Atomic Power - Uncle Tupelo - March 16th - 20th, 1992 - 1992

If Uncle Tupelo was the godfather of the Y'alternative movement, then March 16th-20th, 1992 probablys marks the subgenre's first official album. No Depression was a gritty, punky rock album with occassional country larks...the country influence was more pronounced on the follow up Still Feel Gone, but it was really this (largely acoustic) album on which the band let it's country folk flow. Peter Buck was even brought in for some feedback noise, giving tribute to the heavy work done by "Don't Go Back to Rockville" in the creation of country-punk ethos.

I still stand by Anodyne as the band's best album, but for purity of focus it's hard to beat March, and a track like the Oh Brother, Where Art Thou-esque "Atomic Power" is as good a place to hear that as any.

Aneurysm - Nirvana - Incesticide - 1992

Because I am a big enough music nerd to do things like this, I have often looked up the lyrics to certain songs that were hard to understand...only to find that what I thought were the lyrics were in fact, not the lyrics. Sure, that's not an uncommon experience...but what's especially disappointing is when I like my misunderstood lyrics better than the actual lyrics. With Cobain's distinctive delivery style, Nirvana has always been a treasure trove for misunderstood lyrics. But none have disappointed me quite like this one.

For most of my life (well since 1992) I have thought that the lyrics at the end of this song were "She keeps a puppet string to my heart" which is a great metaphor! And it's particularly apt, if you apply it to the facts of Cobain's life. Sadly, the lyrics are actually "She keeps it pumping straight to my heart" which sounds rather like the lyrics from the song in a Mountain Dew commercial.

Why must all my heroes disappoint me? Why God, why?!?

Alison's Starting to Happen - The Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray - 1992

Now that the Pitchfork crowd has reclaimed The Lemonheads, I feel less bad defending them. Though honestly, on one hand, I only ever really liked this one album, and on the other, I never really stopped liking it. Sure, circa 1994 Evan Dando was a gigantic smelly tool bag, but that shouldn't detract from what is really a pretty solid folk-pop-rock album.

And as for this song in particular, probably the song with the most spiky punk attitude on the record...I always...you know how some songs you have a very specific memory associated with? This is one of those songs.

I was 19 and starting work as a summer camp counselor in Northern Kentucky. My buddy and my girlfriend at the time had both been counselors and had talked me into signing up. I realized pretty quickly that A) new counselors were not quickly taken to and B) my buddy and my girlfriend were not members of the cool crowd. But late at night after the first day of staff training...I was hanging with the hippy counselor girls and realizing that THESE were the people I should be hanging out with. We had a lengthy discussion about this song, and the girls were mildly scandalized by the "Alison's getting her tit pierced" part (piercing, in 1993, in Northern Kentucky, was still pretty outre...as were The Lemonheads)...I guess in my mind that was the beginning of another phase in my life.

Alexander Bends - Butterglory - 5 Rows of Teeth: Merge Records 5 Year Anniversary Comp - 1992

So some other things I learned while in Indiana:

A) The latest in mall design is bizarre. The trend towards open air malls has been combined with the urge to pen your customers in. This has resulted in malls being designed to look like a town block in a hippy village. It's all fake streets with generic names, sort of like "Main Street USA" at Disney World only replace the faux 1900's candy stores with Vicky's Secret and Claire's Boutique. Also, the name of this mall was "Metropolis" which I knew because of the Hollywood Sign size gray steel letters out in front of the entrance to the parking lot. I was unable to find the Daily Planet's offices however.

Alexander Bends is pretty much what Indie Rock sounded like when I was in college. Striped absolutely bare, but deceptively poppy, short and to the point. Pretty much the entirity of that Merge 5 year comp is worth having, but even at a minute and a half, this is one of the highlights.

The Act We Act - Sugar - Copper Blue - 1992

I realize there are circles in which this will seem like blasphemy, but I prefer Bob Mould's work in Sugar to his work in Husker Du (I was more of a Grant Hart guy). It might just be my sweet tooth preferring the slicker production and better melodies...but seriously, tinnitus or not the guitar sound Mould produced here is some sick shit.

Plus this album is basically, along with The Posies 3rd album, the soundtrack of my Freshman year in college...for better or worse.