Best of 1994 - The Album List

In the music world, the year 1994 is mostly remembered for the tragic death of Kurt Cobain, who committed suicide on April 5th. Cobain's death marked a pivotal moment for the grunge movement, which had dominated the early '90s. With his passing, grunge reached its peak but also began to slowly dissolve.

During this time, punk rock experienced a resurgence, thanks in large part to bands like Green Day and The Offspring. Green Day's album Dookie and The Offspring's Smash brought punk energy back into the mainstream with a new twist, most notable as skate punk and pop punk.

Across the Atlantic, the Britpop movement was in full swing, with bands like Oasis, Blur, and Pulp leading the charge. Oasis released their debut album Definitely Maybe, which sold 100,000 copies within just four days of release, earning them the record for the fastest-selling debut album in British history.

Best of 1992 - The Album List

Following Freddie Mercury's death in November 1991, one of the significant events of 1992 was his tribute concert held five months later. Tickets for the event sold out within three hours of going on sale, despite no performers being announced apart from the remaining members of Queen. A star-studded lineup including Elton John, George Michael, Axl Rose, Metallica, Annie Lennox, and many others paid tribute to the late Freddie Mercury. 

In the same year, Kylie Minogue ended her longstanding collaboration with Stock Aitken Waterman, with whom she had been recording music since 1987. Meanwhile, George Michael took on a different battle with Sony, filing a lawsuit against them for allegedly failing to promote his album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. However, he would ultimately lose the case in June 1994. 

In November of 1992, Factory Records was declared bankrupt. The label, founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, boasted releases by iconic acts such as Joy Division, New Order, OMD, and others from the 80s. Their catalogue was subsequently sold to London Records. On the UK charts, "Bohemian Rhapsody" made a return to the hit list in January. Shakespeare's Sister enjoyed the longest-running number one with "Stay," topping the charts for eight weeks. Additionally, Eurodance had a standout year, with Snap's "Rhythm is a Dancer" holding the top spot for six weeks. Erasure also made a comeback in 1992 with their Abba tribute, topping the charts for five weeks in June with their "Abba-esque" EP, featuring the hit "Take a Chance on Me."

01. R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
02. Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
03. Sade - Love Deluxe
04. The Cure - Wish
05. Madonna - Erotica
06. Ride - Going Blank Again
07. Alice in Chains - Dirt
08. Shakespear's Sister - Hormonally Yours
09. Annie Lennox - Why
10.The Jesus and Mary Chain - Honey's Dead
11.The Boo Radley's - Everything's Alright Forever
12. Bel Canto - Shimmering, Warm & Bright 
13. The House of Love - Babe Rainbow
14. Stereolab - Peng!
15. Swans - Love of Life
16. Stereo MCs - Connected
17. The Lightning Seeds - Sense
18. The Sundays - Blind
19. Pulp - Separations
20. The Shamen - Boss Drum
21. Lush - Spooky
22. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Henry's Dream
23. Snap! - Madman's Return
24. En Vogue - Funky Divas

25. Roxette - Tourism

Best of 1991 - The Album List

 The early 1990s, particularly 1991, marked the peak of Grunge music's popularity, epitomized by Nirvana's groundbreaking release of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and their second album, Nevermind. This success paved the way for other influential grunge bands like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and even the early works of Radiohead.

Simultaneously, in 1991, Metallica and Guns N' Roses achieved their greatest commercial triumphs with their respective albums. Metallica's self-titled "black album" sold over 30 million copies worldwide, while Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion I & II collectively sold over 15 million copies.

However, amidst the musical milestones, tragedy struck on November 24 when Queen's front man Freddie Mercury passed away at his home in London due to complications from AIDS. Queen's iconic song "Bohemian Rhapsody," released as a double A-side with "These Are the Days of Our Lives," reached number one on the UK charts for the second time, further solidifying Mercury's legacy.

01. Niravana - Nevermind

02. Metallica - The Black Album

03. Prince and The New Power Generation - Diamonds and Pearls

04. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

05. U2 - Achtung Baby

06. REM - Out of Time

07. The KLF - The White Room 

08. Massive Attack - Blue Lines

09. Primal Scream - Screamadelica

10. Roxette - Joyride

11. Simply Red - Stars

12. Swans - White Light From The Mouth

13. Talk Tak - Laughing Stock

14. Erasure - Chorus

15. Pearl Jam - Ten

16. Slowdive - Just for a Day

17. Army of Lovers - Massive Luxury Overdose

18. OMD - Sugar Tax

19. Mercury Rev - Yerslef is Steam

20. The Orb - The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld

Best of 1988- The Album List

In the 20th Century, the year 1988 was the year with the most Roman numeral digits, but more important, in science and technology, it was a year of the first Internet-based chat protocol between the USA and Europe.
On the music level, the charts were still dominated by the Stock- Aitken-Waterman hits who received the Brit Award for their music production skills. On the different floors, House music was slowly emerging, while Alternative and indie rock were even more diversified into various other musical sub-genres.

Best of 1987- The Album List

Let's dive into the 1987 Albums campaign! This year marked an interesting crossover period where music styles from the first half of the decade began transforming into new genres, creating fresh musical opportunities and providing stages for new talents.

In terms of innovation, MTV Europe was launched, and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" became the first single released on CD, while the cassette tape continued to rise in popularity.

Synthpop was still prominent in the mainstream, with Erasure and Pet Shop Boys maintaining its presence. The pop hits from the emerging Stock Aitken Waterman pop factory, including Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up," became chart-toppers and contributed to making it the best-selling single of the year.

On the other hand, House music was slowly growing and taking over dance floors, providing a fresh and dynamic sound. Simultaneously, indie pop/rock was flourishing, offering more diverse and alternative forms of music.

At the Brit Awards, Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel received honors for Best Female and Best Male, respectively, showcasing the diversity and richness of the musical landscape in 1987.

Best of 1983- The Album List

The year 1982 was undeniably dominated by Michael Jackson's groundbreaking album "Thriller," which went on to become the best-selling album of all time. The accompanying music video for the title track presented a significant challenge for MTV airwaves but is now regarded as one of the greatest music videos ever created. Riding on the wave of Michael Jackson's success, other artists achieved notable milestones: David Bowie released "Let's Dance," his most commercially successful album up to that point. On the female front, both Madonna and Cyndi Lauper made their debut appearances, exploring unconventional and unique styles. Kim Wilde received recognition by winning the Brit Award for Best British Female Artist.

Meanwhile, in 1982, Germany produced the first compact discs, which were initially sold in Japan during the third quarter of the same year. These CDs were later introduced to the U.S. market in 1983, revolutionizing the music industry in the years to come.

As New Wave gradually transitioned into Pop, the decade's most significant stars—Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, and George Michael—continued to dominate the charts for the remainder of the '80s and beyond.

 

R.E.M.- Überlin Premiere

R.E.M. willl have their brand new song "Überlin" premiered on Monday, January 24th, on BBC Radio 2's Ken Bruce Show. This song also announces the release of their fifteenth studio album which is due to be released in March.

http://remhq.com/news_story.php?id=1277

R.E.M.- Pop Song 89

"Pop Song 89" was a third single from the album 'Green' released in 1989. The video was shot in black and white and featured the singer Michael Stipe and topless girls dancing in the background. MTV asked Stipe, who directed it himself, to censor the three topless women with whom he was dancing in the video. Instead, Stipe superimposed black bars on the chests of all four dancers, himself included, and stated, "a nipple is a nipple."

R.E.M.- Accelerate

'Accelerate' is the fourteenth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on March 31, 2008 in Europe and a day later on April, 1, in North America. Produced with Jacknife Lee, Accelerate is intended as a departure from the band's poorly-received 2004 album 'Around the Sun'. The first single from the album, "Supernatural Superserious", was released in February 2008. The video for this single was already featured on this blog.

WAW: R.E.M.-Supernatural Superserious