Band reunions aren't new, as some of the best-selling and most well-known bands have gone on hiatus or broken up for extended periods of time. Back in 2015, we discussed 1990s rock bands that had broken up and gotten back together. Six years have passed, and more bands have reunited, released material, or at least toured. We decided to revisit the topic and discuss bands like Swervedriver, Hum, The Psychedelic Furs, The Vapors, Guns 'n Roses, and many more who have been back in the studio (either to record or rerecord) and hit the road together.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - Step Into You by Hum 11:50 - Thread by Shades Apart 18:09 - Don't Believe by The Psychedelic Furs 34:50 - Amputation by The Jesus And Mary Chain 47:00 - The Colour of Love by The Smashing Pumpkins Outro - Mary Winter by Swervedriver   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Dig Me Out - The 90s rock podcast

#562: Bands From the 90s Reuniting Part 2

Before Creeper Lagoon scored a minor hit with "Wrecking Ball" on their 2001 major label, radio-friendly alternative rock album Take Back The Universe and Give Me Yesterday, the band released a much more intimate debut. 1998's I Become Small and Go, co-produced in part by John King of The Dust Brothers, finds an even balance between catchy indie-pop, and more produced and layered tracks. Using a host of loops, oddball sounds, and other studio tricks gives tracks like "Wonderful Love" just enough earworm material to balance with the more subdued songs like "Sylvia." Unfortunately, the band can't hold up the momentum, and the album takes a noticeable dive in quality towards the end, but that doesn't erase what is a re-listenable record.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - Dear Deadly 17:16 - Wonderful Love 20:23 - Sylvia 24:04 - Drink and Drive Outro - Empty Ships   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#561: I Become Small and Go by Creeper Lagoon

He's an outlier, an enigma, an iconoclast, an original. We're talking about Tom Waits, whose career is more closely tied to the 70s and 80s, but who released his Grammy Award-winning album Bone Machine in 1992 just as the first wave of grunge was talking off in 90s rock. Trying to compare Waits, and this album in particular, to any of his contemporaries, is a fool's errand. Sure, there's a bit of Nick Cave here, some Mark Lanegan there, even some Morphine and Beck, but Waits is often on another planet entirely. Using a collection of non-traditional percussion instruments (some homemade) combined with buzzing guitars and ramshackle pianos, to create a junkyard orchestra. It often sounds like it's falling apart before it even starts, but Waits can bring it together with his vocals, even if they are the most divisive aspect of a Tom Waits album.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - I Don't Wanna Grow Up 17:26 - Black Wings 24:49 - That Feel 29:54 - Whistle Down The Wind 34:26 - Goin' Out West Outro - The Earth Died Screaming   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#560: Bone Machine by Tom Waits

In popular culture, whether it's music, films, books, or television, the idea of a Guilty Pleasure has existed as long as people have formed opinions on entertainment. High versus low art, serious versus inconsequential, intimate versus manufactured - everyone has their own criteria. We discuss the power of shame, such as when a once-popular genre falls out of favor, or when the personal behavior of an artist can affect an audience, the phrase can take on an even more serious interpretation.    Songs In This Episode: Intro - Barbie Girl by Aqua Outro - I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#559: Guilty Pleasures Roundtable

Members of Seattle's biggest bands of the 90s rock scene were often dabbling in side projects, like Temple of the Dog, Mad Season, and Brad. Matt Cameron and John McBain had previously played together in Hater, and along with Soundgarden bassist Ben Sheppard started Wellwater Conspiracy By the time they got around to album number two, Sheppard left, leaving Cameron and McBain to make the 1999's Brotherhood of Electric: Operational Directives, along with some friends. One of those friends is Josh Homme, not long after the end of Kyuss and just as Queens of the Stone Age is starting up, who hops on board for vocals on three tracks. Cameron tackles most of the rest and does a nice job with some 60s-influenced garage rock tunes that wouldn't sound out of place on a Hives record. Unfortunately, the side-project nature of the band leaves room for lots of noodling and experimentation. Some good, most not, which turns what would have been a tight, rockin' record into a much more bloated affair in need of a editor.   Songs in this Episode: Intro - Good Pushin' 13:09 - Compellor 20:55 - Right Of Left Field 23:38 - B.O.U. 28:07 - Van Vanishing Outro - Red Light Green Light   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#558: Brotherhood of Electric: Operational Directives by Wellwater Conspiracy

Toward the middle of the 1990s, the shift away from loud grunge, post-hardcore, and punk resulted in a wide variety of more introspective sounds. Some bands were tagged with emo, some with slowcore, others with simply indie rock. From Death Cab for Cutie and John Vanderslice to Elliott Smith and Iron & Wine, the late 90s and early aughts were full bands turning down both the volume and tempo. San Diego's Pinback, comprised of veteran scene musicians Rob Crow and Armistead Burwell Smith IV, utilize a wide variety of instruments and approaches on their self-titled debut from 1999. A simple drum preset can carry an entire song, mixing a variety of analog keyboard and guitar sounds, while occasionally introducing samples, guitar-mimicking vinyl scratching, or vocal loops. It's a melancholy but charming debut that presents many interesting ideas that sometimes lack a second or third gear to make them truly inspired.   Songs in this Episode: Intro - Hurley 17:34 - Tripoli 20:20 - Rousseau 25:33 - Crutch Outro - Lyon   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#557: Pinback by Pinback

While 90s rock is known for the volume-pushing bands from Seattle, Boston, Chicago, and other parts around the world, a loose movement of quiet and introspective artists rallied (quietly) around sparse arrangements, hushed vocals, and an appreciation for traditional to 60s folk. Ida covers most of that ground and more on their fourth album, 2000's Will You Find Me. Thanks to a wide range of guest musicians and a major label budget, the band incorporates electric piano, moog, wurlitzer, viola, and a host of other instruments to fill out the nooks and crannies of their deliberate sound. When at their best, the foursome use the three vocals to perfection, crafting haunting and beautiful sound scapes. But on the flip-side, some of the less fussed-over tracks sound bare in comparison, or tracks meander when they should be more concise.   Songs in this Episode: Intro - Shrug 21:24 - Down on Your Back 26:19 - Turn Me On 32:29 - Encantada 40:18 - Shotgun 48:09 - Man in Mind Outro - The Radiator   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#556: Will You Find Me by Ida

By the early 90s metal music faced a crossroads - fixtures of the 70s and 80s influenced by Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin were less connecting less with a younger generation of fans whose exposure to the thrash of Metallica, the hardcore of Bad Brains, and a new wave of guitar gods like Vernon Reid of Living Colour and Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine. From their early years in high school through years of demoing and playing gigs in Southern California, the Deftones tapped into this wide variety of sounds, as well as new wave and post-punk, to craft a uniquely 90s take on metal. Thought dubbed nu-metal at the time on their 1995 debut album Adrenaline and 1997 follow-up Around The Fur, both with producer Terry Date, their sound continued to expand in the 2000s, incorporating shoegaze, space rock, and more. We revisit their 1990s output to trace the beginnings of one of the most interesting and influential alternative metal bands of the past twenty years.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - My Own Summer (Shove It) from Around The Fur 20:11 - 7 Words from Adrenaline 35:23 - Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away) from Around The fur 42:28 - The Chauffeur (Duran Duran cover) Outro - Bored from Adrenalin   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#555: Origins - Deftones in the 90s

Few names evoke the 90s like Ned's Atomic Dustbin. It doesn't hurt that the band also sported an unusual line-up of two bass players that made full use of the sonic range - one carrying the low end and the other mid-range riffs ala Peter Hook of New Order. It gave The Neds something extra to play with, and on 1992's Are You Normal? the band shed their punkier, less polished debut sound for a rhythmic, bouncy follow-up effort. While the rhythm section carries a large amount of songs, if gives the guitar room to roam, from metalish funk riffs to blissed out delays. On the stronger material, it gels nicely, but the album takes time to find its footing, with a back-half that shows more range and depth that keeps us from loving the whole. Songs In This Episode: Intro - Suave And Suffocated 29:42 - Walking Through Syrup 40:30 - Not Sleeping Around 57:03 - Intact Outro - Swallowing Air   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#554: Are You Normal? by Ned's Atomic Dustbin

Chicago had a reputation for producing some of the notable heavier bands of the 1990s, including Ministry, Smashing Pumpkins, The Jesus Lizard, Shellac, and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. You can now add Wicker Man to that list. Not familiar with the band Wicker Man, you say? We're here to help, thanks to one of our knowledgeable Patreon patrons. The band managed just one full-length, their 1995 self-titled debut for Hollywood Records, and it's both hard and easy to understand why the band is all but forgotten. The quality and craftsmanship is clear, heavy riffs that touch on power metal, stoner rock, post-hardcore, and more that could satisfy a wide variety of metal fans. But looking back on 1995, it's also easy to see how the band was out of step with the emerging nu metal and industrial scenes, which makes rediscovering the band all the sweeter.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - You Annoy Me 19:26 - Party Grrrl 26:56 - Don't Believe A Word 29:58 - Hey Hey Hey 39:47 - Brainfreeze Outro - Sugarfoot   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#553: Wicker Man by Wicker Man

Rusty's 1995 debut album Fluke pulls off a neat trick, sound both of the times and yet somehow ticking the boxes of previous generations. There is the swampy garage blues of "Warning" that Royal Trux or Beck would appreciate as much as ZZ Top of Rory Gallagher. There is a blast of hardcore-ish punk on the aptly titled "Punk" and nods from everyone to the Stooges, Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr. and The Replacements across the record. Separated, the guitars might sound too gnarly or the drums to lo-fi, but the overall combination mostly finds the sweet spot.   Song In This Episode: Intro - Groovy Dead 13:22 - Misogyny 18:07 - K.D. Lang 19:52 - Warning 23:50 - Punk Outro - California   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#552: Fluke by Rusty

Best known for their string of mid-90s hit singles that smoothed off the harder edges of what we once called alternative rock, Collective Soul returned in 1997 under difficult circumstances with Disciplined Breakdown. A legal battle with their ex-manager lead to a canceled tour and recording the record on their own. Thanks to Ed Roland's tenured history as a musician and songwriter, the band barely misses a step combining pop-friendly melodies with rock arrangements and sounds, even taking some unexpected detours that work ("Link") and don't work ("Full Circle").   Songs in this Episode: Intro - Precious Declaration 25:02 - Disciplined Breakdown 34:51 - Link 40:18 - Crowded Head Outro - Listen   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#551: Disciplined Breakdown dy Collective Soul

While the double album (two vinyl LPs) has long been the medium for big-thinking artists from Bob Dylan to Pink Floyd, introducing cassettes and compact discs in the 1980s changed the format length and what actually qualified as a double album. In the 1990s, artists again began pushing the limits of the dominant medium, as evidenced by double album releases over two compact discs not only by 90s rock bands like The Smashing Pumpkins or Wilco, but with hip-hop, electronic and others expanding their releases like from The Notorious B.I.G., Nine Inch Nails, The Orb, Tupac Shakur, and others.    Songs in this Episode: Intro - We're In This Together by Nine Inch Nails (from The Fragile) 21:26 - Bodies by The Smashing Pumpkins (from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness) 30:06 - Outta Mind (Outta Sight) by Wilco (from Being There) 46:40 - Brown Paper Bag (Single Remix) by Roni Size - Reprazent (from New Forms) 56:20 - The Sound by Swans (from Soundtracks For The Blind) Outro - Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb (from The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld)   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#550: Double Albums of the 1990s

The moniker "jam bands" had been around for decades before their 90s counterparts in Phish, Rusted Root, and String Cheese Incident brought their own takes out on the road. Athens, Georgia based Widespread Panic draw on the southern sounds of The Allman Brothers Band as well as other guitar heroes like Eric Clapton and J. J. Cale to craft their guitar and keyboard driven sounds. The trick with jam bands, regardless of decade, has always been converting the energy and improvisation of the live performance into a crafted studio product. On 1997's Bombs and Butterflies, Widespread Panic smartly avoids overly long passages for trimmed down and concise songwriting.   Songs in this Episode: Intro - Radio Child 17:18 - Aunt Avis 19:06 - You Got Yours 41:18 - Glory 52:32 - Hope In A Hopeless World Outro - Gradle   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#549: Bombs and Butterflies by Widespread Panic

Plenty of bands messed around with a lo-fi sound in the 90s, sometimes to euphoric effects, sometimes not so much. Swell dabbles: a white noise fractured guitar lead here, a flat acoustic guitar riff there. But on Too Many Days Without Thinking, they are merely small pieces of a more layered puzzle. Had it been played on Les Paul's through big amps, the album would have sounded very familiar, so dialing back the noise and putting it to sparing use helps elevate the band above their 90s rock peers.   Songs in this Episode: Intro - Make Mine You 14:27 - When You Come Over 19:08 - Throw the Wine 22:36 - What I Always Wanted 29:01 - (I Know) The Trip Outro - F*ck Even Flow   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#548: Too Many Days Without Thinking by Swell

Weekly album reviews, interviews and roundtable discussions digging up the 90s