Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock

Before the alternative explosion led by Nirvana in 1991, bands like Jane's Addiction, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Faith No More were already paving the way on MTV and modern rock playlists. Coming off the success of iconic rap-rock tune "Epic" from their sophomore album The Real Thing, Faith No More followed up with 1992's Angel Dust, further exploring the edges of thrash metal, funk, new w...

After their 1994 debut album not only failed to make a commercial dent for Polydor Records, but was also panned by critics and even the band themselves, Powderfinger returned to the studio with veteran Australian producer Tim Whitten (Hoodoo Gurus, The Go-Betweens, Clouds, etc.) for the sophomore album Double Allergic. The pairing paid off as the group put the studio to good use while maintaining...

Though most people’s introduction to Stabbing Westward was via their major label debut, Ungod, in 1994, Christopher Hall (vocals) and Walter Flakus (keyboards) had been making music together since their college days nearly a decade earlier. Blending the industrial influences of Nine Inch Nails, Ministry and Skinny Puppy with the goth rock of early Smashing Pumpkins and Depeche Mode, Stabbing Westw...

A disaffected and laid-back vocal combined with loose playing will always draw a comparison to Pavement when talking 90s rock. And Pure definitely dabble in the slacker rock vibe, albeit with more chill than snark, and on Generation Six-Pack the chill is via a nice layer of fuzzy guitar that is somewhere between early Weezer and space rock Hum. The band uses some standard 90s tropes to good effect...

After her band Clementine, with Reggie Watts (Comedy Bang! Bang!, The Late Late Show with James Corden) and Ryan Link, broke up, Heather Duby joined forces with noted Seattle producer Steve Fisk (Pigeonhed) to write and record what would become her 1999 Sub Pop debut, Post to Wire. A far cry from the punk and grunge acts the label was known for, Duby was released from her contract when Post to Wir...

After the platinum, multi-hit single success of Cake's sophomore album Fashion Nugget, members Greg Brown (guitar and keyboard) and Victor Damiani (bass) left to form Deathray . It would take three years for their self-titled debut to be released, and while catchy pop-power and new-wave revivalists had brief moments in the spotlight during the 90s (Weezer, Matthew Sweet, The Posies, The Rentals, I...

Ending the 1980s with the creative one-two punch of Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and Disintegration, like many of their alternative college rock counterparts, The Cure were poised for global superstardom at the start of the next decade. Filled with compilations, live albums, and contributions to various soundtracks, the band managed two proper albums - 1992's Wish, which featured the now ubiquitous sin...

Ride 's debut album Nowhere sits at the crossroad of 1980s and 90s rock. Shoegaze was still an underground curiosity, and Rider were initially lumped in with Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, and Lush. But as much guitar noise and neo-psychedelia as the band dabbles in, there is an equal amount of 1960s jangle pop and Who-like bombast from the explosive rhythm section to help them stand out from the...

The Mommyheads are the quintessential artist for Dig Me Out. Formed in the late ‘80s by guys who went to a performing arts high school in New York City (yes, the same one that the movie/TV show Fame was based on) and who enjoyed experimenting with lo-fi recording equipment, The Mommyheads had no interest in aping what they were hearing on FM radio or MTV. Instead, they looked up to the underground...

Making commercially successful funky dance pop music amid Britpop's reign may have only been possible via Shaun Ryder. The then ex-Happy Monday hooked up with producer Danny Saber and a group of new cohorts to produce 1995's debut album by Black Grape , It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah. Mixing the big beats of Big Audio Dynamite with touches of ascendent electronic music like trip-hop, while...

Little did anyone know that a two-piece garage rock band from Detroit would kick off a sonic revolution in 1999. The White Stripes debut of minimalist blues paired down to just vocals, guitar, and drums wasn't completely without precedent in the underground music scene with bands like the Flat Duo Jets and Bassholes preceding them. And while it would be a few years and a few albums before the main...

With the success of acts like Rage Against the Machine, Limp Bizkit, 311, and Korn in the mid-90s, by the end of the decade, labels were jumping on the bandwagon and signing bands that incorporated rap and hip-hop into rock, metal, and punk. Zebrahead , from the pop-punk hotbed Orange County, were one of the bands to benefit from this trend and released their debut, Waste of Mind, on Columbia Reco...

California thrashers Suicidal Tendencies had already been called "sell outs" when they released the video for the iconic single "Institutionalized." Mike Muir, never one to buck to expectations, took ST in the directions he wanted through the 80s and early 90s, and their 1992 album The Art of Rebellion might be the creative apex for the band. Yes, they thrash. Yes, the rock. But the band was alrea...

While 1991 is regarded as the true launch of the 1990s alternative explosion into the mainstream, the sheer volume and diversity of music that followed in 1992 might lay claim to the crown as the most interesting year of the decade. The mainstays of 80s college rock were alive and well, with albums by R.E.M., Bob Mould's new band Sugar, Faith No More, The Cure, The Lemonheads, Sonic Youth, Soul As...

Of late, Terry Ilous is probably best known as Jack Russell’s replacement in Great White (“Once Bitten, Twice Shy”), a position he held from 2010 until his surprising dismissal in 2018, but from the mid-80s until the mid-90s, Ilous fronted the Sunset Strip band XYZ (“Inside Out”, “What Keeps Me Loving You”, “Face Down in the Gutter”). In this revealing conversation, Ilous shares how XYZ bassist Pa...

In the fall of 1993, if you heard the name Meat Puppets attached to the newest single Backwater blasting from your local alternative radio station or on MTV, you would be forgiven for thinking this was a new band from Seattle riding the grunge wave. In truth, this was the band's eighth release, and they hailed from the much sunnier climate of Phoenix, Arizona. As veterans of the indie rock scene w...

While 2020 seemed like it lasted several terrifying years, 2021 flew by with somehow the same number of days, and for us, episodes. As with our previous year-in-review episodes, we take a look back at our favorite new album discoveries, most brought to us by our Patreon community, as well as our most enjoyable round table experiences, and our favorite 80s album discoveries, episodes which are excl...

While Nirvana famously helped give the college and underground rock scene one final push into the mainstream, the late 80s and early 90s were full of US and UK bands already making noise that connected with more than just the hip in-crowd. In Australia, the quick bursts of the Pixies and twin vocals of Throwing Muses and The Breeders are paralleled by the dual-songwriters fronting Clouds , whose 1...

Throughout his career, David Coverdale has been dogged with comparisons to Robert Plant's Led Zeppelin years thanks to a similar style and range, even if the performances rendered different musical outcomes. By the time the early 90s rolled around, Coverdale put Whitesnake on hiatus and Page was working on Led Zeppelin compact disc remasters when the two met up and began a casual songwriting relat...

Trends came and went in the 90s, some propelling underground subgenres into the mainstream, while others revitalized previously dormant sounds. A few bands, mostly under the radar like Cry Of Love, The Four Horsemen, The Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies, Raging Slab, and Brother Cane, were ignoring the sounds of Seattle for rock rooted in 60s and 70s blues, r&b, southern, country, and hard rock. Leading...

Last year we spent Thanksgiving Eve with our patrons and friends sharing new music we were thankful for during a difficult year. 2021 has presented its own challenges, but we're lucky to have so many musical artists and creatives to turn to for escape. From the metal and hard rock of Iron Maiden, Danko Jones, and Mammoth WVH to the trip-hop of Morcheeba, Sneaker Pimps, and Hooverphonic, to the ele...

Out of the fertile Chapel Hill, North Carolina scene emerged Polvo at the start of the 1990s. Their sound is lumped into math rock, a term the band themselves reject, but the elements are there - progressive rock filtered through an indie lens. On their 1993 sophomore album Today's Active Lifestyles, you'd be hard-pressed to find any evidence of Jethro Tull, Yes, or Emerson, Lake & Palmer. But Kin...

The 1990s definitely saw its fair share of pastiche in music from The Rolling Stones raunch of The Black Crowes to the underground Los Angeles swing revival that briefly bubbled into the mainstream. Out in San Francisco, The Brian Jonestown Massacre was taking full advantage of the Haight-Ashbury vibes to experiment with sounds old and new, dabbling in shoegaze, psychedelia, jangle-pop, and more....

Almost six years to the day, we revisited the debut album Earth Vs. The Wildhearts by the UK hard rock band. All the ingredients were there for us to love and champion this band, but for various reasons, we were both underwhelmed and disappointed. Thanks to a member of our Patreon Union, we're giving The Wildhearts a second shot with their 1995 follow-up P.H.U.Q. Far from a sophomore slump, the se...

Country, blues, and gospel are a winning combination. So are mixing trip-hop with acid house. But what if we threw that all into a big stew, layered it with a John Prine cover, Jim Jones (of Jonestown infamy) audio samples, and a druggy, capitalist critiquing, night-on-a-bender lyrical bent that also stayed away from strident political commentary while being entirely political? A big stew, eh? Tha...