TRAPPO's Ultimate 90s Alt. Mixtape!
Do you remember the 1990s? Everybody was watching Melrose Place on television, drinking Crystal Pepsi, kicking around the old hacky sack in the backyard, and Pogs were all the rage. Good lord, I can't believe Pogs were an actual thing for one brief, shining moment in the 1990s. Some things, perhaps, are best left forgotten. But not the music! The rise of so-called "alternative rock" in the 90s struck like an earthquake, a true seismic shift in the musical landscape, and we're still feeling the aftershocks decades later. So many different musical artists comfortably fit underneath that large, inviting umbrella that is "alternative", but what are the best examples of this sprawling mega-genre? What songs from what artists best represent the decade from which this musical movement sprang? That's what we're here to find out on today's installment of the show that talks about stuff on purpose.
This epic episode is all about trying to find the best examples of 90s alternative music, the cream of the crop, not necessarily in terms of sheer quality, but in how these songs represent the decade itself. We have taken on this herculean undertaking, this quest to build the ultimate 90s alt rock mixtape, and the results are now available for you to enjoy, dear listeners. Countless hours of our blood, sweat and tears have been distilled into 86 brief minutes of 90s alt goodness that you can now enjoy at your leisure. The show is embedded below, and you can also find it on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Anchor, Breaker and Spotify, so choose your own adventure, slip on your old flannel shirt, find a comfy chair, kick your feet up, and enjoy the show.
You're more than welcome to join the conversation! Comment below and tell us what you think about our picks for the mixtape. What did we get right? What did we get wrong? What are your essential 90s alternative songs? We're all ears! And if you're feeling a bit more wordy, feel free to send us an email, and we'd be glad to address your comments in a future episode! And you can also check out the official TRAPPO Instagram feed for the complete experience.
While we have your attention, did you know that we're working on an episode all about The B-52's? But we can't do it without your help! So head on over to the official discussion page and nominate your favorite songs from The B-52's in the comments! Submissions are open until March 1st, so get to work if you want your voices heard in the final episode!
We like to think of TRAPPO as a work in progress, never satisfied with the status quo, and we're slowly rolling out changes here and there that will hopefully keep you dear listeners hanging around a little longer. We're looking for more interaction, more conversation between ourselves and all of you, and this is only the beginning. Next week, a new phase in our continuing evolution commences, and we hope you'll check it out. Until then...
Thanks for listening!
This was a nice nostalgic trip. I guess you're keeping some of the heavy hitters like Nirvana off the list because you're thinking about maybe putting some of their complete albums in the canon, but I still feel like the decision to leave some of those big songs like Smells Like Teen SPirit or Everlong by Foo Fighters for example might have been a mistake. You can always put those albums in at a later date, but you're also probably not going to be making the podcast for another 20 years, so who knows if you'll ever get to those albums. Better play safe than sorry and get some of those big songs in now than saving them for a later day. At least that's the way I look at it. But the list itself is solid. I really can't argue with any of the picks since they all solidly represent the decade in music so well. Great work. I'd love to hear a part 2 sometime in the near future. It would be cool to see you guys dig a little deeper in a second mixtape, see what else shakes out of the alternative tree.
ReplyDeleteThere's something so creepy about #1 Crush. I can't believe that Shirley Manson would think anybody could miss the point of that song. And it should be the new stalker anthem. Why not? Sting's had his day. You mentioned Everclear in your Hey Jealousy discussion, but there was no Everclear on your playlist. Was any of their songs in contention for either of you guys? I remember them being all over the place. And Sugar Ray, too. But that might have been the early 2000s, I'm not too sure. And SMash Mouth. That's another one that's kind of nebulous for me. It all kind of bleeds together after a while, doesn't it? I can't believe how young the kids from Silverchair were. That's nuts. Good list, though. It certainly sounds like the 1990s.
ReplyDeleteNine Inch Nails is like the pinnacle of "alternative" in the 1990's. Pretty Hate Machine is raging against all that radio friendly bullshit that was so prevalent and the fact that it actually broke through and found some mainstream respectability was just, as Bob Ross would say, "a happy accident". NIN was challenging and confrontational and kicked down doors for a lot of young people of the decade, showing them that it's ok to feel fucked up about the way things are going in their lives, that the world is not such a nice place, and that they have a right to feel their anger. How could you not include anything from NIN? It feels like a real misstep. I'm nto trying to be negative because I knew every song on the podcast and still own some of the actual albums (and the CD's still work!), but man, no Nine Inch Nails is a big omission for me. Maybe for part 2?
ReplyDeleteWhere's all the depth? All the substance? You're calling this the "ultimate" 90s alternative mixtape and you've got Blues Traveler on here? Before Nine Inch Nails or Nirvana or Rage Against The Machine? Blues Traveler is in your canon before Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, Tori Amos, Mazzy Star, Toadies, Beck, Bush, Weezer, Pixies, Breeders, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains... I could go on. The songs you chose are all catchy and memorable, but most of them feel so disposable with no meat on their bones. What's going on here? This mixtape can't be anything approaching "ultimate" if it's missing "Everlong".
ReplyDeleteHell, not even "Creep" by Radiohead? What is the world coming to?
Everybody's 90's experience was different, at least for those who lived through the damn decade. I know the episode is called TRAPPO's "ultimate" 90s Alternative Mixtape, but even by your own admission it's not really ultimate. It's just an attempt to curate a playlist that really encapsulates the 90's alternative experience, and I think it does a pretty good job. When you've only got so many slots to fill, you can't pick everything, and I think these picks are solid. Maybe the ones that didn't make it to the mixtape were a good call, but aside from that, I'm happy with it. My picks would have been largely different, but that's the thing about opinions. And being intimately familiar with basically all of these choices (sorry Cardigans), I think they all deserve to be on your mixtape. But maybe we can have a sequel soon? I wouldn't object, and it would be cool to see what other choices would make the cut next time. But great work so far!
ReplyDeleteAnd why doesn't anybody talk about Mazzy Star anymore, Spanish Mole? TRAPPO needs to cover Mazzy Star, I think.