Top 50 of the Nineties Part 4 (20-11)

(This is the fourth installment of marathonpacks' Top 50 of the 90s list. To see #50-41, click here. To see #40-31, click here. To see #30-21, click here. The fifth and final installment will be posted Thursday.)

20. Mos Def-
Black on Both Sides (Rawkus, 1999)

The last two installments of this list will draw heavily upon my long-abiding fondness for forward-thinking, progressive-minded hip-hop. Mos Def is a great place to start, as his entire creative raison d'etre is founded upon a distinct, well-elaborated love for the art form's poetry and musicality, as well as a sense of responsibility and truthfulness, represented both within and as a product of his music. The best songs on Black on Both Sides utilize to the highest degree Mos' penchant for innovative, intelligent wordplay, to great effect on "Speed Laws": "My joint's so passionate/Make you peal out and mash your shit/Get wild cold crash your whip/Front chassis wrecked, but ock you can't be too upset/Tow truck got my tape in the deck." It's hard to top, however, the stunning "New World Water," which incorporates a sliver of Handel's "Water Music" played on xylophone behind lyrics like: "There are places where TB is common as TV/Cause foreign-based companies go and get greedy/The type of cats who pollute the whole shore line/Have it purified, sell it for a dollar twenty-five." This is intelligent, socially conscious hip-hop at its finest, a worthy heir to the legacy of Gil Scott-Heron and The Last Poets.

19. XTC-Nonsuch
(Geffen, 1992)

The Beatle-esque duo of Skylarking and Oranges & Lemons had set the bar high for XTC, and they set out to top it on Nonsuch, perhaps their most ambitious effort to date in a career filled with highpoints. The record continues the songwriting pair's tendency toward political fable, with the singalong "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" proving an unfortunate omen for the American President elected that same year. The usually reliable Colin Moulding slips a little this time out, with neither "My Bird Performs" "The Smartest Monkeys" or "War Dance" rising too far above their clunky metaphoric origins. But, more often than not, Nonsuch presents XTC at their elegant, ornate best, especially on "Wrapped in Grey," "Humble Daisy," "Books are Burning," and the masterpiece "The Disappointed," which, along with "Dear Madam Barnum" continues Andy Partridge's tendency toward arch self-flagellation. Partridge gets downright nasty, though, on "Ugly Underneath" and the irresistable "Crocodile," however, evidence of Nonsuch as a tour de force of emotional and musical variety.

18. Souls of Mischief-
‘93 Til Infinity (Jive, 1993)

This album should have been the future of hip-hop. Souls of Mischief, along with Del the Funkee Homosapien, one-hit wonder Domino ("Ghetto Jam") and Casual, among others, comprised the Bay-Area based collective known as Hieroglyphics. Founded by Del around the time of the release of his batty, verbose, P-Funk copping debut I Wish My Brother George Was Here, the group housed its most accomplished members in Souls of Mischief--namely, MCs A-Plus, Phesto, Opio and Tajai. The group's name is well-chosen--they deftly expose the roots of their shenanigans through bright, clever wordplay and well-sketched cautionary tales of youthful irresponsibility, underscored by a dark, rhythmic, jazz-laced backdrop. '93 Til Infinity stands not only as one of hip-hop's most overlooked records, but one of the best and most assured debuts of any genre from the past 20 years, finding regional contemporaries in The Pharcyde and Freestyle Fellowship, and pre-dating the like-minded Quannum collective and Dilated Peoples. Title cut "93 Til Infinity" effortlessly wades through a haze of blunt smoke and one of the smoothest, most unobtrusive basslines in memory: "Greenbacks in stacks, don't even ask/Who got the fat sacks we can max pumpin fat tracks/Exchangin' facts about impacts, cause in facts/My freestyle talent overpowers brothers can't hack.. it/They lack wit; we got the mack shit/93 'Til Infinity - kill all that wack shit." Not so much socially conscious as intellectually curious, Phesto's rhyme on "Live and Let Live" is a good example of their M.O.:

Yo, I shall not kill, I will if I have to
You say I'm the one promoting violence well I ask you
Have you ever heard the sound of bullets passing you
Ever thought of going out with someone blasting you
Willing to be killing maybe is a great sin but
it's not appealing when bullets penetrate skin what
pain when a brain leaves a stain with the quickness
So I get a fool if I think that I'm on his shitlist

17. The Roots-Things Fall Apart (MCA, 1999)

Without a doubt, Things Fall Apart is the Roots' magnum opus, a sprawling set of diverse songs unified by stellar craftsmanship. Core members Questlove and Black Thought seem to share a brain, with the former's skittering, jazz-based percussion style working synergistically with the latter's brilliantly sharp and impeccably delivered poetry. Previous albums Organix and Do You Want More!? had employed live instrumentation well, but it tended to cast a shadow over the whole, a tendency that began to recede on Illadelph Halflife, and achieved full integration with more esoteric elements here. Remnants of the old style still color Things Fall Apart, notably on "The Next Movement" and "Without a Doubt," but are balanced by the unceasing, pounding, "100% Dundee" and album standouts "Double Trouble," a lyrical ping-pong and ode to hip-hop between Black Thought and Mos Def, and "Adrenaline," which features a stellar guest verse by then-unknown Philly rapper Beanie Siegel. One of the best and "realest" hip-hop records of all-time.

16. Pixies-
Trompe le Monde (4AD/Elektra, 1991)

The Pixies experienced a similar career trajectory to that of Pavement--two bands that, over the course of five albums, progressed from a primitive, howling post-punk sound to a refined, quirky classic pop vibe, along the way becoming two of the three (with Nirvana) most influential post-R.E.M. rock groups. And, along the lines of this massive, simplistic over-generalization, Trompe le Monde was the Pixies' Terror Twilight--the album-long realization that the established leader of each group was indeed a short-timer. Trompe le Monde, as has been well-documented, was essentially the first Frank Black album, mirroring his eponymous solo debut to be issued two years later. Prior Pixies effort Bossanova was an awkward transition for the band, serving as a vehicle to expunge all of then-Black Francis' California dreams to mixed results. Trompe le Monde, on the other hand, went extra-terrestrial, featuring four songs explicitly referencing space or those who would visit here from there--the best ones, "Motorway to Roswell" and "Planet of Sound" as good as anything the band had yet done. "U-Mass" and "Subbacultcha" are two digs at cultural and intellectual pretension, and serve as final reminders of how hard the band could still rock, and highlight "Alec Eiffel" is a synth-driven tribute to "aero-dynamic" structural innovation--the tower itself is even reconfigured as a rocketship in the liner notes. A perfect ending to a insanely great career.

15. Cracker-
Kerosene Hat (Virgin, 1993)

Sequenced on alternative radio in the early Nineties, Kerosene Hat appealed to me mostly because it sounded so much more mature than everything else I heard. David Lowery had, of course, been prolifically touring and recording since the early 80's, and it was this album where he largely dispensed with his Camper Van Beethoven eccentricities, taking a more nuanced and traditional path, one that refigured his unique sense of humor into a series of quirky but rocking folktales. Lead single "Low" was a brooding, dynamic, quasi-country lament that shot into the collective youth consciousness via the chorus line, "Hey, hey hey/Like bein' stoned." The up-tempo songs were the best that the band had done, and probably will ever release--second single "Get Off This" was a cranky, rollicking followup to the previous album's "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now), and "Movie Star" was a darkly comic ode to, I've always assumed, Jayne Mansfield. The album is probably most famous, however, for a song that didn't even appear on the liner notes--hidden track "Euro-Trash Girl," which, with a lyrical detail and vocal insouciance that channeled Kinky Friedman and Loudon Wainwright III, sketched a post-collegiate hostel-hop across the continent. The best of this stellar record, of Lowery's career, and one of my all-time, all-around favorite songs, though, is the timeless, humble "Nostalgia," representative of Lowery's best lyrics, and some of the finest poetry put to music during the decade:

And here's Ivanovich
in his rocket ship
Spinning helplessly
up above the earth.
While his heart is splintered
All the girls of winter
are buried in their coats, anonymous.
While winter girls are waiting
Ivanovich in high rotation
He is just another star
up in the sky.
While the world was waiting
We're overwhelmed by some sensation
of something long ago and far away.

14. Belle and Sebastian-
If You're Feeling Sinister (Enclave, 1997)

My personal definition of the slippery term "indie pop" preferences the ideological a slight bit over the strictly commericial. In other words, while I understand that being "independent" by today's definition equates to a different, if not explicitly limited access to the "mainstream" because of money, I prefer to approach the term as one that refers to the presence of, rather than lack of opportunity. Not being bound to corporate interests frees musicians to pursue the traditional popular musical idiom in the manner of their choice, without being overly concerned with current trends, and relying mostly on their comparatively small but devoted legions of fans to support it. Belle and Sebastian is the preeminent example of a band that has taken this ideal to heart, and created some marvelous music as a result. They took the opportunity on Sinister to pen songs in a manner (soft, lightly melodic, very literate and fey) almost completely counter to the prevailing trends of the major selling artists of the time--magnificent, stately pop music that would never come close to denting the charts, especially stateside, which lent it an added air of exclusivity and integrity. This is a perfect, exquisitely crafted pop record, and easily the band's most consistent--never coming close to exceeding a thin dynamic range that lends the songs, especially "Seeing Other People," the title track and "Dylan in the Movies" a delicate intimacy unmatched in their, or most others' catalogs. It's the equivalent of an entire album consisting of The Zombies "I Want Her She Wants Me," Simon and Garfunkels' "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme," Nick Drake's "Things Behind the Sun," and the Left Banke's "Pretty Ballerina."

13. Beck-Odelay
(DGC, 1996)

On the strength of the destined-to-be-a-one-hit-wonder single “Loser,” I saw a young, goofy Beck in concert in 1994—at one point, he picked up a Subway restaurant cap someone had thrown on stage and launched into an ad-hoc rap that went something like “I’m the Subway pimp,” accompanied naturally by well-executed robot moves. We laughed, as did most others present, but were simultaneously transfixed with the earnestness with which he perfomed this street corner song-and-dance. And that’s the best thing about Beck. He transcends the blatant irony of his music, most effectively on Odelay, by executing it with a deadpan seriousness, forcing even the most cynical listeners to look past the arcane references and at the album as a sincere (and hypermodern) confluence of folk, country, blues, lounge, funk, hip-hop and “outsider” musics, and one that, not surprisingly, appealed directly to the first generation of listeners that could understand it.

12. Guided by Voices-
Alien Lanes (Matador, 1995)

The second to last time I saw Guided by Voices in concert was an interesting one to get through--Robert Pollard was much, much drunker than usual, and went off on extended rants on the relative quality of neophytes Spoon and The Strokes for minutes at a time, driving all but the truly dedicated, sweaty fans home. A hundred or so of us were left, however, and we coalesced around the stage, jumping and pumping our fists to lead Alien Lanes track "A Salty Salute." Two songs later came the ultimate Guided by Voices anthem, "Game of Pricks," a stinging divorce-themed kiss-off that lasts less than two minutes but packs more punch than most bands' careers. Pollard recognized the ecstasy running through the crowd, and after a "1,2,3,4!", they launched into the song, again. It was easily one of the greatest concert moments I've ever experienced, and incontrovertible evidence (as I'm sure David from largeheartedboy.com will attest) that Pollard, more than any other songwriter of his generation, reveled in the power of great rock and roll to eclipse all rationality, allowing, for instance, a man in his late forties to execute high leg kicks, ramble drunkenly and play songs twice in a row, only to the rapture of his audience. Alien Lanes is GBV's best album, chopping up even the excruciatingly brief pop wonders of Bee Thousand into tiny anthems that represent the essence of rocl music--loudly-yelled anthems ("Motor Away," "Watch Me Jumpstart") brief moments of inspiration that dissolve as quickly as they're created ("They're Not Witches," "Evil Speakers," "Pimple Zoo," "Gold Kick") and wonderous pop gems distilled to leave only the best parts ("As We Go Up, We Go Down," "The Closer You Are," "My Valuable Hunting Knife," "Blimps Go 90"). There are 28 tracks on Alien Lanes, and not a wasted second. A work of art.

11. Radiohead-
The Bends (Capitol, 1995)

I am of the broadly applied opinion, offered loudly when drunk, that the multi-multi-platinum selling strand of softened, adult British pop music beginning with Travis and continuing through Coldplay would not exist, for better or worse (okay, for worse) without The Bends. But we can't blame a band for what came after them, can we? No, unless we want to blame the Beatles for The Moody Blues and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. No, influence can be a tricky thing, but the mark that this album left on bands who followed it is mind-blowing. A remarkable leap in quality and clarity from Pablo Honey, The Bends is a model of aural consistency from beginning to end, variously reveling in the guitar bombast of the title track and "Just," then creating three of the best ballads of the decade, "Fake Plastic Trees," "Street Spirit," and "High and Dry," maximizing the affective qualities of Thom Yorke's elastic voice, to later be blatantly copied to diminishing returns by a legion of followers. They supposedly released another album or two after this, but to little critical acclaim.