Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock

For episode #121, Tim Steward of  Screamfeeder joins us to fulfill a listener request to review their 1996 album Kitten Licks. The lead singer/guitarist of the Australian three-piece shares his experiences in the 90s alternative music scene on the other side of the planet, what it's like to have multiple songwriters in a band, and much more. Songs in this Episode: Intro - Dart 11:04 - Static 31:14...

Joining us for episode #120 is  Happy Chichester , formerly of  Howlin Maggie , who has just released his second solo album,  Torchwood Loop . After spending almost a decade in legendary funk-rock band  Royal Crescent Mob , Happy formed Howlin Maggie, who released their debut album Honeysuckle Strange in 1996. After a line-up change and follow-up release in 2001, Happy struck out on his own, relea...

For episode #119, we're tackle a listener suggestion: The Moray Eels Eat The Space Needle by Space Needle from 1997. Only this time, we've brought in our listener to tell us why he decided to suggest this album, that bounces between ten-plus-minute space rock experiments to concise and bittersweet harmonized morose pop. Songs in this Episode: Intro - One Kind of Lullaby 4:21 - History of the Band...

For episode #118,  Aaron Perrino of  The Sheila Divine joins us to revisit their debut 1999 album,  New Parade . Our wide ranging discussion covers a variety topics, including the whether Cleveland or Buffalo are the sadder city, the workout habits of Greg Dulli, eyeglass endorsements and contracting SARS in China. Oh, and we also talk music, songwriting, recording, touring and all that good stuff...

For our latest listener suggestion, we finally get around to a beloved album that flew under our collective radar for too long - 1994's  Pony Express Record by  Shudder To Think . The twists and turns are plenty on STT's major label debut, but hidden inside these dissonant and jagged tunes are melodic hooks that would make Matthew Sweet swoon. And that's not the only oddball reference we'll make,...

Episode #116 brings us another listener suggestion, this time we check out the 1995 album Murk Time Cruiser by aMiniature (the first "a" is silent, if you didn't know). Combining disjointed rhythms and razor sharp guitar riffs, aMiniature are in the same stratosphere as the recently reviewed Knapsack , evening sharing the same producer for their third and final album, just like Knapsack. But is th...

The day has finally come - Dig Me Out is intercontinental! For episode #115, we're joined on Skype by Australian filmmaker  Shaun Katz to talk about his upcoming music documentary,  Underground, Inc. , as well as review his pick, the 1996 album  Endless Bummer by  My Head . Help back Underground, Inc. by backing the  Kickstarter campaign . Songs in this Episode: Intro - Killer Hair 6:09 - History...

The lone release by Seattle-supergroup  Mad Season , 1995's  Above , is being re-released in 2013 as a box set with new material and a live concert, so now is the time to revisit. Often, musical supergroups fail to live up to the sum of their parts (re: The Thorns or Velvet Revolver), does Mad Season? Is this just another "grunge" record, or does Above rise...um, above? Tune in to find out. Songs...

For listener request episode #113, we're heading down the road less, or never travelled:  Radial Spangle , and their second (and last) album, 1994's  Syrup Macrame . Indie and alternative aren't specific enough to describe Radial Spangle's music: neo-experimental-space-psychedelic-lo-fi-rock? We're not quiet sure what to make of much of the album, but moments shine through - are their enough? Tune...

For episode #112, we're tackling the third and final album from Knapsack, 1998's  This Conversation Is Ending Starting Right Now . Jason brings a favorite of his to review, and Tim's never heard it. Will Tim share Jason's appreciation for an album that got plenty of  Facebook love , or is disagreement on the horizon? Tune in to find out. Songs in this Episode: Intro - Arrows to the Action 2:46 - H...

We're back with another listener suggestion for episode #111 as we return to the world of 90s one-hit wonders and the 1996 album  Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy by  The Refreshments . Combining bar-band like guitar crunch with clever lyrics, FFBB shows of the Arizona band's musical range, adding elements unique to the Southwest like Mariachi rhythms and horns, and plenty of references to Mexico. There's...

We're back with another pick from Jason - the 1997 album  Sound Of Lies by  The Jayhawks . Written and recorded after the departure of co-founding lead singer and songwriter Mark Olsen, Sound of Lies rests on the shoulders of Gary Louris, who expands the Midwestern Americana sound to include psychedelic and Beatles-esque pop. Reviews were mixed at the time, but some claim this is a buried treasure...

Episode 109 brings us another listener suggestion, this time the swan song of the  Screaming Trees , their 1996 album  Dust . The band recruited legendary producer  George Drakoulias and legendary keyboardist Benmont Tench to create their most polished and radio-friendly album of their career, but did it turn out legendary? Tune in to find out. Songs in this Episode: Intro - Make My Mind 5:15 - Hi...

It's Tim's turn to make a pick, and this one brings the first big disagreement of the 2013 season as we tackle the sophomore album from  Big Ass Truck , 1996's  Kent . The gentlemen from Memphis combine Southern rock, funk and a little Ska with touches of Dust Brothers production ala the Beastie Boys and Beck. It's definitely an acquired taste, and one host did not acquire it. Can you guess who? T...

This week it's our third  requested review of season - the  lone self-titled release by  Handsome . The 90s had it's fair share of supergroups, from  Temple of the Dog to  Golden Smog , but Handsome flew under the radar, featuring members of legendary bands like Quicksand, Helmet, Cro-Mags and Murphy's Law. Terms like hardcore and alternative are easy to associate to Handsome, but what about shoeg...

This week we review a band that has sold over two million albums over a seventeen-year, ten-album career - and most people outside Sweden have never heard of them. It's  Kent , and their 1998 album  Isola . Well, 1998 is the release of the English-language version, the Swedish-language version came out a year earlier, but that's not the point. We're hear to talk about the music, which in it's fine...

Episode 105 brings us our second  Requested Review of the 2013 season: 1997's  Rock Collection by  Pond , the third and final album from the Portland, Oregon trio. Combing angular guitar riffs with tricky drumming and challenging melodies, Pond brings to mind better known 90s rock darlings like Built To Spill and Pavement. Do they have what it takes for consideration in the indie-rock pantheon alo...

For episode #104, Tim sifted through his college radio archive to dig out the lone album by  Pusherman , 1996's  Floored . Combining the long-form jams of The Verve with the attitude and pop-sensiblity of Oasis, the band pushes the envelope on song and album length, usually bad signs when we get our hands on a record from the 90s. Through in a harmonica and some dance beats, and it sounds like a r...

For our first episode of Season Three, we've got a  requested review : the 1997 album  One Day At A Time by  Symposium . Once the "it" band for NME and Melody Maker, the band fell as fast as it rose, while it's brand of energetic pop punk seemed more in step with American bands like Green Day and Blink-182 than it's brit-pop contemporaries Oasis and Blur. The young band knows how to write a melodi...

Season Two of Dig Me Out is in the books! For the last episode of 2012, we're taking a look back at our sophomore year and picking our top five favorite songs as well as our new album discovery. We've got plenty of thanks to dispense to those who made Season Two a huge success: all of our great guests and folks who suggested albums, and of course our listeners. Lastly, towards the end of the show...

For our last review of 2012, of course it's a listener suggestion. To wrap it up, we're checking out Chicago's  Eleventh Dream Day and their 1993 album  El Moodio . EDD provides a unique sound with their male/female vocal combination and wild swings from concise jangle pop to sprawling jam ballads. Does it all work? Tune in to find out. Songs in this Episode: Intro - Makin' Like a Rug 2:40 - Histo...

Episode #100 marks the second of two listener suggestion episodes that ignore the alternative and indie rock explosion of the 1990s in favor of some straight-up rock and roll that draws influences from metal, glam and hard rock of the previous decade. This week, it's  Circus of Power and their 1993 album  Magic & Madness . A number of bands pinned to the hair/glam rock era of the 1980s tried to tr...

Thanks to a listener suggestion we're starting a two week exploration of the metal, glam and hard rock end of the 1990s with  Life, Sex & Death , and their 1992 album  The Silent Majority . Jason says LSD are the best live band he's ever seen, and has plenty to share about this one-album-and-done band that featured Van Halen-style riffs with Tom Waits-esque vocals, a weird combination that shouldn...

For episode #98, we're using a listener suggestion as an opportunity to check out an obscure band neither of us knew about to that later became another obscure band that we actually did know about. Got it? Scottish rockers  Baby Chaos are the band, and they also provide us with the longest album title to date with 1995's  Safe Sex Designer Drugs & The Death of Rock & Roll . In the late 90s they ch...

In our quest to knock out our backlog of listener suggestions, for episode #97 we're checking out the 1997 album  Under the Western Freeway by  Grandaddy . Some describe Grandaddy's sound as lo-fi space-rock, drawing comparisons to The Flaming Lips, Brian Wilson and Pavement, but we also heard some more straight-forward pop in the vein of Weezer and Guided By Voices. Question is, does is work, and...