AWmusic

Previous Chapters:
Chapter 1: 1977-1979
Chapter 2: 1980-1982
Chapter 3: 1983-1986

1987-1990 involves the years in which I was born.. and in this case all the songs involved makes me feel incredibly young but compared to the first 3 eras, I have much more to say. I guess I’ll try to wrap up as quickly as I can.

The Pixies appear twice in this era with Where Is My Mind? and Wave of Mutilation. I recall the Pixies as my gateway (not an introduction) into indie rock. It was my start to liking different music from the mainstream early in high school and eventually would lead to finding more music. With a duo of Kim Deal and Black Francis, I thought the duo complimented each other perfectly. I did like Kim Deal better out of the two, leading me to believe that female singers are much superior to their male counterparts. (I’ve changed somewhat on that stance but still kind of believe it). Anyway with the Pixies, choosing just 2 tracks out of their discography must be a tough one. I personally would’ve chosen Wave of Mutilation and Here Comes Your Man but it’s a moot point. The Pixies were great, even when their peak years occurred at a time where I didn’t even learn how to ride a bike, their legacy lives on and are one of my favorite bands pre-1990.
Here Comes Your Man by The Pixies
Wave of Mutilation by The Pixies

The La’s are only known for that song. It’s very likely you know what I’m talking about but the La’s There She Goes remains one of my favorite “one-hit wonders”. The La’s were perfectionists and didn’t release another full release from their self titled album. Still that song has been covered endlessly and reused numerous times for being timeless.
The She Goes by The La’s

My Bloody Valentine it seems is everyone’s favorite indie rock band especially when they come to Toronto…except me. I’m not a fan for them because I just haven’t listened to any songs about the band. I heard a lot about the album Loveless which was released in 1991 but the two tracks, Soon and You Made Me Realise were on their EPs. Not mentioning My Bloody Valentine feels blasphemous and I figure I’d check out of these two tracks. (Soon ended up being on Loveless). My first listen with soon
Soon by My Bloody Valentine

Depeche Mode in their almost 30 years of existence have always been a solid if not great band. I enjoyed their last release, Playing The Angel. Their most prolific hit is not the Pitchfork’s inclusion Enjoy The Silence (it might be their best song) but their most defining might be Personal Jesus. I actually enjoyed Division Days cover of Enjoy The Silence better then the original but to be fair both songs are great.
Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode

Fugazi, I’m not too familiar once again but they’ve been a major influence for many bands. They have a DIY stance as well as controlling the prices of concerts to be profitable yet affordable. Not many “indie” bands are that reasonable once they reach that level so it’s pretty cool to mention Fugazi in that light. I’m actually quite impressed with their music. While it’s angry and has a punk style message, musical it’s solid by not supersaturation and the guitar work is solid despite being more of the minimal side.
Waiting Room by Fugazi

This era while not actually the beginning of rap to mainstream America, began an uprising with a message and perhaps brought the peak to mainstream rap. (Some will argue that the glory days were at this time)

Public Enemy, before Flavor Flav became…himself… Public Enemy is one of the greatest hip hop acts of all time if not THE greatest. I really did not get a chance to like Public Enemy as I was exposed to some pretty terrible hip hop acts. Hip Hop was in it’s prime when it came to conveying a message. Music sometimes is cheesy when trying to send a message most of the time but at this time they were even more oppressed and angry and the people needed a voice. Almost another form of punk rock Public Enemy was about expressing feelings that needed to be said regarding race and criticisms of the media.
- Had trouble getting the mp3 for Fight The Power…

While NWA was less about the message and more about being gangster, a gangster rap crew featuring Easy-E and featuring the likes of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre among others, instead of sending a positive message the NWA was the music parents took away from their kids (and the kids secretly listened to anyway) for being too controversial. While I don’t want to take anything away from NWA, it’s a little less timeless despite the entire crew’s ability to spit and rhyme.
Straight Outta Compton by NWA

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