Sunday, January 29, 2012

90s Nostalgia

For some reason I've been on a big 90s kick lately, going back and listening to a lot of stuff I was into in high school and college. Sometimes it's nice revisiting the past and getting nostalgic. So many of these songs take me to specific places, memories with friends, some great times back then. Thought I'd share a handful of songs, maybe from some lesser known bands to an extent. If you know these, chances are you haven't heard them in a long time. Something for a Sunday night before the week kicks off again.

Candlebox: "Cover Me". Off their debut album, "You" and "Far Behind" were the real popular tracks but this was always one of my favorite and a song I still listen to quite often. My buddy Joe and I saw these guys with the Flaming Lips in high school at the New Haven Coliseum (terrible venue by the way). Strange combination of bands for sure and funny that the Lips actually opened up!





Live: "White, Discussion". Live's "Throwing Copper" is not only one of my favorite albums of the 90s but also one of my favorite all time, still listen to it a lot. This version is actually from MTV Unplugged, absolutely love this performance.




Blues Traveler: "Mountains Win Again" . Funny Blues Traveler story....my freshman year in college I was sitting in my dorm room one night when the phone rang.... I answered and on the other end of the guy asking if Mark was there. Mark was my roommate and we shared a phone line but he wasn't around when I picked up the call. When I asked who was calling, the guy said "John Popper" (who is the lead singer of Blues Traveler"). Of course I gave him shit for a minute because I figured it was a buddy screwing with us but after a couple minutes I realized it actually was him.

Mark had written him a letter basically telling him how big a fan of the band he was and how much their music meant to him, etc. I said that I'd run out and find him (this was pre cell phone so not as easy as today) and ran to the dorm next door where I told him the story. A bunch of us went back to the room and sure enough John called back right when he said he would. Long story short, Blues Traveler was playing the Tower Theater in Philly a couple nights later and John had us as guests with free tickets and we got to hang with the band after the show. Truly an awesome experience. Every time I hear this song, I think of that night.





Dig: "Believe". Never saw these guys. No idea what ever became of them. Love this tune.




Possum Dixon: "Watch The Girl Destroy Me". Pretty sure my buddy Tom found this one, definitely think of driving around in his car when this one comes on.




The Refreshments: "Mekong". My buddy Chris and I love this album, used to listen to it all the time.




Charlatans: "Can't Get Out Of Bed". This song was actually pretty big for awhile. My buddy Joe and I used to hang at this record shop called "Secret Sounds" in Bridgeport, CT. We were there all the time, got to know the owner and other staff real well and they played a lot of cool stuff. This song always reminds me of hanging out in there just searching through the used cd bins.




The Samples: "Weight of the World". Easily one of my favorite bands ever, and one of the biggest influences on my love of music. I have so many great memories of seeing The Samples in concert, both in high school and road trips in college. Amazing that the Dave Matthews Band use to open for these guys! So many amazing songs, hard to even pick just one.




Villanova Junction: "Saturday Morning Feel". Always nostalgic listening to this album. These were high school buddies of mine.....Joe Beleznay, Tim Procaccini, Rich Wolf and John Mayer. The vocals sure sound different but you can hear some of John's early guitar work in these songs. Joe's a really talented singer, tremendous voice (which you'll hear in the harmonies).

1 comment:

soper said...

i believe i have a mixtape from you somewhere that has all of these songs on them...now if i only had a cassette player. truly a trip in the way back machine.