Shocking as it may sound, Seattle wasn’t the only city exporting alternative rock in the 90s. And unless you were loaded, you didn’t have enough money back then to keep up with all the records (or CDs) you wanted to buy. Bands like Jane’s Addiction, R.E.M., and Nirvana opened the commercial floodgates for alternative rock music, making it a great time for guitar bands.
Videos by American Songwriter
Many great songs are forgotten as history narrows what we remember from a previous era. So let’s travel back to 1993 and see if you remember these alternative rock bangers.
“Dogs Of Lust” by The The
Johnny Marr kept busy after The Smiths. He played with Pretenders, The The, and formed Electronic with New Order’s Bernard Sumner. While Marr is best-known for his jangly guitar work, “Dogs Of Lust” features a harmonica riff courtesy of the Mancunian legend. Matt Johnson’s desperate tune became a modern rock hit in the U.S. Speaking of The Smiths, Morrissey named his band in an effort to highlight the most common surname. But it’s hard to find a more efficient and functional band name than The The.
When you’re lustful, when you’re lonely
And the heat is rising slowly.
“Low” by Cracker
David Lowery may be known more for his critiques of the music business in the digital age than for his two bands. When Camper Van Beethoven split up, Lowery formed Cracker, which had a hit with “Low” in 1993. However, Cracker’s record label worried about the lyrical drug references, specifically the line about being stoned. So Lowery wrote a letter to assure radio programmers they weren’t pushing a song about drugs. I wonder if Cypress Hill wrote letters back then, too.
Hey, don’t you wanna go down
Like some junkie cosmonaut?
“Animal Nitrate” by Suede
If you’re a casual Britpop fan, you may only be familiar with Oasis and Blur. But in a way, the whole scene kicked off with Brett Anderson’s midriff on the cover of Select magazine. Suede’s self-titled and campy debut is a Britpop and glam rock masterpiece. It features guitarist Bernard Butler, who was something like the second coming of Johnny Marr. “Animal Nitrate” inspired countless young Brits to learn the guitar. When Butler eventually quit the band, his replacement, a teenage virtuoso named Richard Oakes, had already memorized every note.
Oh, in your council home, he jumped on your bones
Now you’re taking it time after time.
Photo by Dean Chalkey
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