90s Glory
Alright, lissen' up, friends, because I'm here to tip you to the impending 90s re-evaluation and nostalgia trip.
Lately I've been thinking off and on about putting together a compilation of 90s sounds. Not necessarily the hits, but just what I remember hearing a bunch at the time - kind of an audio scrapbook. And that means it's on.
My record on this sort of thing is spotless. Not that I'm a great prognosticator of trends or tastemaker, or even that I necessarily have my wet finger stuck in the wind of trends. I just know from experience that when I start considering a musical style, it invariably becomes a trend.
I discover Two-Tone ska, then move to a new town and find one of the only ska bands in the nation needs a trumpet player: Third Wave Ska. I start buying up old Esquivel and Martin Denny records: Lounge. I dig Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller vinyl: Swing revival. Johnny Cash records start seeping into my collection: Roots Country and Alt. Country happens. Etcetera, etcetera...
Now I know, everything comes back around eventually. It's not too hard to predict. Of course the 90s is up next (once this ridiculous quasi-80s thing dies). All I'm sayin' is, is...I'm just sayin'. Here it comes.
And in honor of the 90s revival countdown, I'm presenting you with a gift. No, not the gift of 80 paragraphs of blathering on my blog. No, the gift of music.
Back in 1995 I was hired by the first Alternative radio station in Tucson (1490 KKND, The End) to host a bi-monthly ska show in the wee hours of Sunday night. And I did. Fun gig. Well, they took a likin' to Slab Bacon's (that was Billy K's on-air name) DJ stylin's, and before I knew it I was hired as a regular ol' spin-the-hits DJ. I did late nights and weekends and filled in when the regulars got sick or had to do a remote. It was pretty awesome. I never thought I would actually be paid to be a DJ. I even had my own promos and bumpers. Crazy.
Then reality found our little operation. We got bought up by Infinity (the lesser-know, but just as evil cousin to Clear Channel) and turned into a sports talk station. I was only with the company for just over six months. To this day I still wonder what track my life would've taken had I stayed there. The Program Director told me he was going to bring me on full-time. Hell, I might still be a DJ today, even...living that crazy life (and it is a weird existence). Who knows?
But anyway, my point to all this is, one of the great things about being a DJ is the freebies and promos and such. There are lots of them, even for a Junior member like myself. I ended up with a lot of CDs I would've never had. "Alternative" really wasn't my bag back then, but you kinda get to know a band when you've spun "Counting Blue Cars" (the definitive 90s alterna-song IMHO) for the 800th time.
And around the Winter of 1995, I made a little cassette comp for my own listening pleasure. I called it "Big Alterna-Hits." Through the magic of computrons and MP3s, I have digitally resurrected my little slice of 1995, and this, dear friends, is what I present here for you today.
Nothing terribly rare or earth-shaking here. Just some songs I listened to, and for the most part enjoyed back in the day. A 45-minute (half a C90) glimpse of a decade ago, through the ears of someone who didn't really like the music of the day, yet found himself immersed in it anyway.
Big Alterna-Hits
Alternate Sendspace link
Tracklist in Comments if you want to spoil the surprise.
P.S. I think there's something seriously wrong with me, and I'll be checking into a safe place soon, as I've found myself listening to - no enjoying - Collective Soul and Goo Goo Dolls without a hint of ironic detachment. I'm a sick boy...
Lately I've been thinking off and on about putting together a compilation of 90s sounds. Not necessarily the hits, but just what I remember hearing a bunch at the time - kind of an audio scrapbook. And that means it's on.
My record on this sort of thing is spotless. Not that I'm a great prognosticator of trends or tastemaker, or even that I necessarily have my wet finger stuck in the wind of trends. I just know from experience that when I start considering a musical style, it invariably becomes a trend.
I discover Two-Tone ska, then move to a new town and find one of the only ska bands in the nation needs a trumpet player: Third Wave Ska. I start buying up old Esquivel and Martin Denny records: Lounge. I dig Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller vinyl: Swing revival. Johnny Cash records start seeping into my collection: Roots Country and Alt. Country happens. Etcetera, etcetera...
Now I know, everything comes back around eventually. It's not too hard to predict. Of course the 90s is up next (once this ridiculous quasi-80s thing dies). All I'm sayin' is, is...I'm just sayin'. Here it comes.
And in honor of the 90s revival countdown, I'm presenting you with a gift. No, not the gift of 80 paragraphs of blathering on my blog. No, the gift of music.
Back in 1995 I was hired by the first Alternative radio station in Tucson (1490 KKND, The End) to host a bi-monthly ska show in the wee hours of Sunday night. And I did. Fun gig. Well, they took a likin' to Slab Bacon's (that was Billy K's on-air name) DJ stylin's, and before I knew it I was hired as a regular ol' spin-the-hits DJ. I did late nights and weekends and filled in when the regulars got sick or had to do a remote. It was pretty awesome. I never thought I would actually be paid to be a DJ. I even had my own promos and bumpers. Crazy.
Then reality found our little operation. We got bought up by Infinity (the lesser-know, but just as evil cousin to Clear Channel) and turned into a sports talk station. I was only with the company for just over six months. To this day I still wonder what track my life would've taken had I stayed there. The Program Director told me he was going to bring me on full-time. Hell, I might still be a DJ today, even...living that crazy life (and it is a weird existence). Who knows?
But anyway, my point to all this is, one of the great things about being a DJ is the freebies and promos and such. There are lots of them, even for a Junior member like myself. I ended up with a lot of CDs I would've never had. "Alternative" really wasn't my bag back then, but you kinda get to know a band when you've spun "Counting Blue Cars" (the definitive 90s alterna-song IMHO) for the 800th time.
And around the Winter of 1995, I made a little cassette comp for my own listening pleasure. I called it "Big Alterna-Hits." Through the magic of computrons and MP3s, I have digitally resurrected my little slice of 1995, and this, dear friends, is what I present here for you today.
Nothing terribly rare or earth-shaking here. Just some songs I listened to, and for the most part enjoyed back in the day. A 45-minute (half a C90) glimpse of a decade ago, through the ears of someone who didn't really like the music of the day, yet found himself immersed in it anyway.
Big Alterna-Hits
Alternate Sendspace link
Tracklist in Comments if you want to spoil the surprise.
P.S. I think there's something seriously wrong with me, and I'll be checking into a safe place soon, as I've found myself listening to - no enjoying - Collective Soul and Goo Goo Dolls without a hint of ironic detachment. I'm a sick boy...
posted by Billy K at 1:22 PM
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