Right, I've been threatening to do this for some time now, and I reckon I've wailed and gnashed my teeth and pontificated long enough about it... It's taken so long cos frankly there's over 25 years of Indie and Alternative Rock to bloody well COVER here.... :blink: That's right, I'm running the full gamut... Now, I've really thought long and hard about this, and yeah, the list is gonna be somewhat loaded in favour of 80s and early/mid 90s stuff because I feel that this is really when Indie was at its creative peak... And yes, a lot of it is gonna be pretty obscure and a fair bit of early 90s 'Shoegazer' stuff will feature as well...

 

So anyway, here goes....

 

NUMBER 50 - MEDICINE - ARUCA

 

The US answer to the British Shoegazer movement.. Medicine were a vastly under-rated band and only really known to a bunch of fanatical Indie completists. They did however gain a little exposure by appearing on the Brandon Lee film "The Crow" and the resulting soundtrack which featured their most accessible and commercial track "Time Baby 3". But I dont really see that song as being representative of the band, in fact it was totally out of character. Guitarist Brad Laner came up with the band's signature guitar sound by putting his guitar through a Yamaha 8-Track recorder and quite an astounding bit of noise occurred. Laner is quite an impressive technical guitar player in his own right, on a par with Steve Vai, Lee Ronaldo or Devin Townsend, but nowhere near as highly regarded.. Medicine's first album "Shot Forth Self Living" is an utterly intense, expressive study in guitar pyrotechnics complemented by the ethereal vocals of Beth Thomson..

 

NUMBER 49 - SLOWDIVE - CATCH THE BREEZE

 

Oh my GOD, how the NME utterly detested this band.... :lol: Which of course just made me want to go out and investigate them..... I really dont know why Slowdive inspired so much Music Press hostility, they were certainly no worse than any of their early 90s peers, in fact I would say a lot better than most... The guitar soundscapes they came up with were quite beautiful, and while maybe not as dark, uncompromising and inspiring as My Bloody Valentine, I felt myself that Slowdive's sound was quite gorgeous. Live, they were in their element and seriously let rip, on album they seemed a tad restrained... 'Catch The Breeze' is my personal fave, but there are plenty of other great Slowdive songs - "Souvlaki Space Station", "Spanish Air", "Alison", "Machine Gun".... Slowdive disintegrated in the mid 90s and some of their number became the quite excellent Mojave 3 (who will feature later on...)

 

 

feels like all the days are gone

just catch the breeze

you know you've had your fun

rain washes waves down

 

and i, i want the world to cry

and i, i watch the winds you fly

you can't believe in everything

you can't believe it all

 

hey are you feeling something new

just watch the way

it helps in all you do

the breeze it blows

it blows everything

 

and i, i want the world to cry

and i, i want the sun to shine

you can't believe in everything

you can't believe it all

NUMBER 48 - LUSH - DE-LUXE

 

Some of you may know Lush from their late-90s more "Britpoppy" work such as "Single Girl" or "Lady Killers", bloody excellent songs to be sure, but this is probably my fave of theirs to be honest. Lush are kinda one of these great 'forgotten bands' really. A real tragedy occurred in the band's ranks which stopped them from becoming potentially as big as Blur or The Verve - the suicide of drummer Chris Acland, which basically saw the band splitting up, understandably. Neither of the creative forces of the band (Miki Berenyi - she of the amazing flame-coloured barnet - or Emma Anderson) have resurfaced. They probably just can't face performing music without their dear friend... :( An utter waste really....

 

By the way, turn up your speakers a bit, the sound on this vid is a bit low....

 

 

I've been waiting on the slide

Suggest I open wide

No incentive to hide

Happy coursing through my veins

Don't even know my name

When I'm up you're coming down

Inside of me, some sight to see

Some sight to feel our earthy bed

 

When we're wrapped in polythene

What's that supposed to mean

Paper flowers bring me luck

No birds in sight I fear

Stick sticks in you my dear

When I'm up you're coming down

 

Some say I'm vague

And I'd easily fade

Foolish parade of fantasy

 

Drink in your eyes

Drink in your sighs

Grass in my thighs my aching legs

 

NUMBER 47 - MERCURY REV - SOMETHING FOR JOEY

 

I am so p!ssed off that You Tube does not have vids for my fave two Rev songs - "Chasing a Bee" or "Coney Island Cyclone", GRRRRRR!!!! Oh well, never mind.... There is a saying that there is a fine line between genius and insanity, I really dont think Mercury Rev ever acknowleged this whatsoever, because the line for them is so blurred that it may as well not even exist.... Johnathan Donahue was a founder member of the fantastic, frazzled Flaming Lips along with Wayne Coyne. Donahue then left the band to form this even more frazzled bunch of neo-Psychadelicists. As the Rev stand today, they are a fantastic band, easily one of the best US bands, but their first two albums are utterly peerless in my eyes.. As much as I love their later material, for me it's "Yerself is Steam" and "Boces" all the way....

 

 

Crash land in an obscene movie

and find yourself on an outstretched finger

a p/massive heart as a massive hole

you see faces that you did not know

it's exact their little stinger's intact

they're designed to rule the day

their mouths are moving a million miles an hour

it's the only way, hey

You're seeing illusions in this house

the things we never talk about

so place your lips around the spout

and slowly blow yourself away

NUMBER 46 - DAISY CHAINSAW - LOVE YOUR MONEY

 

And while we are on the subject of insanity, here we have Katie Jane Garside in her and guitarist and whipping-boy Crispin Grey's rather marvellous early 90s incarnation - Daisy Chainsaw.... I fukkin' LOVED this song when it came out in '91, and still enjoy it to this day, this has aged pretty darned well if I may say so... "Buzzsaw Punk" is a phrase so uttely misused these days, but it cannot be more appropriate to describing the music of Daisy Chainsaw and Queen Adreena (who will feature later...). This is an utterly nasty, spiteful little gob in the face of a song... DC disintegrated shortly after Katie left the band, Crispin tried it with another vocalist, but it just didn't really work.... It just seems that Katie and Crispin were made for each other....

 

 

We love you yeah

We love what you got and you've got it truly

You're talented kid

We can see it clearly

We love your sound

The way you look so we say sincerely

You're natural stars and we mean it really

{chorus}

We love your money(Love your money)

We love your money(Love your money)

We love your money(Love your money)

We love your money(Love your money)

Yes we do

We love you yeah

place your trust in us completely

You'll sell worldwide we mean it really

We love your songs

shape your image and we'll all be wealthy

{repeat}

We love you so love your demo

We love you so love love love love

all your money

We love your money(love your money)

We love your money(love your money)

Love love love love all your money

(repeat chorus)

Love love love love all your money

Love love love love all your money

Love love love love all your money

 

NUMBER 45 - THE WEDDING PRESENT - KENNEDY

 

Ahh, yes Mr David Gedge and The Wedding Present, a favourite of John Peel's and another one of these unfairly forgotten Indie Bands. Gedge is probably one of the UK's most unsung songwriting talents, and just doesn't get the credit he deserves really.... The Wedding Present were another of these bands that certain snooty music critics despised for no real discernible reason (other than writing damn good songs with proper tunes and hooks and stuff, when all around seemed to be dull, grey Seattle grunge sludge...). Okay, some of the hatred may have been as a result of a rather silly stunt that Gedge undertook in '92 (I believe..) to release one limited release single every month for an entire year, whether it was his idea or it was his record companies (Gedge had signed to BMG after being on an Indie label for years...) is open to conjecture... Regardless, The Wedding Present were actually one of the few bands to have 12 consecutive Top 20 singles in a year, so history, in a sense, was made... "Kennedy" is not one of these 12 singles, it was done when Gedge was still an Indie kid and remains a firm fan favourite...

 

By the way, all you Editors fans should pay particular attention to the guitar work in this tune.... :lol:

 

 

Lost your love of life? Too much apple pie

Have you lost your love of life? Too much apple pie

And now Harry's walked away with Johnny's wife

You've got to pick some people up

You've got to let some people go

But if Lee's name does come up

Oh well I really want to know

Because everybody loves a T.V. show

 

Lost your love of life? Too much apple pie

Have you lost your love of life? Too much apple pie

And now Harry's walked away with Johnny's wife

You've got to pick some people up

You've got to let some people go

But if Lee's name does come up

Oh well I really want to know

Because everybody loves a T.V. show

 

Lost your love of life? Too much apple pie

Have you lost your love of life? Too much apple pie

And now Harry's walked away with Johnny's wife

 

NUMBER 44 - RIDE - LEAVE THEM ALL BEHIND

 

Unfortunately this is NOT the full-on 8-minute bliss-out album version of this pretty amazing song, but a pretty truncated one.... DAMMIT, fukkin' record companies..... <_< I really wrestled over whether to pick this or "Vapour Trail" or "Taste" or a few others.... But I settled on this one cos it's a bloody awesome track... Some of you may know of guitarist Andy Bell, he joined Oasis as second guitarist.... Where the hell vocalist and guitarist Mark Gardener is these days god only knows.... Ride were one of these bands who tended to release 4-track EPs as opposed to singles, I've still got a complete set of Ride EPs at home... On VINYL..... Ride - two great albums ("Nowhere" and "Going Blank Again"), two pretty dire ones ("Carnival of Light", "Tarantula")....

 

 

 

Wheels turning around

Into alien grounds

Pass through different times

leave them all Behind

 

Just to see

We've got so far to go

Until we get there

Just let it flow

 

Colours shining clear

Fading into night

Our grasp is broken

There's nothing we can do

 

I Don't care about the colours

I don't care about the light

I don't care about the truth

NUMBER 43 - MANIC STREET PREACHERS - LOVE'S SWEET EXILE

 

One of the Manic's earliest singles (this was a double A-Side with the deliberately provocative, sh!t-stirring "Repeat"..) and an example of how the Manics were once a dangerous, angry, sexy, glamourous, kick-arse rock band.... God, they just totally lost it when Richie decided to disappear... It's hard to even recognise these angry young men as being the same as the bloated, corporate whores that exist today.... "Love's Sweet Exile" is just a huge 'fukk you' to pretty much everyone and anyone.... Enjoy..

 

 

Love's sweet exile

Love's sweet exile

 

We blur into images of state coercion

Classified machines die misunderstood

City reflections pour out misery

We don't count cos we hate

 

Raindown alienation

Leave this country

Leave this country

Raindown alienation

Leave this country

Leave it

 

Despair seeps through and cuts our eyes

Unified collapse of everything inside

We understand but can't accept

You are not dead cos we hate

 

Raindown alienation

Leave this country

Leave this country

Raindown alienation

Leave this country

Leave it

 

Our lives drift into a faceless sense of void

Everything of meaning becomes destroyed

There's too much concrete for us to breathe

We are kept down cos we hate

 

Love's sweet exile

Love's sweet exile

 

Raindown alienation

Leave this country

Leave this country

 

Raindown alienation

Leave this country

Believe it

 

Love's sweet exile

Love's sweet exile

NUMBER 42 - THE BOO RADLEYS - LAZARUS

 

Another of the "Creation Bands", but almost totally and utterly forgotten.. This despite having several Top 10 hits.... The Boo Radleys came out of the ethereal/shoegazing movement, but, and here is where we have a very BIG difference, they actually married it to the song-writing sensibilities of Lennon and McCartney and the other great 'Mersey Beat' bands (being Liverpudlian themselves it obviously cast a long shadow over the band's songwriters Sice and Martin Carr), even at their most way out you can still hear this sensibility and frankly they use the Lennon/McCartney influence to far greater effect than Noel Gallagher who merely Xeroxes it.... "Lazarus" is really quite a wonderfully layered thing and totally unforgettable to anyone who has ever heard it. This and the "Giant Steps" (imo, one of the best Indie albums of the 90s..) album was really their finest hour...

 

 

I must be losing my mind.

I keep on trying to find a way out but it's OK you don't lock the door anymore.

I, you know I never go out

and you know that I start to forget things but it's OK, they weren't essential anyway.

 

I, when I start to look back

I feel like I've spent my whole life just kicking round and not getting in the way.

And now, and maybe now I should change

because I'm starting to lose all my faith while those around me are beaten down each day.

NUMBER 41 - AT THE DRIVE-IN - INVALID LITTER DEPT

 

Before the genius that is The Mars Volta, Cedric and Omar were in the jittery and quite bloody marvellous At The Drive In.. I wont say much about this particular song, I reckon the video really speaks for itself... Truly sobering stuff when you know what it's all actually about....

 

 

Intravenously polite it was the walkie-talkies

That had knocked the pins down

As their shoes gripped the dirt floor

In the silhouette of dying

 

Dancing on the corpses ashes

 

Yeah, they had plans for him

They had spun the last of the pimps

Polyester, satin nailed jewelery lips

While the guillotine just slapped again

 

Dancing on the corpses ashes

 

And the paramedics fell into the wound

Like a rehired scab at a barehanded plant

An anesthetic penance beneath

The hail of the contraband

 

Dancing on the corpses ashes

 

Clawed my way

Nails broke and fell

Into the

Wishing well, wishing well

Wishing well, wishing well

(x2)

 

They had defected and been excommunicated

And all the pulses were subverted

And they made sure that the obituaries

Showed pictures of smoke stacks

 

Dancing on the corpses ashes

 

A vivid dissection that mocked

The strut of vivisection

A semi-automatic colony

And a silencing that still walks the streets

 

Dancing on the corpses ashes

 

In the company of wolves

Was a stretcher made of

Cobblestone curfews

The federales perform

Their custodial customs quite well

 

Dancing on the corpses ashes

 

Clawed my way

Nails broke and fell

Into the

Wishing well, wishing well

Wishing well, wishing well

(x4)

 

Intravenously polite it was the walkie-talkies

That had knocked the pins down

As their shoes lay dangling on dirt floor

In the silhouette of dying

 

Dancing on the corpses ashes

 

Yeah, they had plans for him

They had spun the last of the pimps

Polyester, satin nailed jewellery lips

While the guillotine just slapped again

 

Dancing on the corpses ashes

 

And the paramedics fell into the wound

Like a rehired scab at a barehanded plant

An anesthetic penance beneath

The hail of the contraband

 

Dancing on the corpses ashes

 

Clawed my way

Nails broke and fell

Into the

Wishing well, wishing well

Wishing well, wishing well

(x4)

On my way

 

Callous heels

Numbed in travel

Endless maps made

By their scalpels, scalpels

(x2)

NUMBER 42 - THE BOO RADLEYS - LAZARUS

 

Another of the "Creation Bands", but almost totally and utterly forgotten.. This despite having several Top 10 hits.... The Boo Radleys came out of the ethereal/shoegazing movement, but, and here is where we have a very BIG difference, they actually married it to the song-writing sensibilities of Lennon and McCartney and the other great 'Mersey Beat' bands (being Liverpudlian themselves it obviously cast a long shadow over the band's songwriters Sice and Martin Carr), even at their most way out you can still hear this sensibility and frankly they use the Lennon/McCartney influence to far greater effect than Noel Gallagher who merely Xeroxes it.... "Lazarus" is really quite a wonderfully layered thing and totally unforgettable to anyone who has ever heard it. This and the "Giant Steps" (imo, one of the best Indie albums of the 90s..) album was really their finest hour...

 

This is a class song! :o

Thanks for doing this Grimley :D Some really great tracks so far. :D

This is a class song! :o

 

Certainly is.. The album version has a totally different intro - a really cool sort of Dub Reggae intro...

 

Thanks for doing this Grimley :D Some really great tracks so far. :D

 

I've added lyrics now, just to make things a bit more interesting...

 

NUMBER 40 - DINOSAUR JR - FREAK SCENE

 

The self-styled "Slacker King" and darling of the 80s/90s Boston College Rock scene, Johnny Mascis cast a huge and influential shadow on the burgeoning Indie Rock and Grunge scenes. Dinosaur Jr's first album was in 1985, well before the likes of Lemonheads, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Pixies, Mudhoney and most of the other heavy hitters that would go on to become house-hold names.. There is no doubt whatsoever that Dinosaur Jr played a huge part in shaping the songwriting of a certain Kurt Cobain.. "Freak Scene" is the song that is most affectionately remembered by fans, a sort of pre-"Teen Spirit" scene anthem which still sounds pretty cool. This song was played at every Student and Indie disco that I ever went to in the early 90s....

 

 

Seen enough to eye you

But I've seen to much to try you

It's always weirdness while you

Dig it much too much to fry you

The weirdness flows between us

Anyone can tell to see us

Freak scene just can't believe us

Why can't it just be cool and free us?

 

Seen enough to eye you

But I've seen to much to try you

It's always weirdness while you

Dig it much too much to fry you

The weirdness flows between us

Anyone can tell to see us

Freak scene just can't believe us

Why can't it just be cool and leave us?

 

It's so ****ed I can't believe it

If there's a way I wish we'd see it

How could it work just can't conceive it

Oh what a mess it's just to leave it

 

Sometimes I don't thrill you

Sometimes I think I'll kill you

Just don't let me **** up will you

'Cause when I need a friend it's still you

 

What A Mess

NUMBER 39 - [INTERPOL - EVIL

 

There is absolutely no doubt that Interpol are in huge debt to UK bands such as Joy Division, Bauhaus, Red Lorry/Yellow Lorry, The Smiths, The Cure, and goodness knows how many others, BUT, they use their influences well and avoid being merely derivitive and they actually manage to be respectful to their forebears instead of just cheaply ripping them off... This song has the sparseness about it that invokes the atmosphere (pardon the pun) of Joy Division.

 

Original video

 

[ Rosemary

heaven restores you in life

you're coming with me

through the aging the fear and the strife

 

it's the smiling on the package

it's the faces in the sand

it's the thought that moves you upwards

embracing me with two hands

right will take you places

yeah maybe to the beach

when your friends say you come crying

tell them now your pleasure's set upon slow release

 

they wait

they smile

sensitive to fake nods

right on

but hey who's on trial?

 

you took a lifespan with no cellmate

a long way back saying "Me, why can't we look the other way?"

 

he speaks about travel

yeah we think about the land

we are smart like all peoples feeling real tan

i could take you places

but you need a new man?

wipe the pollen from the faces

make me vision to a dream while you wait in the van

 

anyway

they smile

sensitive to fake nods

but hey who's on trial?

 

it took a lifespan with no cellmate

but a long way back saying "Me, why can't we look the other way?"

you're weightless

you are exotic

you need something for which to care

saying "Me, why can't we look the other way?"

 

leave some shards under the belly

lay some grease inside my hand

it's a sentimental jury

and the makings of a good plan

you've come to love me like me

yeah you've come to hold me tight

is this motion everlasting

or do shudders pass in the night?

 

Rosemary

our heaven restores you in life

 

I've spent a lifespan with no cellmate

a long way back saying "Me, why can't we look the other way?"

you're weightless

semi-erotic

you need someone to take you there

saying "Me, why can't we look the other way?

Why can't we just play the other game?

Why can't we just look the other way?"

NUMBER 38 - WHITE STRIPES - BLUE ORCHID

 

I will admit to being none too keen on The White Stripes at first, they seemed to me to just be aping a lot of the Lo Fi or Alt Rock bands without really having any individuality in their own music and being more concerned with projecting an image... A lot of their stuff sounded like watered-down John Spencer as well, which didn't help matters... That all changed when I heard "Get Thee Behind Me Satan", a really individualistic and totally idiosyncratic album which tackled so many different styles.. "Blue Orchid" owes a debt to Led Zep without a doubt, but it's totally their song, no-one else could really possibly have written it, and the album it comes from is full of similar stuff which reminds you of other bands on the surface, but the crucial thing is, The White Stripes have totally stamped their own identity on to them.. They are a totally oddball band, and a bit like Marmite, you either love it or hate it....

 

 

You got a reaction

You got a reaction didn't, you?

You took a white orchid

You took a white orchid turned it blue

 

Something better than nothing

Something better than nothing, it's giving up

We all need to do something

Try keep the truth from showing up

 

How dare you

How old are you now, anyway?

How dare you

How old are you now, anyway?

 

You're given a flower

But I guess there's just no pleasing you

Your lips tastes sour

But you think that it's just me teasing you

 

You got a reaction

You got a reaction, didn't you?

You took a white orchid

You took a white orchid turned it blue

 

Get behind me

Get behind me now, anyway

Get behind me

Get behind me now, anyway

 

You got a reaction

You got a reaction, didn't you?

You took a white orchid

You took a white orchid turned it blue

 

NUMBER 37 - SPACEMEN 3 - REVOLUTION & WALKING WITH JESUS

 

Spacemen 3 were basically Pete "Sonic Boom Kember and Jason "Spaceman" Pierce, their ethos was to 'take drugs to make music to take drugs to'.. Musically they took the basics of 60s Psychadelia, and bands like Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd and MC5 and twisted it into a more contemporary setting. Later, Pierce became more interested in Spiritual and Gospel music and wrote the more thoughtful, blissful tracks like "Walking With Jesus" or "Hypnotised" as well as excursions into Blues/Jazz territory; Kember concentrated on darker more edgy drug-fuelled excess such as "Revolution" and "Suicide".. Inevitably the band split, with Kember going on to form Spectrum and after one pretty good album, disappearing, whereas Pierce formed the utterly sublime Spiritualized and went on to be quite successful. I have admittedly cheated on this one slightly, but I felt it was important to show both sides of this rather unique band as Kember and Pierce's material and musical directions were so radically different. Frankly it's amazing they ever actually managed to agree on what to put on an album at all....

 

Well look out

 

Well I’m sick

I’m so sick

Of a lot of people

Tryin’ to tell me

What I can and can’t do

With my life

 

And I’m tired

I’m so tired

Of a lot of people

In a lot of high places

Don’t want you and me

To enjoy ourselves

 

Well I’m through with people

Who can’t get off their arse

To help themselves change this government

And better this society

‘Cos it’s $h!t

 

But hold on a second

I smell burning

And I see a change

Comin’ ‘round the bend

And I suggest to you

That it takes

Just five seconds

Just five seconds

Of decision

To realise

That the time

Is right

To start thinkin’ about

A little…

Revolution!

 

I walked with Jesus and he would say

"Oh you poor child, you ain't comin' to me no way

You've found Heaven on Earth, gonna burn for your sin"

But I think I'll be in good company down there with all my friends

 

Well I got around to thinking 'bout what Jesus said to me

Cos if Heaven's like this, then that's the place for me

Long, long time between now and my death

And I gotta have my fun so I've chosen what's best

 

Well, here it comes

Here comes the sound

The sound of confusion

The sound of love

 

So listen sweet Lord, forgive me my sin

‘Cos I can't stand this life without all of these things

Know I done wrong, but I've Heaven on Earth

Know I done wrong, but I could have done me worse

 

Well, here it comes

Here comes the sound

The sound of confusion

Well, here it comes

Here comes the sound

The sound of love

 

Here it comes

Here it comes

Here it comes

The sound of love

The sound of love

The sound of love

 

Jesus please meet me at the centre of the earth

Cos these wings are gonna fail me and I could have done me worse

Yeah I could have done me worse

Yeah I could have done me worse...

You're doing sterling work here - all good so far and special shouts for Slowdive, Daisy Chainsaw, Ride, the Boo Radleys and Spacemen 3.

 

Listen to this man everyone!

You're doing sterling work here - all good so far and special shouts for Slowdive, Daisy Chainsaw, Ride, the Boo Radleys and Spacemen 3.

 

Listen to this man everyone!

 

Cheers mate, plenty more where that came from I can assure you.... :lol: I just felt the need to do this cos so many folks just have no real clue of what true Indie or Alt Rock is all about...