1,001 songs to listen to before you die...

[GA!]

Manics are my favourite band, and Motorcycle Emptiness is a stone-cold classic. However, like @Liam, my interest comes more in their stuff after Richey Edwards' disappearance. Generation Terrorists has a decent first-half of an album, weighed down by confrontational, sometimes juvenile messages that makes the second half a slog. And their follow-up Gold Against the Soul is quite frankly crap. They only really hit their stride with The Holy Bible.

The Manics would've sunk without a trace if Richey had not disappeared. Some of his lyrics had already swung towards hard-right sentiments (Archives of Pain, for example). Like many Manics fans I had a period of being obsessed with him but it's quite clear him alive in 2020 would've made Morrissey look like a carefree liberal. Okay, so their music and lyrics became quote-unquote blander compared to what came before,  but it also brought out their pure talent more often as displayed on Motorcycle Emptiness.

Phew, managed to wrap my point around nicely.

[Colly]

I think I'm in a similar boat to the rest of you in hearing "Britpop" Manics first and working backwards, and I remember really liking Motorcycle Emptiness (and Generation Terrorists generally) a lot at the time. Have to say though it's not something I'd listen to these days and it was a bloated record (in terms of number of tracks and individual songs) even then. 6 Music played Slash and Burn the other day and I did enjoy it, but I'm surprised that the first Manics songs on this list weren't from Holy Bible as far as "important" songs go.

[METALMAN]

Manic Street Preachers have an awful lot of bloat, don’t they? But they’ve never completely shat the bed to the same extent as many of their Britpop contemporaries: at their worst they’ve merely been boring rather than outright bad.

But at their best they’ve assembled a far bigger collection of bangers than the likes of Oasis, Blur, Pulp whatever. For my money the best rock band the of the 90s, and I’d love to see a greatest hits set from them.

[Liam]

771.      

‘Inkanyezi Nezazi’, Ladysmith Black Mambazo (1992)

Famous in the UK for being the soundtrack to a Heinz Baked Beans advert, this naturally isn’t really something I listen to on the regular, yet there is a majesty about the whole song. From the main soaring vocalist to the chorus that supports him to the percussive noises made with entirely with their own voices, it has an allure to it. Lyrically, this is about the three wise men travelling to Bethlehem to meet Jesus, so that’s something new I’ve learned today.

772.      

‘Sodade’, Cesaria Evora (1992)

From Cape Verde, Evora grew up in an orphanage and sang in bars as a teen, creating what the book dubs as a real rags to riches story. This is a morna, a traditional Cape Verde song, whilst sodade is the exile that occurred to many Cape Verdeans. She has a beautiful, evocative voice that – not unlike the previous song – lifts it beyond a novelty song from another culture and into something that stands out above the crowd. Powerful.

773.      

'Remedy', The Black Crowes (1992)

Influenced by: Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples • Parliament (1975)   

Influence on: Fly Away • Lenny Kravitz (1998)  

Covered by: Matchbox Twenty (2007)   

Other key tracks: Hard to Handle (1990) • Darling of the Underground Press (1992)

Part of me feels that I’ve heard this song before, or at least the guitar riffs that introduce it and punctuate the better bits of the tune. However, I really can’t place it. This feels interesting for largely being out of step with what the prevailing musical trends were: as things moved in a grungier direction, this felt much more 70s rock. The song starts strong, though I never feel it particularly pushes on from that. Saying that, the idea of the female vocalists on the chorus works for me, whilst the crescendo at the end does gives it a little pleasant sting in the tail.

774.      

‘No Rain’, Blind Melon (1992)

Influenced by: Jane Says • Jane’s Addiction (1988)   

Influence on: Interstate Love Song • Stone Temple Pilots (1994)   

Covered by: Dave Matthews Band (2006) • Emmerson Nogueira (2008)

Another song that I will claim an unabashed love for. Sometimes it is where you experience a song that helps that – this was placed on a mix CD that a friend I met at Uni made for me, alongside a number of Ben Folds songs and some other stuff I don’t really remember. From the moment the twangy guitar hits, it has me every time. I can imagine the vocals are a bit YMMV for some people, but I really like the uplifting tone mixed with the melancholy lyrics, words that explore ideas around depression. It also has one of my favourite lyrics of any song: ‘I just want someone to say to me I’ll always be there when you wake.’ – not a hard sentiment to empathise with.

775.      

‘Walk’, Pantera (1992)

Influenced by: Desecrator • Exhorder (1990)   

Influence on: Redneck • Lamb of God (2006)   

Covered by: Kilgore (1998) • Godsmack (2001) • Linkin Park & Disturbed (2001) • Avenged Sevenfold (2007) • Peppermint Creeps (2008)

Ignoring the obvious wrestling links, is there any other mainstream metal song that hits as hard as ‘Walk’ does? Combative lyrics are coupled with a largely straightforward guitar for a song that is primed to make you want to mosh and headbang along. Just as it feels like it might be getting a bit repetitive and losing some of the power, Darrell’s solo kicks things back into high gear. I’m not a huge Pantera fan by any means but this is an absolute banger.

[gunnar hendershow]

I've been out of this thread for a bit and a ton of early 90s music really is off my radar. 

First I'd have to add that the Manics saw like zero success in the US and had a nominal hit in Canada. So exposure to them was limited whereas Blur and Oasis are titans due to their own hits. Blur becoming successful here after they distanced themselves from Britpop a bit and then moreso because of the Gorillaz link. But alternative rock fans know both of them, they might know Pulp, but the Manics are basically unknown. Bit annoying since I have to agree they don't really have clunkers whereas Oasis and Blur both have *many* clunkers. Maybe their heights aren't the same as Blur, Oasis, or Pulp. But they have more highs than the rest of the bunch perhaps.

I don't like Pantera, basically at all, but the opening riff to "Walk" is really fantastic. Just so aggressive and confrontational. Great stuff.

"No Rain" is one of those songs I hear at the grocery store. Not sure how alternative music got there but it did. It's a decent song, certainly catchy.

But like so much music from this era it feels like it's deliberately trying to be different from much better music that preceded it. I hate to be a curmudgeon about rock music but given how short the staying power of grunge was in the US and Britpop in the UK it really feels like the 90s is the point when labels became too much of a presence in terms of trying to dictate tastes. Both grunge and Britpop were milked dry practically by the time the music media started saying what they were.

And then there's The Black Crowes who are deliberately embracing everything that came before them. Especially Led Zeppelin I suppose. I've enjoyed a number of their songs, good stuff.

I do really like Radiohead but "Creep" ain't it.

[METALMAN]

I really like Cesaria Evora! Wasn't expecting that. Ladysmith Black Mambozo are cool too.

That Black Crowes song certainly exists, you can't deny that. Not really sure what the point of it is though. The singer's voice annoys me.

I really do quite like that fat guitar tone on Walk. There's not much else going on here though. All I really know about Pantera is that their guitarist got shot and their singer did some Nazi things. Neither really inclined me to look into them further.

[Skummy]

"Walk" is one of maybe two Pantera songs I actually like. Never saw the appeal, and I don't know if I'd even like "Walk" if it weren't attached to fun ECW memories. Most of their stuff I associate with some of the worst dickheads I know in heavy metal circles.

I like the Ladysmith Black Mambazo track, but not a lot else in this list. Feels like getting to the arse-end of grunge and the first wave of Britpop, and rock music starting to get a bit stale or overly derivative. There's good stuff to come, but musically this is a bit of a hinterland before the next wave of pop music and the rise of R&B. 

[Colly]

21 hours ago, metalman said:

Manic Street Preachers have an awful lot of bloat, don’t they? But they’ve never completely shat the bed to the same extent as many of their Britpop contemporaries: at their worst they’ve merely been boring rather than outright bad.

But at their best they’ve assembled a far bigger collection of bangers than the likes of Oasis, Blur, Pulp whatever. For my money the best rock band the of the 90s, and I’d love to see a greatest hits set from them.

I'd give you Pulp and Oasis, but I'd argue Blur's banger collection is miles better. I was a massive Manics fan, but considering they've never had a long break there's a lot of dross post 90s, and as you say plenty of bloat even then. Compare that to the strength of Blur's comparatively few albums and it's poorer before you even consider Gorillaz, Graham Coxon's solo work or cheese production.

I do like Your Love Alone is Not Enough though. Banger.

[GA!]

Manics' best post-90s albums are: Send Away the Tigers, Postcards from a Young Man, and Futurology. I also love Lifeblood, as in it's up there as my favourite album, but even the Manics dislike that one. :P

I take the point about bloat though. I've not mentioned the other 4 albums they've done in that time... not many bands at heritage, arena level bring out as much new material as they have. Not to mention they've also had 2 greatest hits albums, a B-Side album, and re-released all 5 90s albums.

[Liam]

776.      

‘True Love’, Mary J. Blige (1992)

Influenced by: Top Billin’ • Audio Two (1987)   

Influence on: It’s All Gravy • Romeo featuring Christina Milian (2002)   

Covered by: Mike Doughty (2000) • The Twilight Singers (2004) • Toby Lightman (2004)   

Other key track: Sweet Thing (1992)

At the risk of doing Mary dirty, I struggle to really say much for this song outside of her vocals being clearly very impressive in their soulful ease. The album it came from as a whole launched her career and earned her various plaudits, thus earning the song its place on the list I guess. Enjoyable enough, if not something that excites me personally.

777.      

‘Deep Cover’, Dr Dre introducing Snoop Dogg (1992)

This is another song to make the list for what it represents perhaps more than the quality of the song. This was the first song released by Dre following him leaving the NWA, as well as the introduction of Snoop Dogg to the wider world. I hadn’t really thought too much about it until now, but the book made me acutely aware of how different Dre and Snoop’s styles actually are. What this did is set the scene for the future tunes that the two would work on together, stuff that I have always enjoyed even without a particular penchant for rap music.

778.      

‘Out of Space’, The Prodigy (1992)

An absolute favourite of mine. It is a great mix of trance-y sounds and high energy breakdowns that never fails to excite when I hear it even to this day. There is a possibility – I feel at least – that it sounds a little too much of a novelty song in some ways if you listened to it without the benefit of listening to it when it first came out, but to me it will always be a tune with a capital ‘CH’.

779.      

‘Didi’, Khaled (1992)

Of the various examples of ‘world’ music, the ones I’ve been most intrigued by are the songs which clearly lean into the sound of ‘popular’ music whilst retaining some of the old world aesthetic of their culture. That is exactly what ‘Didi’ does: rai is the form of Algerian song Khaled was famous for, but this is a dance song through and through with a pop sensibility from the opening hook. This doesn’t necessarily make it a better song than others that don’t dip into more modern sounds, but it does make it probably the catchiest and more enjoyable thus far.

780.      

‘Animal Nitrate’, Suede (1993)

This is another song which I’ll begin the entry by saying ‘this is another song’, but this is another song that I vaguely feel like I know, but can’t really place. Apparently, Suede were a really big deal off of the back of their first three singles, though it comes just before my interest in music really formed. A song that includes lyrics about illicit drug use and underage gay sex is definitely an interesting one to catapult the band up the charts. It doesn’t sound too much like anything particularly exciting in and of itself, more a transition point towards what Britpop would become.

[Colly]

This is a pleasant reminder that Suede are my favourite non-Menswe@r Britpop band. Those first two albums are perfect in different ways, and still to this day I'll hunt down anything Bernard Butler produced.

[METALMAN]

Even Four Minute Warning by Mark Owen?

[Colly]

How did I not know that?!? In hindsight his sound is all over it. Banger.

[Skummy]

I never got big into Suede, but I love Animal Nitrate and Beautiful Ones, just never enough to get into the rest. A lot of what I hear from them is right up my street, but I think I just lumped them in more with the arse-end of Britpop stuff (Space et al) than at the beginning where they belong, and mentally wrote them off.

Also, that I once did Beautiful Ones on karaoke, forgetting that the last what feels like a minute is just "la la la la la la la la la".

[GA!]

'Trash' is a banger but I can't say I've ever got into Suede, and not for the lack of trying either.

[METALMAN]

I like Suede. They have good tunes but I can only deal with them in small doses because the singer’s voice gets irritating quite quickly.

[Liam]

781.      

‘La Solitudine’, Laura Pausini (1993)

This was a song that catapulted an 18 year old singer into…well, not exactly stardom, but definitely a wider profile across Europe. A love song that has apparently pretty simplistic lyrics about her heart – the type of words a teen might write about a love gone wrong – it is catchy even when factoring in that it is sung in Italian. Nothing particularly impressive or standing out outside of how good Pausini’s voice is at 18, but a pleasant enough addition.

782.      

‘Rumba Argelina’, Radio Tarifa (1993)

Radio Tarifa, I am reliably informed, is a mix of flamenco, Arabic and Persian influences, in particular mixing chaabi pop music (from Morocco and Algeria) with the lyrics of traditional flamenco songs. I might have already said this, but it is worth reiterating that I do enjoy music with a flamenco flavour to it. I wouldn’t say it is a choice I make often, yet it is a sound I enjoy when it comes to the broader music palette I get exposed to in things such as this. I’m thinking it is the lively guitar work, though the playful wind instruments are pretty fun in this as well.

783.      

‘Loser’, Beck (1993)

Influenced by: I Walk on Guilded Splinters • Johnny Jenkins (1972)   

Influence on: Fresh Feeling • Eels (2001)  

Covered by: The BossHoss (2005)   

Other key tracks: Beercan (1994) • Soul Suckin Jerk (1994) • Jack-Ass (1996) • Where It’s At (1996)

This is a perfect example of a song that feels like it shouldn’t be as well-regarded as it is…yet it is very good. I possibly dismissed it somewhat as an odd indie-rock style song, though that downplays the mix of hip-hop elements and folkier guitar parts. On top of that, incorporate lyrics that a lot of people could empathise with and you have a huge hit. It is funny to think how lyrically we’ve moved from songs all about sex and swagger and being cool to songs about being a loser. I know which one speaks to me.

784.      

‘French Disko’, Stereolab (1993)

Influenced by: Neuschnee • NEU! (1973)   

Influence on: Wrapped Up in Books • Belle & Sebastian (2003)   

Covered by: Editors (2006) • The Raveonettes (2008)   

Other key tracks: Jenny Ondioline (1993) • Wow and Flutter (1994) • Miss Modular (1997)

This was nothing like what I expected it to be. For some reason, I had always assumed Stereolab were a dance act of some sort, not this alternative pop group. Thankfully, they are all the better for what they are rather than my wrongly conceived ideas. This is a great song – driving and insistent yet with a light touch that makes it a groove. The female vocals over the top aren’t technically anything to write home about, yet there is a pleasantness in their delivery, ably helped by the move between English and French as the song progresses.

785.      

‘Into Dust’, Mazzy Star (1993)

This is a beautiful song. It is one that I’ve never heard before, but it details a collapsing relationship between two people, possibly that of Hope Sandoval and William Reid (the latter of the Jesus and Mary Chain). Sparse is the word here, the guitar doing the support with its melancholy tone, allowing Sandoval’s lyrics and vocals to take centre stage. It is the only song so far in this that I’ve immediately put on once again after listening to it – powerful, evocative, stirring.

[Bobfoc]

5 hours ago, Skummy said:

Also, that I once did Beautiful Ones on karaoke, forgetting that the last what feels like a minute is just "la la la la la la la la la".

Speaking of songs that end with a long succession of ""la la la la la la la la la", I'm disappointed that Don't You Forget About Me by Simple Minds didn't make the list.

[RPS]

As a kid, I loved the song Loser by Beck. 

As an adult, I think it is a good but not excellent song and I have no idea why it is considered one of Beck's best songs. 

[Moses Julep]

Mazzy Star has some beautiful songs and Into Dust is one of my favourites and I'm pleasantly surprised it made this list, I would have figured Fade Into You at a stretch because it was their more popular hit, but there's an incredibly simple beaty to Into Dust that is entirely carried by Hope Sandoval's voice.