Sooooo many great ones here! But, just going to comment on PJ Harvey. Just listened to C’Mon Billy about 10 minutes ago on the way home from a kid’s band concert and sang the hell out of it - my daughter hated every minute of it 😂. I made a playlist of some kick ass women I want her to know. Which, this list reminds me that I need to put some Alanis on it. This was an incredible year for women in music.
Yes it was! I love both PJ Harvey so far, I kind of regret that I didn't get into her music until now, but on the flip side I get to discover it like it's brand new so that should be an absolute blast!
I first heard Down By the Water from To Bring You My Love when that album came out - bought the CD and loved it, but never listened to anything else of hers. Last week or the week before, I listened to Rid of Me because I’ve seen so many people saying it’s the one to listen to. I was blown away, and will definitely purchase the vinyl at some point because it’s incredible.
To your question in your article, it’s hard to overstate how “confused” we pavement fans were when they released this record, particularly cause it was 17 songs that were all over the place, if leaning a little country. With the passage of time though, it’s a classic
The Sea and Cake - Nassau
The whole album is superb, but Parasol is a perfect song
Luna - Penthouse
My love of Luna’s mid-90s output may only be rivaled by Kevin’s love of Jawbreaker’s
Autechre - Tri Repetae
This album single-handedly made me want to explore electronic music
Wow, some fantastic albums here that were in heavy rotation for me back in 1995!!
For me The Bends and OK Computer were Radiohead’s best two albums with the latter being my favorite. But I remember being in love with The Bends at the time. I’ve always been disappointed in the stylistic shift that came with Kid A and, though I’ve since softened on it somewhat, I’ll still always consider that album to be the death of the Radiohead that I loved.
To Bring You My Love was my entree to PJ Harvey, coming by way of Down By The Water appearing in the film Basketball Diaries. Although she can be a little hit and miss for me, I’ve enjoyed her work over the years, particularly 2016’s The Hope Six Demolition Project.
I still remember exactly where I was when I first heard You Oughta Know. It was quite unlike anything I’d ever heard and I was instantly hooked. While I loved that album, I actually preferred her follow up, 1998’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, which is my favorite of hers. It was nice to see her return after an eight year absence with 2020’s Such Pretty Forks in the Road, which made my top 50 that year.
I haven’t listened to much of that Pulp album outside of Common People. I’ll give it a listen. Oasis was another big fave back in 1995 but it’s not an album that I return to regularly nowadays. It’s very much “of its time” for me. Not that it hasn’t aged well, more that my musical tastes have moved on.
Some 1995 favorites that come to mind:
Belly - King
Better Than Ezra - Deluxe
Bettie Serveert - Lamprey
Collective Soul - Collective Soul
Dubstar - Disgraceful
Garbage - Garbage
Silverchair - Frogstomp
And some Canadian albums that would be lesser-known (outside Canada) than the above list:
In addition to Alanis, 1995 for me was also:
100% Fun - Matthew Sweet
Under the Table and Dreaming - Dave Matthews Band
Forever Blue - Chris Isaak
Andru Donalds - Andru Donalds
Yes, amazing! What a year it was
Sooooo many great ones here! But, just going to comment on PJ Harvey. Just listened to C’Mon Billy about 10 minutes ago on the way home from a kid’s band concert and sang the hell out of it - my daughter hated every minute of it 😂. I made a playlist of some kick ass women I want her to know. Which, this list reminds me that I need to put some Alanis on it. This was an incredible year for women in music.
Yes it was! I love both PJ Harvey so far, I kind of regret that I didn't get into her music until now, but on the flip side I get to discover it like it's brand new so that should be an absolute blast!
I first heard Down By the Water from To Bring You My Love when that album came out - bought the CD and loved it, but never listened to anything else of hers. Last week or the week before, I listened to Rid of Me because I’ve seen so many people saying it’s the one to listen to. I was blown away, and will definitely purchase the vinyl at some point because it’s incredible.
Top 5 for me in no particular order
Pavement - wowee zowee
To your question in your article, it’s hard to overstate how “confused” we pavement fans were when they released this record, particularly cause it was 17 songs that were all over the place, if leaning a little country. With the passage of time though, it’s a classic
The Sea and Cake - Nassau
The whole album is superb, but Parasol is a perfect song
Luna - Penthouse
My love of Luna’s mid-90s output may only be rivaled by Kevin’s love of Jawbreaker’s
Autechre - Tri Repetae
This album single-handedly made me want to explore electronic music
Radiohead - The Bends
IMO their most underrated album.
Fantastic list, thank you!
If I may, I’d add a couple here:
•Jawbreaker- “Dear You” much maligned at the time, but it’s actually pretty great.
•GBV-“Alien Lanes”
•Bowery Electric-S/T
•Yo La Tengo- “Electr-O-Pura”
Always appreciated, Kevin!
Wow, some fantastic albums here that were in heavy rotation for me back in 1995!!
For me The Bends and OK Computer were Radiohead’s best two albums with the latter being my favorite. But I remember being in love with The Bends at the time. I’ve always been disappointed in the stylistic shift that came with Kid A and, though I’ve since softened on it somewhat, I’ll still always consider that album to be the death of the Radiohead that I loved.
To Bring You My Love was my entree to PJ Harvey, coming by way of Down By The Water appearing in the film Basketball Diaries. Although she can be a little hit and miss for me, I’ve enjoyed her work over the years, particularly 2016’s The Hope Six Demolition Project.
I still remember exactly where I was when I first heard You Oughta Know. It was quite unlike anything I’d ever heard and I was instantly hooked. While I loved that album, I actually preferred her follow up, 1998’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, which is my favorite of hers. It was nice to see her return after an eight year absence with 2020’s Such Pretty Forks in the Road, which made my top 50 that year.
I haven’t listened to much of that Pulp album outside of Common People. I’ll give it a listen. Oasis was another big fave back in 1995 but it’s not an album that I return to regularly nowadays. It’s very much “of its time” for me. Not that it hasn’t aged well, more that my musical tastes have moved on.
Some 1995 favorites that come to mind:
Belly - King
Better Than Ezra - Deluxe
Bettie Serveert - Lamprey
Collective Soul - Collective Soul
Dubstar - Disgraceful
Garbage - Garbage
Silverchair - Frogstomp
And some Canadian albums that would be lesser-known (outside Canada) than the above list:
Bif Naked - Bif Naked
Odds - Good Weird Feeling
Ron Hawkins - The Secret of My Exces
Wild Strawberries - Heroine
Awesome, list, thank you Mark! There are several here that I didn't have on my radar, I'll be listening to as many as possible!