22:16 - The Evensong
29:24 - Angels In The Trees
35:50 - Fall So Far
43:40 - Living In Another Time
Outro - Allegory
Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon.
Tuesday Jul 28, 2020
Tuesday Jul 28, 2020
The 1990s may have been the most bountiful of decades when it came to the concept of the B-side. Originally singles provided just one extra song on the second side of a 45 RPM single. That expanded to 12" singles for dance 1970s remixes and 1980s longer cassette singles. For music obsessives, the 90s provide the rare opportunity to hear three, four or more tracks from a band not included on an album. Non-album studio tracks were accompanied by demo, live, remix, acoustic, radio edit and more of album and non-album tracks, as well as covers, instrumental and acapella versions. Some bands, like Pearl Jam, Suede, and Oasis, even managed to score radio singles with their b-sides. We dive into the various interesting B-sides from a variety of bands and discuss some of the B-sides compilations released during the decade.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam
13:28 - Landslide (Fleetwood Mac cover) by The Smashing Pumpkins
19:02 - Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd cover) by Catherine Wheel
28:09 - Heroin Girl (Acoustic) by Everclear
41:08 - Maquiladora by Radiohead
50:05 - Winnebago by Foo Fighters
Outro - Puppets by Hum
Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon.
Tuesday Jul 21, 2020
Tuesday Jul 21, 2020
Funk music might be most commonly associated with 1970s bands like Funkadelic, Parliament, Sly & The Family Stone, the Ohio Players, and other more, but the 1990s saw their fair share of funk enthusiasts slip into the alternative mainstream. The Red Hot Chili Peppers had become an MTV staple, Primus and Faith No More explored the outer edges, while bands like the Beastie Boys, Living Colour, Infectious Grooves and more put their own spin on the sound. In Ann Arbor, Michigan, the remnants of 80s hardcore bands the Necros, Laughing Hyenas, and others formed Big Chief, whose 1991 skewed towards the alternative metal sound. That would not be the case on their 1993 follow-up, Mack Avenue Skullgame. Dubbed an "Original Soundtrack" for a movie that does not exist, the album is a faithful throwback to the 70s blaxploitation sounds of soundtracks like Shaft, Superfly, Cleopatra Jones and others. The band lays down authentic if updated funk sounds and adds the necessary vocals of Thornetta Davis to add melodic punch. But like all soundtracks, can the concept work without the imagery to go with it?
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - My Name Is Pimp (Mack's Theme)
19:08 - One Born Every Minute (Doc's Theme)
24:18 - If I Had A Nickle For Every Dime
27:32 - No Free Love On The Street
32:55 - Cop Kisser (Mack F*cks Up The Scene At The Freezer)
Outro - Cut To The Chase
Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon.
Tuesday Jul 14, 2020
Tuesday Jul 14, 2020
In 1995 PJ Harvey was relatively unknown in the US, aside from college radio and others tuned into the underground. Thanks to the breakout single "Down By The Water," for a brief moment she was in the same spotlight as Tori Amos, Bjork, Sarah McLachlan, Liz Phair, and other female artists who transcended the dominance of Seattle grunge and guitar rock. On To Bring You My Love, Harvey bounces between the minimalist blues of the title track and the krautrock drive of Working For The Man, and the blistering distortion of Meet Ze Monsta and pounding drive of Long Snake Moan. But in the age of Spotify skipping, can minimalism and restraint with bursts of nasty distortion still catch an ear?
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Down By The Water
22:22 - C'mon Billy
26:09 - Long Snake Moan
34:10 - The Dancer
38:03 - Working For The Man
Outro - Meet Ze Monsta
Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon.
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
Thanks to our Patreon community, every so often we get to step outside the our 90s comfort zone of American, UK and Australian alternative and indie rock. Having previously gotten hip to the rock en español of Café Tacvba and the Indian/Britpop fusion of Cornershop, this time we're getting the fusion from a different starting point. On the 1997 live recording Desert Rain by Indian Ocean, the fusion starts with the North Indian style of Indian classical music known as Hindustani, and from there incorporates elements of jazz, rock and folk. Able to stand on its mightily on its own with regard to craft and technical ability, making sonic connects to artists such as Tool drummer Danny Carey and his use of the tabla or the mathematical improvisation of Steely Dan helped our understanding and deepened our appreciation for our latest discovery.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Village Damsel
20:17 - Euphoria
23:42 - From The Ruins
33:35 - Going to ITO
Outro - Melancholic Ecstasy
Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon.
Tuesday Jun 30, 2020
Tuesday Jun 30, 2020
Maybe more so than any other decade, the 90s pumped out tribute albums at a furious rate. Whether it was loving takes on beloved artists, exposing underground heroes to new audiences, or updates with kitschy and nostalgic themes, nearly every month a new tribute compilation CD was probably at your local record store. Our roundtable shares what makes a successful tribute album and what can derail an effort, whether it's simply cloning the original song, or completely ignoring it. We also investigate the phenomenon of random, lesser-known bands popping up in tracking listings alongside a group of heavy-hitters, and the one-off collaborations that showed up on occasion.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Tribute by Tenacious D
5:39 - Hard Luck Woman by Garth Brooks (Kiss My Ass - Classic Kiss Regrooved)
9:24 - Summer Of Drugs by Soul Asylum (Sweet Relief - A Benefit For Victoria Williams)
14:31 - Making Plans For Nigel by The Rembrandts - XTC: A Testimonial Dinner
21:02 - We Only Just Begun by Grant Lee Buffalo (If I Were A Carpenter)
27:02 - Clampdown by the Indigo Girls (Burning London: The Clash Tribute)
36:48 - She Don't Use Jelly by Ben Folds Five (Lounge-A-Palooza)
Outro - She's Lost Control by Girls Against Boys (A Means To An End: The Music Of Joy Division)
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Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
The cross-pollination of punk and rock between the United States and Australia has been going on for decades, but one of lesser-known but most interesting (to us, at least!) is the 1980s and early 90s grunge scene, and how Australian bands like The Scientists, The Birthday Party, and Cosmic Psychos had an influence on their American Pacific Northwest counterparts. In the case of the Cosmic Psychos, it was finding commonality with bands like Mudhoney and the Melvins, and releasing their 1989 album on the then upstart Sub Pop label. In 1991 the band recorded with Butch Vig following the Nirvana's Nevermind sessions and produced Blokes You Can Trust, released on the influential Amphetamine Reptile label. For a three-piece, the sound is massive thanks to the fuzzed-out bass that will remind some of the desert and stoner rock scenes, while the old-school AC/DC riffs combined with punk and hardcore attitude of Black Flag and Motorhead lands on the spiritual kin of Seattle's grunge scene.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Dead Roo
20:16 - Back At School
29:40 - Loser
36:26 - Do It To Me
Outro - Nightshift
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Tuesday Jun 16, 2020
Tuesday Jun 16, 2020
If you remember the Smoking Popes, it's probably thanks to their Buzzbin / Clueless soundtrack single "Need You Around." Lead singer Josh Caterer got tagged as punk-rock Morrissey, and while the band continued on, many were left with the impression that the Smoking Popes were something of a novelty. As we dug into this album for the first time, the realization quickly set in that the early Morrissey comparisons were way off base, as both Caterer, along with his brothers Eli and Matt, and drummer Mike Felumlee, are significantly less punk than expected. Sure, you can hear the energetic down strums of Ramones across the record, but instead of 90s pop/punk, the band channels the likes of Wings, The Smithereens, Buddy Holly, Frank Sinatra and more in their quest to write exquisitely arranged pop-rock gems.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Need You Around
18:49 - Rubella
21:56 - Mrs. Me And You
25:46 - My Lucky Day
28:30 - Gotta Know Right Now
Outro - Midnight Moon
Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon.