How Good Was The Year (in music) - 1991?

I liked Chaos A.D. ok but it was no Arise. A bit too polished with inferior riffs is how I felt at the time.

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One of my favorite hip hop discoveries from Music League.

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Coil - Love’s Secret Domain is a trip. Had a revisit during lunch today.

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1991 was a really productive year for two thirds of Skinny Puppy: cEvin Key and Dwayne Goettel (RIP) and their side projects. In addition to writing and recording for SP’s Last Rights and side project The Tear Garden’s The Last Man to Fly, both for release in 1992, they released albums for 3 different side projects in 91: Doubting Thomas, Cyberaktif, and Hilt.

Doubting Thomas - The Infidel (Wax Trax)
cEvin Key and Dwayne Goettel

Comprised of material recorded between 87-90, it sounds a bit like mid 80s instrumental version of Skinny Puppy but with more focus on melodies and ambient sounds, with still plenty of old movie vocal samples. The album kind of plays like an original soundtrack especially with the more ambient pieces in the 2nd half.

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Cyberaktif - Tenebrae Vision (Wax Trax)
cEvin Key, Dwayne Goettel, and Wilhelm Schröder (aka Bill Lieb of Frontline Assembly and formerly of Skinny Puppy)

Sounds about as you’d expect from combining Skinny Puppy and Frontline Assembly, definitely fitting of the electro-industrial label. Danceable, distorted tunes for the dingy 80s goth and/or S&M club.

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Hilt - Journey to the Center of the Bowl (Nettwerk)
cEvin Key, Dwayne Goettel, Al Nelson, Lee Salford, Don Harrison, Dave “Rave” Ogilvie, Ryan Moore (aka Twilight Circus Dub Sound System)

This one’s Way Out There, to coin one of the track names, as you might sumise from the album cover. A lot less “industrial” than most other Skinny Puppy projects, but quite experimental and hard to describe. That’s due in part to what each member brings to the table from their own background, and the different styles employed on different tracks, so it’s hard to pick 1 or two that will give anyone an idea of the whole experience. You’ve got some industrial rock, some Jesus and Mary Chains-like shoegaze, 50s hot rod vibes, punk, psychedelic rock, acoustic guitar strumming and bird whistles, movie samples, amateur studio trickery, it’s just indescribable as a whole.

When I revisited this over the weekend (mostly whilst walking my dog on a sunny afternoon) I kind of felt some parallels to White Zombie’s La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1 (1992) in that it feels like you’re driving recklessly through the desert at night, some canyons maybe, changing the dial from station to station and just landing on weird shit, but obviously it’s a lot less straight-forward rock than that. But the glue that holds both albums together is kind of similar. Think La Sexorcisto and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. You’re kinda trashy, you’ve got loads of booze and drugs in the car, and you’re listening to whatever’s on the radio in the middle of nowhere, almost time-traveling.

It’s a big mess, absolute trash, and I love it. It’s nothing to be taken seriously whatsoever. And it’s clear these guys were doing loads of drugs (uppers and downers) having lots of fun but also dark times recording this. As a result, it’s a fun album to have on while sitting around doing drugs with your friends, a muted TV in the background playing old sitcoms or classic movies you’ve maybe never seen. I can imagine this being a pretty difficult listen if I hadn’t heard it at the stage in life that I did. Because I did, it feels like a part of me. I probably invested far too much time thinking and writing about this for something most people will just thing “wtf?” about if they hear a couple of notes. Maybe not.

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Almost forgot Ministry’s “Jesus Built My Hotrod” came out in November 91. The CD single was the first thing I remember buying in Texas, think it was on a trip to visit my dad who was already working there a bit before our family moved there the next year.

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Richard’s first release?

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No mention of Fugazi’s Steady Diet of Nothing yet. There are a ton of big-hitters this year, but I’m still a little surprised not to have seen this yet. It’s in my top 5 for the year, considering a nomination.

This album was my intro to Fugazi, in 93 I think. A kid in my art class gave me a dubbed tape and I was hooked. Hadn’t heard anything like it at the time. Still consider it one of their best albums and feel it’s a bit overlooked/underrated.

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after going through this exercise and reading this thread i think 91 was a really great year for music 10/10. so much itt i was reminded of + new discoveries. i really only remember a few years for music releases (93, 98, 04) and dont usually care otherwise, its just not how i like to compartmentalize music. but this thread has solidified 91 as a top tier year for me.

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Sorry to blast this thread late in the game when nobody cares anymore, I just spent a lot of time listening last week and being distracted by work, therefore not posting as much.

Had a revisit to this early Autechre alias EP (close to their first release as Autechre but not quite their first) and it’s damn good techno/electro.

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Melodious Seeking Community’s Assistance with Latest Melodious HGWTY(IM) Dilemma:

The three albums I will vote for have already been nominated (you are a great and accomodating community :grin:). So, do I:

  1. still put forward an album for consideration, knowing I won’t vote for it myself (and likely no one else will), leaving it looking sheepish and silly;
  2. still put forward said album, AND actually vote for it, even though in truth it is not one of my top 3 LPs for '91, which will then need me to drop my vote for one of the other 3 (which one to drop would be a VERY hard decision); or
  3. just not bother nominating an album and vote accordingly on Sunday.

Help! (What a great year!!)
MT

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Option 1 - it might not be one of your favourite three from the year but maybe your nomination is someone else’s 2nd favourite.

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I haven’t really looked at the thread most of the week as been too busy but I still care! Going to catch up with the nomination list and think about my own nominations tomorrow.

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I’m in a similar dilemma. I’d go for option 1, someone else may vote for it and even if not, it gets credit for being great & nominated.

Nominate track

Geto Boys - Mind Playing Tricks on Me

Nominate album

U2 - Achtung Baby

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My pick was an option 1 scenario although think it might get some votes

Nominate album

Soundgarden - badmotorfinger

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Nominate song

Future sound of london - papua new guinea

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Yeah - i love steady diet. Very underrated. Think it might be the best joe/brendan album tbh.

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