Jamwise #49 - Best of 1996

We're back after an unplanned break! Featuring: Jay Z, Beck, Rage Against the Machine, Fiona Apple, Tool, Aphex Twin, R.E.M.

Hello everyone!

First of all, apologies for the multi-week newsletter hiatus. Long story short, I got a new job assignment on short notice that required a new apartment, moving to a new city, lots of coordination, lots of overtime, and lots and LOTS of driving. On the one hand that’s a good thing for this newsletter - plenty of time for music on the road. But on the other hand there’s been literally zero time for thinking, let alone writing. But now things are getting moderately stable, and I’m back to regularly scheduled programming. Thanks for hanging with me.

I’ve been listening through the 90’s with the help of the excellent folks on Substack, and this week continues that series with a deep-ish dive into the year 1996.

As always, please leave a comment with any of your favorites that are missing! Leaving an album off of my list isn’t an indication of dislike, for the record - I simply write about the albums that inspire the most thoughts, not necessarily my votes for the best. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be listening through all of your favorites next time I make the 6 hour drive back home for the weekend.

The Albums of 1996

Beck - Odelay

When you’re a teen to pre-teen, you have a very different definition of what constitutes “deep meaning” in song lyrics. This album was one of those that young Dave thought was mind-blowingly cool and original and deep - I was probably assuming that many of the nonsensical lyrics were simply nonsensical in order to hide a deeper meaning. Did I understand what Beck meant by “Shine your shoes with your microphone blues, hirsute with your parachute fruits”? Hell no. But did I think I was privy to some level of intellect that was far beyond anything my parents or plebians everywhere could understand? You better believe it.

Beck’s music is indeed inventive and entertaining, and I’m not saying there’s not a deeper level of meaning to it. But this isn’t Shakespeare, and it’s pretty amusing to think back on that time of my life when my view of the broader music world was the size of my bookshelf full of CD’s and my dollar-store headphones. That’s what I hear when I hear Beck, and I hope that never changes.

Jay Z - Reasonable Doubt

Jay Z’s debut album sounds like nothing so much as a guy in the streets of NYC, hat down, collar up, sounds of cars and the subway screeching and people hustling for survival all around. What’s he doing in the street? Does he love the hustle and noise, or does he lament the necessity of such drastic measures to survive? In short, it’s complicated, and that complexity is reflected in the conflicted lyrics and upper/downer mix of beats from song to song. This is probably a music connoisseur’s favorite Jay Z album, with none of the radio hits of his later albums, instead focusing on elevating hip-hop to an intellectual art form, introducing the idea that the daily hustle and ranging intellect aren’t mutually exclusive.

Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire

Every kid has that one song or event that introduces them to the problems of adults in the real world. RATM was that band for me - I wasn’t an angry kid, but I experienced early on the catharsis of listening to intense energy and anger artfully expressed. Every RATM album is a classic in my book - this one isn’t quite on the level of their self titled debut for me, but it’s pretty damn good. The combo of metal riffs and shout-rap poetry and funky drum work is unique and everlasting. They made the mold and broke it, and thank goodness for that because RATM has the kind of sound that could be imitated VERY badly without the requisite talent.

R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi

REM’s sound takes many forms, and this form seems like it came about after extended listening sessions of the downcast early 90’s era of alt rock, the era REM only dabbled in in precious albums. It’s like they bought a bunch of Radiohead records and let the resulting gloom into their sound. It’s not my favorite REM, despite the consistent quality of the band. There’s always variety on an REM album, but this time the variety also unfortunately applies to recording and mixing quality, which was a result of some tracks being recorded in arenas or during sound checks, which adds an effect of transience but at the same time distracts from the music as you strain to hear the vocals. All that said, it’s still a great work from a band that rarely misses.

Tool - Aenema

Industrial grossness of the non-destructive variety. This album almost sounds like it’s polluting the atmosphere, a cloud of grey-green smoke emanating from a decades-old smokestack. It’s the soundtrack that will be playing in 500 years when humans return to the destroyed Earth we leave behind, diving into the smog in hazmat space suits. I’ve worked with a lot of industrial robots and trust me, this is the music they listen to when they’re off shift (Aphex Twin is what they prefer during work hours, I hear).

Fiona Apple - Tidal

Fiona Apple’s debut album sounds like something you’d hear from a far more established artists. Her hooks are buried deeply behind the freeform melodies and musing poetry of her lyrics, and for an artist with so much commercial success - and such a pop legacy - this album is surprisingly un-poppy sounding today. She’s got some blues and some angst mixed in, but overall the mood to me sounds simply introspective. Not that that’s a simple task, of course, but the focus of the album is more on Fiona’s mind than anything else.

I love Fiona Apple’s later albums, probably because the hooks start to come to the forefront later in her career, but this is the kind of album nobody can look at and say “this artist is a rookie.” It’s like when a rookie athlete has a phenomenal year their first year in the professional league - you have to appreciate them both for their potential and for the potential they’ve already realized.

Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album

This album is confusing as hell for me, as a mortal and organic life form with normal cognitive abilities and no onboard internet connectivity, but it’s the kind of thing that makes me think humans are capable of communicating with the machines we’ve spent so many years creating. It’s rushed-feeling and chaotic, almost stressful even when you’re hearing a calm electronic piano in the background or a low key vocal sample. This is the kind of album that leaves you wondering how the hell people are capable of coming up with art like this. Maybe Aphex Twin was just born with a 5G chip in his head.