Here are a couple of my favorite albums from the ‘90s which, thanks to the wear of time and the tides of fashion, have only one copy remaining in the library’s collection. Place a hold on one of these today…they’re definitely worth the wait!
Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996)
Stereolab marries wonky vintage electronic bleeps and bloops to a ’60s French girly-pop sound and then adds a layer of cryptic yet political lyrics (in both French and English) to create something totally unexpected. Critics coined the term “post-rock” to describe them but really the band was just demonstrating that the future could be reached through a reimagining of the past.
Fugazi – Repeater (1990)
“Merchandise,” from the D.C. hardcore heroes’ first proper studio album, is the most direct and accurate attack on commercialism ever. Hard, uncompromising riffs meet hard, uncompromising lyrical attacks on post-Reagan America. Fugazi’s album is responsible for more would-be punk heroes than I care to count. If you like this album, you should also put a hold on the only copy of their 2001 finale, The Argument to see how these angry young men matured without selling out.
Uncle Tupelo – Anodyne (1993)
Uncle Tupelo is probably the most revered of the “Alternative Country” bands which began to crop up again in the Nineties, and this is their last and finest album. The band featured two front men with complementary styles: Jay Farrar brought the country and Jeff Tweedy (who later went on to form Wilco) brought the rock. Together they blaze through a set of original songs that could easily be country classics, and show off their knack for covers, especially the lovely “Give Back the Keys to My Heart.”
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