Little Rock had a modern rock station in the 90s. Not the most revelatory observation there, nor is this: I fully hated it. Every moment – save for the one time that they played Radiation Vibe by Fountains of Wayne – I cursed my town for having such a reductive, jock-jam-toting, Morning-Zoo-Crew having wedge of proto Clear Channel swill taking up my radio’s precious dial space. If I heard Cake one more time, I swore to myself, I would turn into a bell tower shooter.
But as with all things, I had no idea how much worse it was going to get. In a few years, I would be begging for Cake or Presidents of the United States, with their calculated yet ultimately benign slacker anthems. I would pull my car over to the side of the road to have a purifying vomit every time I heard the new playlists of 1997, 1998, 1999, all chock full of muscle-bound rap metal like Limp Bizkit and whatever genre Korn was (I don’t care if I’m mixing up my nomenclature here; all I know is that it was terrible).
I decided, fairly early on, that I hated the 90s. I hated its musical output (on a popular scale at least), but I also came to hate its stylistic signifiers. Goatees made me want to commit acts of violence, as did all the other cultural throwbacks that got wrapped up in the paper-thin excuse of ironic appropriation. For that matter, as I’m sure you will all remember, the word “irony” itself was used so excessively as to have needed retirement for the better part of this decade.
That said, check out this incredible song by the band Human Highway. It’s called “The Sound” and it reminds me of how superlative certain aspects of early-to-mid 90s slacker jams were. The 80s were so baroque and stylish and conceptual and self-absorbed, musically (NB: these are all important and valuable qualities in the making of pop music) that of course the next generation of artists were going to distance themselves, playing more with surface, immediacy, and simplicity. A light, but still profound, cleansing of the palate.
And so it is with Human Highway. This is a side project of one of the guys from Islands, and it is flawless: a careless, gentle, unpretentious song that asks nothing of you other than to nod your head. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go and download the Reality Bites soundtrack. Sorry, Human Highway…you guys appear to be a gateway drug.
Human Highway - The Sound (mp3)
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1 comment:
Baby baby baby. C'mon what's wrong? It's a radiation vibe I'm groovin' on.
I want to start a band and only play that song. And maybe some Sloan.
Death to the 90's! Let's also not forget how little fun was actually had. Much like hip-hop, rap-rock started out fun (Faith No More, Chili Peppers) and just became more lame machismo (Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock).
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