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1998

1998 year in review

Well, if you're reading this, then you've 1) received a copy of the 1998 year in review tape, and 2) found my website. This will give you a run-down of the tracks, the artists, and where to find the music.

I do this every year (except in '96, when I wasn't writing music reviews) as a recap of all the best music I've had a chance to hear, either because I've received review copies of the CDs from The Reader or because I happened across the CDs... blah, blah, blah...

The story behind this year's tape case design: I wrote a profile of artist Bill Farmer for The Reader. Teresa and I like his work, and she gave me one of his paintings for Christmas. She thought she was only buying one (the one on the right, titled "From My Imagination"). After I unwrapped it, I looked on the back of the painting (it's a watercolor) and there was another painting (the one on the left). Teresa also bought me a scanner for my computer (I guess I cleaned up this x-mas... I'm not the only one, I got her some socks!), and the paintings fit perfectly into the scanner bed. I scanned both paintings, then printed them out on watercolor paper. Some of you got one cover, some the other. Neat, huh!

I tried to offer a variety on the tape, but it's mostly alternative rock music, which is what I listen to. None of it is played on the radio in Omaha, or on MTV. I realize you won't like all the music (actually, you may not like any of it), but maybe there'll be a few tracks you'll enjoy, even a few that might entice you to buy a CD or two.

Anyway, here's a rundown of the songs, the artists and maybe a story to go along with them...

Side One

Mercy Rule -- "Spark" from the album "The Flat Black Chronicles"  on Caufield Records.This is my favorite CD from last year, from the best band out of Nebraska, maybe even the Midwest. If I had enough dough, I wouldn't have even done a mix tape this year and merely bought everyone a copy of this CD. Yeah, it's that good, from beginning to end -- which is a rare thing. The last track on the mix tape also is from this same CD. I had the great fortune of interviewing this band for The Reader this summer (I interviewed them once before, way back in 1994 when Mike Malone and I toured with the band to Des Moines, Iowa, just a few months before they got signed with Relativity... but that's another story). You can read the story by clicking here. It's a shame that no one will probably ever "discover" Mercy Rule. If I was a rich guy, I'd do the promotion myself,  but I don't think they want to be great big rock stars, anyway. And I'm not a rich guy. PS: This is Teresa's favorite band, too.

Tuatara -- "The Streets of New Delhi" from the album "Trading with the Enemy" on Epic. An all-instrumental CD that features, among others, R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and Justin Harwood from Luna. It's pretty cool, but as a whole, the CD can be rather annoying. This track is one of my faves...

Baz Luhrmann -- "Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)" taken from the Alternative Press Spring CD sampler. The band releases stuff on Capital Records. I haven't heard anything else from them. If you buy their album, let me know what the rest of it sounds like...

Hooverphonic -- "Eden" from the album "Blue Wonder Power Milk" on Epic. The whole CD is this good. Call it Belgian electronica with vocals. I heard a snippet of this CD on an MTV fashion program being played during a runway show. It's reviewed here.

Brian Adamson -- "What It Means" from the Magnet New Music Sampler Volume 6. Adamson is on Mute Records. Again, I haven't heard anything else by him. Teresa says it sounds like Satan's theme song. It's my only tip-of-the-hat to the current flavor-of-the-month Swing movement -- which I find repugnant. My prediction is that Swing won't be around this time next year, but who knows?

Pulp -- "Sylvia" from the album "This Is Hardcore" on Island Records. A great album that was ignored in this country. Seems like the Brits are doing a better job these days producing cool rock music. It's reviewed here.

Air -- "All I Need" from the album "Moon Safari" on MCA. The album is on most critics' "best of" lists. It's good, but not that good. These are French guys who write music like they were still in the '60s. Only three or four tracks have vocals.

Beck -- "Tropicallia" from the album "Mutations" on DGC/Bong Load. The CD was supposed to fulfill a contractual obligation Beck had with Bong Load, his original label. It's the same folksy stuff as on "One Foot in the Grave." I don't think Beck's done anything better than Mellow Gold. I thought Odelay was kind of a mess. This one's just "okay," which means it's better than most of the stuff out there these days.

Apples in Stereo -- "Tim Pan Alley" from the album "Tone Soul Evolution" on The Elephant 6 Recording Co. This one actually came out in late 1997 and I didn't get it until this year, so I'm counting it as a 1998 CD. They sound a lot like psychedelic '60s Beach Boys' music. Half the songs are really good, the other half are annoying, but you be the judge.

Chuck Brodsky -- "On Christmas I Got Nothing" from the album "Radio" on Red House Records. A great coffee house folk CD. Good from beginning to the end. Read the review here.

The Dismemberment Plan -- "The Ice of Boston" from the 4-song EP of the same name on Interscope. I know nothing about these guys except they're from D.C. The other three songs on the EP suck. They're on Interscope, home of Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson -- and they're normal looking -- so they can pretty much forget about getting any label support.

Side Two

Team Dresch -- "It's a Conversation" from the SubPop Single's Club. The club sends a single every month from a different artist with the promise that it won't appear in any other collection, which is suppose to make them collectible or something (in fact, I guess a Nirvana single from the club's first incarnation is now worth a few hundred bucks). They're limited to 1,300. On see-through orange vinyl. I've never heard anything else by Team Dresch, but I will...

Vitreous Humor -- "Why Are You So Mean to Me?" from the album "Posthumous" on Crank Records. The album title refers to the fact that the Wichita, Kan., band broke up early this year. A great grungy emo band in the best Nirvana style. Read the review here.

Silkworm -- "I Must Prepare (Tablecloth Tint)" from the album "Blueblood" on Touch and Go Records. These guys are veterans, and this is their best album. Read the review here.

Connells -- "Crown" from the album "Still Life" on TVT Records. Nice pop rock. Who could be offended? This might be the band's last hurrah, it didn't move any units at all, and they aren't young men anymore (they're as old as R.E.M, if you can believe that). Read the review here.

R.E.M. -- "Lotus" from the album "Up" on Warner Bros. Everyone counted R.E.M. out after their boring last album. This one's pretty good, despite the use of drum machines on some tracks. It's mellow pretty much all the way through, except for the song included here. Not one of their best, but one of the best of '98.

Luna -- "Everybody's Talkin'" from the SubPop Singles Club. Luna is the vocalist from Galaxy 500 and a few people from The Feelies, both bands were better than this one. I have the first Luna album, and it's rather boring. The critics, however, love them. I just love this song, and always like to include at least one cover tune on my tape every year. Written by Fred Neil, but sung by Harry Nielsson and made famous from "Midnight Cowboy."

Jesus and Mary Chain -- "Birthday" from the SubPop Singles Club. J&MC also had a new album out this year that the critics loved, but which I didn't hear. I like their older stuff lots. This one is pretty heavy and reminds me a lot of circa 1983 Love & Rockets, who, by the way, also put out a new album in '98 -- an electronica mess.

Monkey Mafia -- "I Am Fresh" from the album "Shoot the Boss" on Arista. A pretty funky CD with lots of techno mumbo-jumbo that also has nice melodies. A fun, driving CD with a slight raggae feel.

UNKLE -- "Celestial Annihilation" from the album "Psyence Fiction" on Mo Wax/London. A rag-tag mix of instrumentals and guest vocals that makes for a nice soundtrack to an unmade movie. Read the review here.

This Perfect Day -- "We Could Have Been Friends" from the album "C-60" on 550-Music. Pure Scandinavian pop music. This is one of three really good songs on the CD. Read the review here.

Bob Mould -- "New #1" from the album "The Last Dog and Pony Show" on Ryco. This is supposed to be Mould's last "electric rock album." It's the closest thing he's recorded to "Workbook," which is my favorite of his post-Husker Du stuff. I got to interview him right before he came to town this year (read the interview here). He seemed like a pretty nice guy and willing to answer just about anything. Teresa and I went to his concert at the Ranch Bowl (the worst place to see a show), and were disappointed at how short it was (about 80 minutes). The crowd was pissed, too.

Mercy Rule -- "Rules" from "The Flat Black Chronicles." Like I said, the best CD of '98.

Well, that about does it. Thanks for reading and listening. While you're on the 'net, you might as well check out the rest of my website -- lazyeye. I update it just about every week, so check back often. Ifn' you feel like commenting on the tape or the webpage, e-mail me at Timmymac29@aol.com. See ya.