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After (and even a little bit during) my Gothtember musical retrospective, I had yet another inspiration for a month of music. This one came together a lot faster than usual, and I decided that I wanted to do it to close out the year. Decembers are often used for looking back, but not many people want to spend a lot of time examining 2020. Instead, I’ll be looking a little further back for my December song-a-day list:

The 90s That Almost Was

We all know the 90s were full of Grunge, Boy Bands, 3rd Wave Ska, and Punk Revival, but there was a lot more going on during that decade than we often remember. In this list, I’ll be taking a look at movements and artists that almost had a huge influence on 90s music but ended up being overtaken by the more well-known trends.

I have a lot of categories for this one:

Riot Grrrls

A quick, 3-video history of the sound that could have been a lot bigger, except the boys stole it and turned it into Grunge.

Psychedelic Surfers

Early in the 90s, we were returning to the 60s in a hopeful rush of love, peace, and psychedelia…before it all got grumpy.

Madchester and More

A look at British trends that failed to gain a foothold in the US despite being musically amazing.

(Real) World Music

Partially because of Peter Gabriel’s outreach work with Real World Studios, for a brief moment it looked like musical globalism would make it big.

The McLachlan Effect

Sarah isn’t on this list (because she WAS part of the popular 90s), but her success had a huge impact on other artists, especially in and around the Lilith Fair festival.

Folksplosion

Folk had as much of a revival as Punk in the 90s, but didn’t really hit the mainstream all that much. I end with a selection of my favorites.

Those of you who know my musical tastes will quickly see that this list is also “what Eric was listening to in the 90s,” and that’s certainly true. This is a very personal and important list for me, fitting for the end of a hard year. If you get through the whole month loving everything, please let me know. It means we should probably talk about music a lot more than we already do.

Day 1 (Riot Grrrls) – L7, “Freak Magnet/Shove”

The story of the Riot Grrrl movement begins with punk. In a more equitable world, it wouldn’t have even existed – all of these bands would have just been part of the punk revival. Instead, they became an underground counterculture in response to rampant misogyny and discrimination in the music industry as a whole and the club scene in particular.

Because it’s basically punk, the Riot Grrrl sound has roots all over the place. The list of bands that are considered part of the original movement is small, but its origins and impact could fill a month on their own. LA band L7 is not directly part of the Riot Grrrl, but they were adjacent and just slightly ahead. They both influenced and responded to much of what was going on in music at the time (as you can see with the interlude here where they imply that the guitar lick from “Shove” fits neatly with Nirvana’s opening to “Smells Like Teen Spirit”).

L7 was a little more on the metal side of punk – more Joan Jett than Debbie Harry. But you can hear elements in their sound that fit in quite well with various Riot Grrrl bands. “Shove” was my first exposure to L7 (as part of the Tank Girl soundtrack), and I do consider that opening absolutely iconic. They were never exactly my style, but I was peripherally aware of them, especially when they trolled Lilith Fair with an airplane banner that read, “Bored? Tired? Try L7.”

Day 2 (Riot Grrrls) – Bikini Kill, “Rebel Girl”

No band was as central to the Riot Grrrl movement as Bikini Kill. Tobi Vail first used the name in her ‘zine, “Jigsaw,” and Kathleen Hanna’s work for that ‘zine became their first collaboration. (Vail, by the way, began to despise the mainstreaming of “Grrrl,” and it’s important to acknowledge that.) The band created the movement’s defining sound, and both Hanna and Vail have worked in multiple projects since that have continued the work they began with Bikini Kill.

More importantly, Bikini Kill worked to change the club culture of punk. At a time when the area closest to the stage tended to be dominated by a mosh pit, they actively worked to encourage audiences to be safe for women. Hanna’s call of “girls to the front” became a uniting call that was sorely needed at the time.

There’s so much more I could say about Bikini Kill’s lasting impact, but for right now, I will point out two things:

1) Although many people know that it was Kathleen Hanna’s graffiti that gave Kurt Cobain the song title, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the other important part of that story is that Cobain was dating Tobi Vail at the time, and Hanna wrote the graffiti because Teen Spirit was Vail’s deodorant brand of choice.

2) Kathleen Hanna no longer says “girls to the front,” because she has seen instances where it was weaponized by cis white women against black men and trans/non-binary fans. The fact that she continues to interrogate her own actions and grow in her activism makes her, in my eyes, more punk than a lot of old punks (*cough* John Lydon).

Anyway, here’s “Rebel Girl.”

Day 3 (Riot Grrrls) – Sleater-Kinney, “Dig Me Out”

Sleater-Kinney was formed – like many bands in the Riot Grrrl movement – from the remnants of other bands. Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein, and Janet Weiss all played in other projects before (and even during) the formation of Sleater-Kinney. Their band was a later arrival to the scene, but ended up being one of the most successful and longest lasting.

This has to be at least partially because of their sheer musical skill. Where Bikini Kill thrived on sheer energy in the way that a club band does, Sleater-Kinney brought finesse and talent beyond that of many bands – not just Riot Grrrl bands but many of the pop-punk bands of the late 90s. This song really shows off their individual skills – Tucker’s powerful vocals, Brownstein’s fantastic guitar lines, and Weiss’s richly textured drumming – but it also shows their ensemble strength. The fullness of their sound with just two guitars and drums is impressive.

This song (and the album of the same name) came out in 1997. At that time, pop-punk and ska-punk were rising in popularity, and many people of my generation were lamenting that “punk was dead.” To which I would say – punk never died, you were just looking for it in the wrong places. Unfortunately, my generation’s failure to declare Sleater-Kinney the true heirs of punk led to the next generation’s lack of awareness.

Today, if you Google “90s punk bands,” you will find an appalling lack of women, and that is the lasting legacy of the 90s that almost was.

Day 4 (Psychedelic Surfers) – P.M. Dawn, “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss”

Media in the 80s was full of nostalgia for the 50s, so it seemed inevitable that the 90s would be about the 60s. We were talking about the 25th anniversary of Woodstock, the Cold War was ending, and there was an undercurrent of positivism.

P.M. Dawn brought this feeling of peace and love to music through an amazing R&B/Hip-Hop crossover that was transcendently smooth. From the a cappella opening to Prince Be’s mellow flow to the Spandau Ballet guitar sample, this song embodies the cool hopefulness of the early 90s. It was rare to see psychedelia and hippie imagery in Hip-Hop, but P.M. Dawn made it so natural, and the video and song work perfectly together.

Sadly, this mood did not last. The lineup for Woodstock ’94 was not as much a celebration of love and peace as just a run of whoever was popular and willing (many of whom would be better described as “angry”). We were back in a war, but this time we weren’t really protesting. And P.M. Dawn themselves ran into trouble when DJ Minutemix (Jarrett Cordes, younger brother of Attrell Cordes/Prince Be) turned out to be a sexual abuser.

Meanwhile, let us look back to a more hopeful time. And also pour one out for Attrell, who died in 2016 after a lifelong fight with diabetes.

Day 5 (Psychedelic Surfers) – Deee-Lite, “Groove Is in the Heart”

While we’re talking about 60s revival, we absolutely have to mention the video that’s basically Laugh-In on ecstasy. With this song, Deee-Lite brought House Music into the spotlight, and they did it with such positivity that you can’t help but bop along. Between the driving horns and bass samples, the Bootsy Collins and Q-Tip cameos, the slide whistle breakdown, and of course the amazing vocals and dancing by Lady Miss Kier – if you don’t like listening to/watching this video, I’m sorry about your capacity for joy.

This could have been a defining moment for the 90s, but even our dance music got moody (see my Gothtember list for more on that). As it was, Deee-Lite’s strength as a club mainstay did not translate into popular success, and no larger trend followed this one big hit. We could have had a dancing, loving, psychedelic 90s, but we screwed it up. But for me, this song remains evergreen.

Day 6 (Psychedelic Surfers) – Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Give It Away”

It may seem odd to include RHCP in a list of “almost” 90s bands. Their 1991 album, “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” was even more popular than “Mother’s Milk,” and it sure seemed at the time that they were at the height of their popularity.

But almost immediately after this album was released, things started to go downhill. Guitarist John Frusciante started sabotaging performances and then using heroin before quitting the band completely. Vocalist Anthony Kiedis struggled to write songs without Frusciante and fell back into heavy drug use himself.

“One Hot Minute,” the next album, was not up to their previous quality, did not sell very well, and led to an extremely lackluster tour. It wasn’t until Frusciante went through rehab and returned to the band that they found a new direction, resulting in the “Californication” album in 1999.

Overall, the 90s were a dark period for RHCP. But in this case it was entirely their own fault. Luckily, we still got to see what they could have done – it just happened in the 00s instead.

Day 7 (Psychedelic Surfers) – Midnight Oil, “Outbreak of Love”

I very much dislike when people refer to talented, prolific bands and artists as “one-hit wonders,” but when I see that phrase applied to Midnight Oil? I am ENRAGED. I could do an entire month of just this band and they would all be bangers.

Midnight Oil released four albums in the 90s: Blue Sky Mining, Earth and Sun and Moon, Breathe, and Redneck Wonderland. Unfortunately, the American public had basically forgotten about them after the first of those albums, which means they missed out on a decade of fantastic music.

This song is from 1993’s Earth and Sun and Moon, an album that fits right in with the 60s-nouveau aesthetic of the time. And of course, since Midnight Oil began as a surf-rock band, this video is part of why I named this part of the list “Psychedelic Surfers.”

While you enjoy, pour one out for bassist Bones Hillman, who just recently passed away. And check out the new Oils album, The Makarrata Project.

Day 8 (Psychedelic Surfers) – INXS, “Beautiful Girl”

While we’re on the subject of Australian surf-rockers, let’s talk about INXS. They came into the decade so strong. After the rapid rise of the band through three consecutive albums in the mid 80s (The Swing, Listen Like Thieves, Kick), the 1990 album X seemed like a very slight dip in an otherwise stellar career. Unfortunately, the reception and promotion of 1992’s Welcome to Wherever You Are was lacking, at least in the US. The decision to do an immediate follow-up (Full Moon, Dirty Hearts) ended up being neither musically nor commercially sound, and the band continued to falter.

Of course, much of that faltering surrounded lead singer Michael Hutchence’s battles with depression and drug use, as well as his numerous romantic scandals. Hutchence struggled with fame, and it drastically impacted his performances. The band’s final album, Elegantly Wasted, seemed like an attempt to address many of these issues, but also perhaps a cry for help. Hutchence died on tour – most likely by suicide, although some claim it was an accident.

In either case, the story of INXS is a tragic one, one that has been all too common in the history of popular music. It’s hard to sympathize with people who seem to have everything – fame, money, musical talent, endless attractive partners – but squander it away. Yet we can see an important lesson in this, that support structures can fail for anyone. There is no bubble of circumstances that can protect someone from depression or other mental illness.

Let’s pour one out for Michael and remember the amazing music he gave us.

Day 9 (Psychedelic Surfers) – The Ocean Blue, “Between Something and Nothing”

I first saw The Ocean Blue opening for The Mighty. Their keyboard player also played the sax, which made them an instant hit in my mind at the time. This band from Hershey, PA managed to capture a lot of what was coming out of Manchester at the same time, but being promoted in the US didn’t quite work to get them up there with the Madchester bands. (Ironically, the actually-British Mighty Lemon Drops were still clinging to an 80s post-punk sound, which meant they weren’t innovating nearly as much The Ocean Blue moving into the 90s.)

I love these soft Pennsylvania boys with their lacrosse player hair. Check out their first two albums to get a sense of why. I really wish they had gotten more traction, but despite a decent bit of exposure on 120 Minutes, they never hit it big. However, they have kept making music almost this whole time, releasing their most recent album just last year. They’ll never be super popular, but it makes me happy to see them still going.

Day 10 (Psychedelic Surfers) – Jesus Jones, “International Bright Young Thing”

And so we close out this category with a band that embodied the early 90s. “Right Here, Right Now” was their most popular song largely because it so perfectly encapsulated my generation’s feelings at the end of the Cold War, but my favorite Jesus Jones song is definitely this one.

Jesus Jones, along with EMF, grabbed a moment of fame for a dance-club rock sound that felt like a natural outgrowth of what New Order had done with Technique (as well as the Sumner/Marr side-project, Electronic). Like Deee-Lite, Jesus Jones also brought a positive, fun vibe to the club scene. However, this vibe ended up being quickly subsumed by the rising Industrial movement.

Nevertheless, Jesus Jones’s sound was adjacent to – and perhaps influential of – another club scene that gained a slightly stronger hold in 90s England, one that I will begin discussing tomorrow…

Day 11 (Madchester and More) – Happy Mondays, “Step On”

Manchester had already been a music center throughout the post-punk boom – Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, Simply Red, and James, just to name a few. This helped to create a thriving club scene that spawned a new generation of bands that were a bit more…socially inclined. By that I mean that the club kids tripping on ecstasy decided to make their own music.

Happy Mondays were among the earliest of these groups. They began their run in the mid-80s, but hit it big with the album “Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches” in 1990. For a brief few years, the Madchester scene (as it was known) enjoyed the spotlight. Like American rave and house music, though, this popularity soon faded, and Happy Mondays saw little commercial success after PnT&B.

Although Madchester is the specific scene the Happy Mondays helped form, they also intersected with “Baggy” culture/music. Baggy was named from the loose-fitting clothes its fans (and bands, as you see in this video) tended to wear. I like to describe Baggy as “chill soccer hooligans who fancy themselves surfers,” and this video is one of the reasons I say that.

Day 11 (Madchester and More) – The Stone Roses, “She Bangs the Drums”

The Stone Roses were musically one of the best bands to come out of Manchester at the time, with the possible exception of James. They shared a lot of James’s multi-layer orchestration and guitar work, but they also incorporated a bit of the psychedelia of the later Mersey Sound and even some jam-band sensibility. Their 1989 self-titled album is a fantastic mix of standout singles like “She Bangs the Drums” and atmospheric noodling like “Don’t Stop,” and it ends with two super-long songs that somehow manage to be both (“I Am The Resurrection” and “Fool’s Gold”).

Unfortunately, The Stone Roses didn’t have the business acumen or cohesiveness that James had, and the band began falling apart almost as soon as they hit it moderately big in England. As a result, they never quite got the promotion they deserved in the US, and an extremely promising band is now largely lost to time.

As a side note, I want to point out that I have now mentioned James twice in as many days, so I should perhaps explain what’s going on there. James is by far the most popular and enduring band to be associated with the Madchester movement. Because of that, I am not including them in this list, but they definitely deserve plenty of discussion in their own right, and I will try to feature them sometime in the future.

Day 13 (Madchester and More) – The Charlatans (UK), “The Only One I Know”

Ironically, one of the bands most closely associated with the Madchester sound wasn’t even from there. Most of The Charlatans were from the Birmingham area, and the band officially formed in Norwich. However, there wasn’t much of a Norwich music scene, and there’s never really been a “Norwich sound,” so the Madchester designation is the one that stuck. (Side note – I will be talking about Norwich’s most prominent musician in a later category.)

EDIT – Apparently I confused Norwich and Northwich. That’s what I get for writing these early in the morning (and also being American). Northwich is significantly closer to Manchester, of course, so that makes a bit more sense for the scene.

The Charlatans were quite prolific throughout the 90s and early 00s. They had their share of problems, but nothing that stopped them from recording and performing. They were also extremely popular in England, with plenty of top-40 singles. Like the rest of the Madchester bands, though, they didn’t make much headway in the US. Meanwhile, the one band from Manchester that DID break through to the US in the 90s wasn’t part of the sound. Oasis was a Britpop band, and apparently that’s all that Americans cared about.

To sum up – The Charlatans offered amazingly tight and fun grooves like this, with stellar bass and organ licks, and Americans basically said, “Anyway, here’s Wonderwall.”

Day 14 (Madchester and More) – The Farm, “All Together Now”

Liverpool certainly has its own musical legacy, so it’s probably most accurate to lump The Farm under the more general term Baggy rather than Madchester. Despite hitting it big with a few singles, The Farm did not last very long. They were known mostly in the US for “Groovy Train” and their remake of “Steppin’ Stone.” But I want to talk about this song, which is certainly one of their most well-known in the UK.

That’s largely because it is so ridiculously but wholesomely British. It’s built over a base of keyboard/organ playing the chords of Pachelbel’s Canon in D and then adds the lilting guitar and Baggy dance beat typical of The Farm’s other work. The lyrics are a retelling of the Christmas Truce, and the video shows the band hanging out in a pub with people (perhaps their grandparents?) who almost certainly lived through The Blitz.

Ultimately, though, The Farm was better at covers and samples than they were at writing original music, and this may have been part of the reason for their short run.

Day 15 (Madchester and More) – Inspiral Carpets, “Two Worlds Collide”

My last Madchester entry (tomorrow I’ll start the “and More” bit) is Inspiral Carpets, a band that suffered through multiple personnel changes and label-hopping. They never quite broke in the US, and even in the UK they couldn’t sustain their popularity through more than a couple albums.

The thing I appreciate about Inspiral Carpets is that they took the Madchester instrumentation and song structure in a very different direction. You can hear the guitar and keyboard work that typified the movement, but their tone and lyrics often dipped into post-punk/goth sensibilities. Their second album, “Revenge of the Goldfish” ended up doing relatively well in some European markets, but timing and promotion worked against them, and they couldn’t compete in the US. I consider this song in particular to be severely underrated.

Day 16 (Madchester and More) – Chumbawamba, “Amnesia” / “The Day the Nazi Died”

As we depart Manchester for London, I want to take a moment and celebrate the time in the 90s when suddenly all the frat boys and bar crawlers were singing a socialist anthem. In the midst of their Smash Mouth and Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler, there was this oddly-named band with a funny little drinking song that they didn’t realize had a very pro-union message.

Despite the popularity of “Tubthumping,” we couldn’t quite trick the frat boys into loving all of Chumbawamba’s anarcho-socialist music. The sad part of this is that too many people skipped out on the fantastic album that is Tubthumper because for some reason they thought the whole album would be about drinking, I guess. So here’s another of the absolute bangers from that album, which you should definitely listen to all the way through (interludes and all) if you haven’t.

I also wanted to add a bonus song to give a sense of what would have happened if someone had said, “Okay, the rest of this isn’t like ‘Tubthumping,’ but it’s cool. What else do they have?” They might have looked back to Chumbawamba’s 1994 live album Showbusiness! to get a sense of the band’s greater body of work. In there, they might have heard songs like “Give the Anarchist a Cigarette” or “The Day the Nazi Died” and run screaming from how overtly political the band really was. Or perhaps they would have taken in the message, thrown down the chains of capitalist oppression, and joined the movement. Anything’s possible.

Of course, “The Day the Nazi Died” remains even more relevant today, so that’s the song I want to share.

Day 17 (Madchester and More) – The Sundays, “Love”

I end this section with a band that is extremely important to me and very indicative of my musical tastes. The Sundays had a brief but powerful run of three amazing albums in the early 90s. Though they were somewhat impacted by Rough Trade’s bankruptcy, the main reason that they stopped recording was that vocalist Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin were more interested in starting a family and raising their children than being famous rock stars. I can’t really fault that, so I just appreciate the music they did give us rather than lamenting what might have been.

This song comes from their second album, Blind, and shows off the open, almost airy guitar lines that typified Gavurin’s composition. At the center of their sound, as always, is Harriet Wheeler’s gorgeous voice. I can’t say enough about her – I consider her voice to be among the most beautiful singing voices that I’ve heard. (You’re going to hear a few of my other selections for that list as we move forward.) I was fortunate enough to hear them live on this tour, and it was unforgettable.

Day 18 ((Real) World Music) – Sheila Chandra, “Ever So Lonely/Eyes/Ocean”

I’ve talked about Paul Simon’s Graceland before, and the sudden interest it sparked in South African music in general. In many ways, that was the precursor to the 90s World Music boom. Prior to Simon’s work with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the most popular international musical crossovers were one-time collaborations with popular American or British artists. But Ladysmith’s work on Graceland gave them an international following independent of Paul Simon – something that did not happen very often.

Then, in the late 80s, Peter Gabriel moved into his new permanent recording home that he named Real World Studios. In 1989, he launched Real World Records as a label attached to the studio, and he began specifically seeking out musical stars from around the world – many of whom he had played with at WOMAD (World of Music and Dance) Festival – to broaden their reach to English-speaking audiences. He also worked with Liverpool native Sheila Chandra, who had already acted and recorded music in the 80s, to develop three solo albums focusing on a more traditional voice-and-drone sound. She also started to perform live concerts for the first time, particularly through WOMAD.

Chandra’s music blends modern techniques with Indian ragas, English folk songs, and more. This song is probably her most well-known, but all of it is worth listening. There’s such a variety of styles, but through it all her vocal skill shines through. Her voice is way up there on my list of “most beautiful ever.” Unfortunately, she developed burning mouth syndrome in 2010 and has stopped making music entirely.

Day 19 ((Real) World Music) – Loreena McKennitt, “The Mummer’s Dance”

Among certain groups of people (many of whom are my friends), Canadian folk musician Loreena McKennitt was so ubiquitous throughout the 90s that it might seem surprising for me to include her here. But she only really had this one song that made it “big” in terms of broad popularity.

McKennitt’s approach to folk and world music was based on extensive research, often involving spending significant time in the place she was studying. She focused mostly on Celtic traditions and its roots and influences. Even this kept her reach fairly wide, as her explorations into older Gallic traditions inevitably included Spanish and Arabic influences as well.

Although her main instrument is the harp (and she is a phenomenal harpist), she is a very multitalented musician, as shown in this video where she picks up an accordion while she sings. Of course, McKennitt’s voice is one of the primary draws of her music. It was her vocals on “Lady of Shalott” (from her 1991 album, The Visit) that first drew me in, and I think I am probably not alone in that.

Day 20 ((Real) World Music) – Deep Forest, “Marta’s Song”

We can’t discuss 90s World Music without talking about Deep Forest. The French electronic duo made some iconic mixes, but in doing so managed to highlight one of the core problems with the genre. When Sheila Chandra blends Indian and English folk styles, she’s doing so from a standpoint of personal and familial experience. Loreena McKennitt’s use of Arabic instrumentation comes from her investigation into the Arabic heritage in Gallic Spain that informs her own Celtic roots. Deep Forest took neither the personal nor even the academic approach to World Music – they just incorporated what they liked regardless of its roots or meaning.

Deep Forest’s most well-known song, “Sweet Lullaby” is famous for using a recording of a Solomon Islands woman without permission from her, the ethnomusicologist who recorded her, or the UNESCO archive that distributed the recording. If you watch the official video of the song, it includes images from a variety of places that are nowhere near the Solomon Islands, which perpetuates primativist caricature of the music itself.

Their second album, Boheme, with its focus more on Eastern Europe, is much less culturally appropriative. “Marta’s Song” features Hungarian folk singer Márta Sebestyén, who actively collaborated with Deep Forest throughout the album. There were still some issues with another song on the album sampling a Roma singer (Károly Rostás) who had died in 1986. Deep Forest initially used the samples without paying royalties to his family, although there was some later compensation.

Deep Forest illustrates the larger question that World Music raises – who should be making it? The genre had an opportunity to bring people together, but that only works in an equitable system. It doesn’t work where one group is exploiting and benefiting from another’s music.

Day 21((Real) World Music) – Afro Celt Sound System, “Release” (feat. Sinéad O’Connor)

In many ways, Afro Celt Sound System was a band that represented the possibilities of World Music when done right. It was formed through a collaboration at Real World Studios between Irish Folk musicians, Afro-Pop musicians, and Techno electronic musicians. This collaboration was significantly more equitable than a lot of World Music – including some of the work being done by Peter Gabriel himself – because it wasn’t a temporary project revolving around an already-popular artist. Instead, it was built from the beginning to be a fusion of all the musicians involved.

This particular song is from their second album (also called Release) and is a very personal song reflecting on the loss of Jo Bruce, one of the original core members. The band rotated personnel somewhat for each subsequent album but kept the core sound. They also worked with numerous outside musicians in what might be considered a flipping of the previous World Music trend – they brought in famous solo artists for their songs rather than the other way around.

On a side note, if you browse the YouTube comments, you’ll see references to a GCSE test. It seems this video has become part of music education in the UK, and secondary students are forced to watch it for their test. It’s pretty clear that some of them appreciate that and some do not.

Day 22 (The McLachlan Effect) – Rose Chronicles, “Awaiting Eternity”

Only a few years into the 90s, women were being crowded out of popular music. The sounds that record companies considered worth pursuing were almost entirely populated by (and I use this word very intentionally) dudes. But in 1993, rising Canadian star Sarah McLachlan released Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, and she began rapidly taking over radio, TV/film soundtracks, and public consciousness.

McLachlan’s label, Nettwerk Records, knew that there were limits to how much mileage they could get out of one artist, so they did what any record label would do – they started looking for female vocalists they could exploit as “the next Sarah McLachlan.” One such attempt was Vancouver-based band, Rose Chronicles, fronted by vocalist Kristy Thirsk. Their first album, Shiver, was well received, even winning a Juno for Best Alternative Album in 1995. But the band soon fell to internal conflicts and ended up recording a second album in pieces. They then officially broke up immediately after its release.

Thirsk has been performing and recording ever since, both solo and in collaborations with other bands. However, she never quite made it big outside of Canada. She’s absolutely worth checking out, though, as you can see here where she shows off her incredible range and control.

Day 23 (The McLachlan Effect) – Tara MacLean, “If I Fall”

Tara MacLean was another of the Nettwerk recruits whom the label grabbed to push the “McLachlan sound.” MacLean comes pretty close in terms of vocal style, and the instrumentation and production on her first two albums fits in quite well with what McLachlan was doing at the time. MacLean toured extensively, opening for bit tours like The Cure and Dido, and she also did several shows on the inaugural Lilith Fair circuit. (Her sparse rendition of “Jordan” on the Lilith Fair double album is amazing.)

Side note – I saw her headline a small show in Chicago in early 2000. I was doing temp work at the time, and one of my coworkers (Antje Gehrken) was opening for that show. I brought my Tara MacLean albums in to work so that she could listen and pick her set list to match.

Tara MacLean was starting to rise in the late 90s, but in 2002 her sister died in a car accident. MacLean started a more folk-oriented collaboration called Shaye (her sister’s name). They released three albums between 2003 and 2007, but then she took a break to focus on solo writing and raising her young children. She has since continued to write and perform, though with more of a focus on folk.

Day 24 (The McLachlan Effect) – Liz Phair, “Supernova”

For the life of me, I cannot understand why Liz Phair wasn’t more popular. I have some theories (which I’ll share), but I don’t really get it. Her 1993 debut album, Exile in Guyville, received almost universal critical acclaim. Whip-Smart, her second album, was supposed to be her big breakthrough. It got a ton of promotion, and it had this song as its catchy single at launch. But somehow it didn’t hit as big as expected, and she faded from the public eye.

My theory is that Phair didn’t manage to grab a niche to build a faithful following. She wasn’t indie enough for the indie scene, she wasn’t edgy enough for the grunge crowd, and she was too crude (and smart) for the pop kids. She committed the greatest sin in music: too much variety in her style and influence. She didn’t want to be boxed in, and she had no qualms about writing very honest, straightforward lyrics (often about sex).

In many ways, though, she fits neatly into the space between Riot Grrrl and Punk Revival. If Riot Grrrls had gotten the respect they deserved and been allowed to establish as much of a sound as Grunge did, Liz Phair would have made sense as a progression from there into the mainstream. But even a tour with Lilith Fair couldn’t quite find her the audience she should have had.

Day 25 (The McLachlan Effect) – Sinéad Lohan, “Whatever It Takes”

Sinéad Lohan released only two albums, but she toured extensively (including appearances at Lilith Fair) and was one of the most successful Irish musicians of the 1990s. Both Shaye (Tara MacLean’s group) and Joan Baez recorded versions of Lohan’s “No Mermaid.” Her lyrics are clever and touching, her Pop-Folk songwriting is catchy, and vocals are warm and welcoming. But somehow she never quite broke through to an international audience.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time today complaining about that. Instead, I’m just going to invite you to listen to this song and then maybe check out the full No Mermaid album. Consider it my gift to you.

Day 26 (The McLachlan Effect) – Beth Orton, “She Cries Your Name”

Norwich musician (and this time I mean it) Beth Orton was another artist who showed up in the mid to late 90s just in time to tour with Lilith Fair. Her Folk-Rock sound (especially with its slightly American roots) fit in well with many Lilith luminaries like Emmylou Harris and the Indigo Girls. Trailer Park, her debut album, won critical acclaim that included two Brit nominations and a Mercury Music Prize nomination. Her second album, Central Reservation, was also nominated for both and won a Brit.

Despite those accolades, she didn’t see all that much commercial success even in the UK. In a time when Shoegaze was at its peak, Beth Orton’s earnest engagement was perhaps not exactly what audiences were looking for. However, she helped pave the way for the return of Folk sensibilities. In particular, you can trace Orton’s arc directly into the early rise of fellow UK Folk singer Laura Marling, who exploded onto the scene with a somewhat similar sound in 2008.

(Note – Although the Lilith Fair connection is why I put Beth Orton in this category, I could have easily switched her into the last category of this song series. Consider her the transition into Folksplosion.)

Day 27 (Folksplosion) – Tracy Chapman, “New Beginning”

After her tremendously successful 1988 debut, Tracy Chapman kept making great music, kept getting accolades, and kept…not really being noticed by mainstream audiences. That’s partially because Folk music sits in an odd place compared to Pop and Rock. It is often at the core of what we listen to – it forms the sounds that define and influence our cultural understanding of music – yet we often prefer the glitz and glitter that gets layered on top of those sounds.

The rest of why Tracy Chapman was ignored, of course, was that she was a Black woman playing folk music. Despite her obvious talent, the paths available to Black performers at the time were either Rap or R&B. Chapman managed to get some traction into the latter with her Blues hit, “Give Me One Reason,” but since the rest of the New Beginning album (1995) was more like its title track here, radio stations mostly gave it a pass. The album did reasonably well, and whenever Tracy Chapman would show up to perform on TV, people would praise her and remember that she was an exceptional musician, but then they went on with their popular trends.

Nevertheless, Chapman was a quintessential Folk musician. She told powerful stories through simple but beautiful melodies that she performed with an acoustic guitar and her amazing voice. Songs like this are timeless in sound and message. The lyrics of “New Beginning” feel so relevant as we look to the end of 2020.

Day 28 (Folksplosion) – Ani DiFranco, “32 Flavors”

Pretty much everyone my age was aware of Ani DiFranco in the 90s, but for many people (especially the guys) it was because we knew one person who was SUPER into her. Respect to those of you who were that person. I have a bit more than a peripheral knowledge of DiFranco’s music, but just a bit. That’s partially because it’s difficult to know where to start – Ani DiFranco was and is ridiculously prolific.

She self-produced and self-promoted on her own indie label from the beginning. Unbound from the pressures of major-label recording and touring, she released 10 studio albums and 3 live albums in the 90s alone. She relaxed her schedule a little bit in the 2000s, but she has certainly not stopped. Although her independence kept her from mainstream stardom, her massive body of work – including two album-length collaborations with Utah Phillips – has solidified her as a major influence on modern Folk.

DiFranco’s songwriting covers the gamut from the social to the political to the personal, but she is probably most well-known for the last category. This song is an excellent example of how she produces universally relatable stories from her struggles as a young woman.

Day 29 (Folksplosion) – Dar Williams, “What Do You Hear In These Sounds?”

Dar Williams had a very traditional folk trajectory that included small shows, festivals, and an independently produced first album being picked up by a (slightly) larger label. The difference was that Williams managed to cram all this into just a few years and then keep rising to became one of the my most prominent Folk musicians of the 90s and 2000s.

She toured and collaborated with other Folk artists, then wrote and toured some more. Most importantly, she kept bringing new audiences into the Folk community, raising the bubble for the whole Folk scene throughout the 90s and early 00s. In many cases, she did this very deliberately through frequent collaborations and co-touring. (By contrast, Mumford & Sons’ failure to do this is part of why I consider them a Rock band with Folk influences rather than an actual Folk band.) More recently, she has been focusing on songwriting camps to help inspire the next generation of Folk musicians.

I can’t recommend Dar Williams enough. Her writing is sincere, beautiful, catchy, and profound. I know that many of my friends already love her music, but if you haven’t experienced it, please check it out.

Day 30 (Folksplosion) – John Gorka, “Flying Red Horse”

John Gorka is one of the greatest musical storytellers of our time. Like Dar Williams, he has kept to a very traditional Folk artist path – releasing numerous albums and touring almost constantly. He has collaborated and toured with many other musicians, including Dar Williams and Lucy Kaplansky on the tour where I first saw him (colloquially named the “Cry, John, Cry” tour because it was 2/3 of Cry Cry Cry with Gorka inserted in the middle).

This particular video shows off another habit of Folk musicians – talking about every song before they perform it, sometimes for almost as long as it takes to play the song. You can also hear a bit of Gorka’s speaking patterns that have always made me wonder if he’s on the autism spectrum. (I’ve met him twice and had after-concert conversations with him that reinforced that impression.) I really love the contrast between his speaking and singing, and the fact that whether he is on the spectrum or just awkward, it doesn’t stop him from talking.

Modern Folk music always tends to include very clever lyrics and ideas, but John Gorka’s are some of the best I know. He takes simple, relatable observations and turns them into profound insights. This is one of my favorites.

Day 31 (Folksplosion) – Over the Rhine, “Poughkeepsie”

Over the Rhine – named after the neighborhood in their native Cincinnati – began as a quartet in the early 90s. In the late 90s, they shrank to a duo that then became a married duo. They have always been a folk band, although their earlier music tended more towards rock and their later work has moved more into blues, bluegrass, and country.

I have seen Over the Rhine live more than any other band, and I hope this video gives you just a taste of why. Karin Bergquist’s singing is always so powerful and beautiful, and she really lets it rip when she’s on stage. Linford Detweiler always looks rapturous on keys, almost like he’s channeling the very spirit of music. Part of that, of course, is the obvious joy he takes in listening to his wife sing.

I hope that you have enjoyed this list, and maybe it has helped you understand just a little more about my own musical roots. I know I usually have a theme song for the new year by now, but I’m giving myself a few more days to figure out what I want to say for 2021. There’s still a lot to unpack from this past year. Stay safe and healthy, and have a happy new year.