Sound Obsession

Welcome to Part 8 of my “100 Favorite Albums of the 1990’s” list! This part covers the spring of '97 through early fall of '97 - part of my final semester of high school through part of my first semester of college, and the summer in between. Really fun times, and probably the most musically diverse and intense six months of my life. During this time, I saw so many great bands, artists, and DJs perform live - among them, Sneaker Pimps, Radiohead, and Aphex Twin at the 9:30 Club; The Prodigy, Beck, and Jamiroquai headlining HFStival at RFK Stadium; Jamiroquai again at JMU's Patriot Center; Wu-Tang Clan and Rage Against the Machine at Merriweather Post Pavilion; Foo Fighters in the parking lot of Tower Records in Rockville, MD; Josh Wink, LTJ Bukem & MC Conrad, and Rabbit in the Moon at my first rave, Ultraworld Ritual, at the DC Armory; and countless DJs at Buzz, the weekly rave night at DC's Capital Ballroom (later, Nation). When I got to college in Central PA tha...

Welcome to Part 7 of my “100 Favorite Albums of the 1990’s” list! This part covers the late fall of '96 through early spring of '97 - the majority of my senior year of high school. '96 was a banner year in so many ways, and '97 was shaping up to be another great one - live shows, festivals, raves, and so many classic, era-defining albums across multiple subgenres of rock, hip-hop, and electronica. Nearly half of my 100 favorite albums of the 90's were released in this two year span - ’96 - '97.  Twenty of my 100 favorite albums of the 90's were released in '97 alone. ⁃ Will G. Originoo Gunn Clappaz:   Da Storm   (10/29/96) OGC were the last Boot Camp Clik members to release their debut "solo" album, and maybe that was by design. This rap trio were no slouches but, in retrospect, didn't have the charisma of fellow Clik members like Smif-N-Wessun and Heltah Skeltah. With uneven production from longtime Clik associates, including D...

Welcome to Part 6 of my “100 Favorite Albums of the 1990’s” list! This part covers the summer of '96 through the fall of '96, leading into my senior year of high school. Urb , Muzik , and Mixmag now joined The Source and Rap Pages on my regular reading list and I attended some of my first stadium and amphitheater festivals that summer. HFStival, at DC's RFK Stadium, showcased bands like Foo Fighters, Cracker, Afghan Whigs, and Garbage, while Smokin' Grooves, at Bristow, VA's Nissan Pavilion, featured A Tribe Called Quest, Cypress Hill, Fugees, and Busta Rhymes. That fall I also stumbled on a new late-night video series on MTV called Amp, similar in spirit to 120 Minutes but instead of alternative rock it focused on electronic music and instead of human VJs hosting there was simply onscreen text and abstract CGI interstitials, giving the show the eerie impression of an intergalactic transmission. In ...

Welcome to Part 5 of my “100 Favorite Albums of the 1990’s” list! This part covers late fall of '95 to spring of '96 - my junior year of high school. During this time I was still deep into hip-hop, but my musical horizons were expanding quickly. 1996 ushered in a frenzy of musical exploration and discovery - 22 of my favorite albums of the 90's were released in 1996. It was a great year. By then, I had a driver’s license, which expanded my musical hunting grounds beyond suburban bus routes. I'd borrow my older brother's car (thanks!) to make trips to record shops across the DC metro area, including the HMV in Georgetown where a serendipitous conversation with a staffer there led to some great recommendations, including a jungle music compilation called This is Jungle Sky released in early ‘95 by Liquid Sky, the record label offshoot of the NYC emporium of the same name, which served as an axis for the Mid-Atlantic rave and underground club scene in the early t...