Nineties bands contended with harsh ideas about mainstream popularity and signing with major labels. Being a listener involved equally harsh ideas about being cool.
Love your articles Aaron, thank you so much for writing and sharing them! They are incredibly evocative and quite insightful as well!
PS I actually had to look it up but it is spelled "versus" (vs.) not "verses" (which is just the plural or verse)... As a writer myself I always prefer to be told when someone notices a typo! 😁
This was a fun read for me; I graduated high school in 92. Part of me is proud that the bands I "discovered" never made it big (e.g. Swervedriver, Ride, Adorable), yet at the same time, in hindsight, it's sad.
Man, I was JUST re-watching the documentary DIG! and thinking about how outdated the concept of "selling out" now is. And that movie was just from 2003.
Interesting you single out Material Issue for praise--being from Chicago along with them, I remember they got criticized as being poseurs and basically a 'sell out' band.
Chicago was hyper-aware of credibility, and if you weren't the Jesus Lizard--or a Touch & Go band--or a wax trax industrial thing, or playing at the Fireside Bowl, then you were going to be slammed as inauthentic.
You might find it interesting that Paul Skallas plagiarized this article for publication at his newsletter: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/Lindy_Newsletter/issues/weekend-reads-1402275
thanks for letting me know.
Love your articles Aaron, thank you so much for writing and sharing them! They are incredibly evocative and quite insightful as well!
PS I actually had to look it up but it is spelled "versus" (vs.) not "verses" (which is just the plural or verse)... As a writer myself I always prefer to be told when someone notices a typo! 😁
Juliana Hatfield, not Jane
This was a fun read for me; I graduated high school in 92. Part of me is proud that the bands I "discovered" never made it big (e.g. Swervedriver, Ride, Adorable), yet at the same time, in hindsight, it's sad.
This is really, really, really good, and IMO a subject that was long-overdue for examination. Thank you for writing it, it was incredibly enjoyable.
Gabe, that's high praise and I really appreciate it. Thanks for sharing it. It took years to get this essay right!
Man, I was JUST re-watching the documentary DIG! and thinking about how outdated the concept of "selling out" now is. And that movie was just from 2003.
Great piece!
Hey Kirtan, thanks so much! Dig was fun.
Interesting you single out Material Issue for praise--being from Chicago along with them, I remember they got criticized as being poseurs and basically a 'sell out' band.
Yeah, I just called out that I liked their songs! Whether they posed or not, I liked em
Chicago was hyper-aware of credibility, and if you weren't the Jesus Lizard--or a Touch & Go band--or a wax trax industrial thing, or playing at the Fireside Bowl, then you were going to be slammed as inauthentic.