Beginning today, and most likely throughout the rest of this week, tens of thousands of news sites and blogs will be doing their darndest to convince you that the only album that came out in 1991 was Nirvana’s Nevermind. Awesome album! And if you believe this cover from the now-defunct Melody Maker in 1991, you might even be likely to agree: Moose? Thin White Rope? Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine? I’d ask where-are-they-now, but no one cares.
So off the top of my head (not really), I came up with a list of ten other records that came out in 1991 and also changed the world. They didn’t sell millions of copies — or, in some cases, tens of thousands for that matter — but they all did something profound to alter the course of popular music in the last twenty years. Nevermind made the commercial success of so-called alternative music possible, but these are the records that made post-Nirvana underground music worth listening to in the first place:
Superchunk No Pocky for Kitty (Matador)
RESPONSIBLE FOR: Uptempo pop-punk, proto-emo, the credibility of super-cute boy lead singers. They also snubbed Steve Albini in the liner notes even though he recorded it, which has 1991-cool written all over it.
THIS ALBUM’S “TEEN SPIRIT”: I think I ripped off “Cast Iron,” actually.
Frankie Knuckles Beyond The Mix (Virgin/EMI)
RESPONSIBLE FOR: Deep house with woodwinds, the reemergence of hip-house, the house-ification of ’90s R&B.
THIS ALBUM’S “TEEN SPIRIT”: “The Whistle Song.” It’s like Frankie Knuckles was all, “Fuck that lyric-writing shit. I’mma just play the flute, motherfucker!”
Nation of Ulysses 13-Point Program to Destroy America (Dischord)
RESPONSIBLE FOR: Punks in suits, retro-punk, punks with vaguely threatening political ideas. More obviously, Refused and The (International) Noise Conspiracy.
THIS ALBUM’S “TEEN SPIRIT”: I can’t pick! I’ve always been partial to centerpiece “Aspirin Kid,” though.
Slint Spiderland (Touch & Go)
RESPONSIBLE FOR: The persistence of slowcore and math-rock, literary indie rock, imposing audio-books over band practice tapes.
THIS ALBUM’S “TEEN SPIRIT”: “Endless Nameless” was good, but I think even Cobain would have listened to “Good Morning, Captain” and said, “What the fuck!”
Primal Scream Screamadelica (Creation)
RESPONSIBLE FOR: Indie kids who collect acid house records, the use of gospel choirs on subsequent albums by Blur and Verve, increased ecstasy profits in the UK and abroad.
THIS ALBUM’S “TEEN SPIRIT”: “Come Together” is the song Moby has been trying to write since 1999. He can’t do it.
Massive Attack Blue Lines (Virgin)
RESPONSIBLE FOR: Chillout compilations, making the connection between dub and downtempo, the new sound of car commercials.
THIS ALBUM’S “TEEN SPIRIT”: Leigh Bowery served as Art Director for the “Unfinished Symphony” video and Tina Turner covered it. How’s that for far-reaching?
Fugazi Steady Diet of Nothing (Dischord)
RESPONSIBLE FOR: The gas-station jacket/canvas shoes look, the two-singer phenomenon, making it seem like turning down millions of dollars from major labels is easy, making Nirvana corporate in comparison.
THIS ALBUM’S “TEEN SPIRIT”: Oh, man. “Reclamation.” Oh, man.
Drive Like Jehu Drive Like Jehu (Cargo/Headhunter)
RESPONSIBLE FOR: Making it seem like your band sucked if you weren’t totally fucking unhinged, making your band feel like you sucked at your instruments, making your band feel like you sucked.
THIS ALBUM’S “TEEN SPIRIT”: If “Caress” had revolutionized 1991 the way Nirvana did, our world would be awesome.
My Bloody Valentine Loveless (Creation)
RESPONSIBLE FOR: Your favorite band with guitar pedals, the loudness wars, everyone who thinks it’s OK to spend twenty years making a follow-up album, the near-death of Creation Records.
THIS ALBUM’S “TEEN SPIRIT”: “When You Sleep” wobbles in the tension of veering-into-tunelessness but holds itself together masterfully.
Talk Talk Laughing Stock (Verve)
RESPONSIBLE FOR: Proving that total reinvention is possible for even the most famous bands as long as you’re willing to commit commercial suicide, insisting on recording your album in the dark for over one year, and Radiohead, basically.
THIS ALBUM’S “TEEN SPIRIT”: There is no three-minute blast here, no memorable chorus, no social statement or internal struggle about being punk. There was no radio single, no music video, and no press at all. Talk Talk pretty much recorded this album, finished it, and walked away. It sold roughly 29,900,000 copies less than Nevermind, but don’t let that fool you: Laughing Stock is, without question, the most important album of 1991.
