1992 in music.

Nirvana's Nevermind predictably won 1991. Let's see who wins 1992. Another great year.

Billboard chart-topping albums of 1992:
Michael Jackson - Dangerous (cont. from 1991)
Nirvana - Nevermind (cont. from 1991)
Garth Brooks - Ropin' the Wind (cont. from 1991)
Soundtrack - Wayne's World
Def Leppard - Adrenalize
Kris Kross - Totally Krossed Out
The Black Crowes - The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
Billy Ray Cyrus - Some Gave All
Garth Brooks - The Chase
Michael Bolton - Timeless
Ice Cube - The Predator
Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard

Billboard chart-topping singles of 1992:
Michael Jackson - Black or White (cont. from 1991)
All 4 Love - Color Me Badd (cont. from 1991)
George Michael and Elton John - Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (cont. from 1991)
Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy (cont. from 1991)
Mr. Big - To Be With You (cont. from 1991)
Vanessa Williams - Save the Best for Last
Kris Kross - Jump
Mariah Carey - I'll Be There
Sir Mix-a-Lot - Baby Got Back
Madonna - This Used to Be My Playground
Boyz II Men - End of the Road
The Heights - How Do You Talk to an Angel
Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You

What are your top three albums for 1992? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be:
1. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
2. Alice in Chains - Dirt
3. Neil Young - Harvest Moon

What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later?

YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm

 

1. The Cure - Wish
2. The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde
3. Dream Theater - Images and Words

 

first of all, i generally don't include EPs in this, but special shout-out to Nine Inch Nails Broken EP, which might have cracked my top 3, if I did include EPs. expanding to a top 20 again bc of how good of a year this is.

rest of the top 20:
4. R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
5. Sonic Youth - Dirty
6. The Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
7. Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun
8. Ride - Going Blank Again
9. The Black Crowes - The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
10. The Cure - Wish
11. Spiritualized - Lazer Guided Melodies
12. Sugar - Copper Blue
13. Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
14. Bad Religion - Generator
15. Garth Brooks - The Chase
16. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92
17. Guided By Voices - Propeller
18. Stone Temple Pilots - Core
19. Godflesh - Pure
20. Green Day - Kerplunk

other honorable mentions:
the afghan whigs - congregation
darkthrone - blaze in the northern sky
failure - comfort
helmet - meantime
the jesus and mary chain - honey’s dead
lucinda williams - sweet old world
megadeth - countdown to extinction
neurosis - souls at zero
pantera - vulgar display of power
red house painters - down colorful hill
the rollins band - end of silence
screaming trees - sweet oblivion
uncle tupelo - march 16-20, 1992
the wallflowers - the wallflowers

stuff to check out:
4 non blondes - bigger better faster more
blue rodeo - lost together
cowboy junkies - black eyed man
dr. are - the chronic
faith no more - angel dust
garth brooks - beyond the season
gin blossoms - new miserable experience
ice cube - the predator
inxs - welcome to wherever you are
izzy stradlin - and the ju ju hounds
the jesus lizard - liar
julianna hatfield - hey babe
kd lang - ingenue
the lemon heads - it’s a shame about ray
lou reed - magic and loss
manic street preachers - generation terrorists
nick cave - henry’s dream
no doubt - no doubt
tom waits - bone machine
tracy chapman - matters of the heart
ugk - too hard to swallow
vince gill - i still believe in you

 

Damn! Pretty strict rule on EPs! I dunno, Broken is 8 songs, 32 minutes.... definitely some bands/artists that have passed off less as an LP. But I get it.

Broken absolutely slaps though, I can't not include it hahahaa

 

1. The Cure - Wish
2. Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power
3. Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience

4. The Gits - Frenching the Bully
5. Pavement - Slante and Enchanted

 

it isn't a rule lol. just personal preference.

 

Strict preference!

BTW - Kerplunk! is another one where there is some confusion with the release year. Wiki lists it as a December '91 release, but then it is also under their January '92 "albums released". Not that I was listening to that album at that point anyway, but I included it in my list for last year. Guess it doesn't matter much since I don't think it'll receive too many if any Top 3 votes - but still odd.

 

1. Mary Chapin Carpenter - Come On, Come On
2. Hal Ketchum - Sure Love
3. Bruce Springsteen - Lucky Town

Excruciating cuts:
Annie Lennox - Diva
Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience
Vince Gill - I Still Believe in You
Prince - The Love Symbol Album
Indigo Girls - Rites of Passage

Others I love:
Eric Clapton - Unplugged
Lyle Lovett - Joshua Judges Ruth
Robert Ellis Orrall - Flying Colors
Lindsey Buckingham - Out of the Cradle
Neil Young - Harvest Moon
Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
Peter Gabriel - Us
The Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray
Morrissey - Your Arsenal
k.d. lang - Ingenue

Good ones:
Alan Jackson - A Lot About Livin' (and a Little 'bout Love)
Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch
Alice in Chains - Dirt
Sugar - Copper Blue
Dr. Dre - The Chronic
Sade - Love Deluxe
R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
Uncle Tupelo - March 16-20 1992
Megadeth - Countown to Extinction
Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power
Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
Faith No More - Angel Dust
Chris Bell - I Am the Cosmos
Stone Temple Pilots - Core
Kathy Mattea - Lonesome Standard Time
Leonard Cohen - The Future
Madonna - Erotica
Elton John - The One
Alice in Chains - Sap EP
Charles and Eddie - Duophonic

Not a fan:
Arrested Development - 3 Years, 5 Months, and 2 Days in the Life of...
Billy Ray Cyrus - Some Gave All

Targets for listening:
Mary J. Blige - What's the 411?
Dream Theater - Images and Words
Bob Dylan - Good As I Been to You
Nine Inch Nails - Broken EP
Glenn Frey - Strange Weather
Roy Orbison - King of Hearts
Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Henry's Dream
Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprasy - Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury
P.J. Harvey - Dry
Ice Cube - The Predator
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Devotional Songs
Baaba Maal - Lam Toro
Ministry - Psalm 69
Koffi Olomide - Haut De Gamme - Koweit, Rive Gauche
Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde
Spiritualized - Laser-Guided Melodies
Stereo MCs - Connected
Tom Waits - Bone Machine
Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard Soundtrack
The Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall
En Vogue - Funky Divas
The Cure - Wish
Ride - Going Blank Again
Lou Reed - Magic and Loss

 

This year is the start of one of country's peaks, as far as I'm concerned. Mary Chapin Carpenter, Hal Ketchum, Alan Jackson, Robert Ellis Orrall, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett and Kathy Mattea all delivering the goods.

 

1. Rage Against the Machine - S/T
2. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Live and Let Die
3. Showbiz & AG - Runaway Slave


I know there’s some album I’m forgetting that I will hate myself for.


Shout out to the a cappella version of If I Ever Fall in Love… by Shai though.

 

1 Tom Waits - Bone Machine
2 R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
3 Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works '85-'92

HMs:
Alice in Chains - Dirt
Junior Kimbrough & The Soul Blues Boys - All Night Long
Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine

I also share the preference not to include EPs in lists like these, but yeah, Broken goes so, so hard

 

this is probably where my lists are gonna start baffling people, have fun

1. Sublime - 40 Oz To Freedom
2. Barenaked Ladies - Gordon
3. R.E.M. - Automatic For The People
4. The Cure - Wish
5. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
6. Prince - Love Symbol Album
7. No Doubt - No Doubt
8. Gregg Alexander - Intoxifornication
9. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
10. Vanessa Paradis - Vanessa Paradis
11. Eric Clapton - Unplugged
12. Ringo Starr - Time Takes Time
13. The Lemonheads - It's A Shame About Ray
14. Blind Melon - Blind Melon
15. The Sugarcubes - Stick Around For Joy
16. Green Day - Kerplunk!
17. Beastie Boys - Check Your Head

 

1992 mix

 

Subbing

 

1. The Sugarcubes - Stick Around for Joy
2. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85 - 92
3. The Nation of Ulysses - Plays Pretty for Baby

The Sugarcubes third and final album is an absolute joy, and more or less as good as Bjork's solo work. Great indie rock and oddball pop hooks, and some of Bjork's best vocal performances.

Aphex Twin's early compilation of sorts is a fascinating look and listen to early electronic music, often recorded pretty roughly, but some beautiful compositions on here. I don't always manage to get all the way through it, but opening track, "Xtal" would be one of my absolute favourite songs.

Plays Pretty For Baby is a jazz infused, spiky and aggressively political post-hardcore album, that laid down a lot of the same stuff and vibe that Refused would do 5 years later.

Honourable Mentions;

Green Day - Kerplunk: A brilliant follow-up to their debut and showed why Green Day were ready to breakout the way they did. Brilliant power pop songwriting with punky attitude.

Sonic Youth - Dirty: Sonic Youth's brief flirtation with mainstream, with this and Goo being their most accessible albums. Noisy, and full of great songs.

Tom Waits - Bone Machine: By this point Waits had made the transition from blues singer to making some of the most unhinged and downright spooky music possible.

Bikini Kill - Pussy Whipped: A short sharp shock of an album, great riot grrl punk music, that does exactly what you need it too.

Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky: Sort of unlistenable, but I am absolutely fascinated by this little era of Norwegian black metal, and Darkthrone seem to be one of the few bands that seem like normal enough people, instead of murderers or Nazis or whatever, which helps.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Devotional Songs: Just another beautiful example of how incredible his voice was.

 

1. Stone Temple Pilots - Core
2. R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
3. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
-----------------------------------
4. Nine Inch Nails - Broken (EP)
5. Alice In Chains - Dirt
6. Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
7. XTC - Nonsuch
8. Sugar - Copper Blue
9. The Cure - Wish
10. Sublime - 40 Oz. To Freedom
11. Guided By Voices - Propeller
12. Nirvana - Incesticide
13. Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience
14. Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun
15. Helmet - Meantime
16. Bad Religion - Generator
17. Faith No More - Angel Dust
18. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted
19. Neil Young - Harvest Moon
20. Various Artists - Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Honorable Mention:
The Afghan Whigs - Congregation
Alice In Chains - Sap (EP)
Barenaked Ladies - Gordon
Blind Melon - Blind Melon
Eric Clapton - Unplugged
Go West - Indian Summer
The Lemonheads - It's A Shame About Ray
Ministry - ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ / Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs
Morrissey - Your Arsenal
Mother Love Bone - Mother Love Bone
Nine Inch Nails - Fixed (EP)
The Ocean Blue - Beneath Rhythm and Sound
The Offspring - Ignition
Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power
Ride - Going Blank Again
Screaming Trees - Sweet Oblivion
Sonic Youth - Dirty
The Sundays - Blind
They Might Be Giants - Apollo 18
Tool - Opiate (EP)
White Zombie - La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol 1

Checking Out for the first time:
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works, 85-92
The Black Crowes - The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch
Bruce Springsteen - Lucky Town
James - Seven
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Honey's Dead
L7 - Bricks Are Heavy
Manic Street Preachers - Generation Terrorists
No Doubt - No Doubt
Peter Gabriel - Us
Phish - A Picture of Nectar
Social Distortion - Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell
Soul Asylum - Grave Dancers Union
Spiritualized - Lazer Guided Melodies
The Sugarcubes - Stick Around For Joy
Uncle Tupelo - March 16-20, 1992
Urge Overkill - Stull

 

I bent the rules a bit for an EP, and also for the Nirvana b-sides comp, and as well for a movie soundtrack. Still such a great year. It would be criminal to talk about '92 and not include this absolute beast:

 

i think this is already our most variety of picks for #1. usually it caps at about 5/6 different albums and we're at 7 already with only two repeats.

 

again, it isn't a rule. you can put an EP in your list if you want to.

 

Bent the 'preferences' lmao. I just like overanalyzing

 

Dig the variety for real though - shoutout Sublime at #1, they are a polarizing band for sure but their original albums were all a big part of my formative years.

I also forgot all about the BNL albums pre-Stunt. Revisited Gordon today and was pleasantly surprised.

Gregg Alexander is the New Radicals guy, right? What is that album like?? I did not even know it existed.

 

You're correct about Gregg. New Radicals was essentially his solo project under a new band name so he wasn't "center stage" as much, but the album listed here is very much in line with the New Radicals album but a less-slick version I suppose. More independent feeling, but if you've ever been into the New Radicals album (I absolutely love it) then it's definitely worth checking out the solo album, some really cool stuff on there

 

1. Tom Waits - Bone Machine
2. The Lemonheads - It’s a Shame About Ray
3. The Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall

 

As we get more into the '90s - there are going to be more and more of those "one-hit wonder" type alt bands. Some of them had more like 2-3 or more moderate hits, but aren't up there with the heavyweights of the decade.

And in most of those cases, they are bands/artists where I knew a few songs, but never really bothered with the full album for whatever reason. I am going to start posting some of those in here in video link form, since they won't end up on any of my proper lists.

First is this jam from Cracker - who went on to have a few more modest alt chart hits:

TL;DR: The 90s were the fuckin' best, y'all.

 

Listened to Neurosis' Souls at Zero, which had been one I'd been meaning to check out anyway. I'm a big fan of what comes next over the next decade or so for Neurosis, but hadn't got to this record yet.

It's not quite as intense as something like Through Silver in Blood or Times of Grace, which lumbers slowly at you with terrifying power, but you can certainly see what they're aiming for here, with it's sludgy riffs and howling vocals. The songs are a bit shorter in general, and there's definitely a bit of a trashy influence here, which they'd lose in later albums.

Enjoyed this a lot, but it definitely feels like a bit of a practice run for what would come next.