Continuing on from where I let off yesterday, Monday 23 March was the start of working from home proper.  On Twitter when I did the posts it got abbreviated to WFH for ease and the #lockdown on it as I uploaded photos of what I was listening to whilst working.

So kicking off the soundtrack for the new working week I selected four CDs from my vast collection.  Looking back at these there is no real trend on why I selected these albums.  The only common thing they all have is that they are all American artists but I think they given a favour of a different taste to the American scene.

First up was Faith No More’s Angel Dust released in 1992.  I was a big fan of FNM since The Real Thing came out but this album totally tops it.  It is a crazy ride and a totally different style to The Real Thing.  Even their version of the Commondores I’m Easy is great.

Grunge legends Mudhoney get a spin with March To Fuzz which is basically a double album of singles and b sides.  All good dose of garage rock.  One of their songs was called Here Comes Sickness.  Quite apt for this pandemic.

Nada Surf’s Let’s Go was a recent addition to my collection lately.  I got to see them last year and it was the strength of one song that I got on one of those CDs from either Mojo or Uncut which had the song Blizzard of ’77.  Liked what I heard and bought a few of these CDs at the gig.

Lastly a hidden gem, Madder Rose’s album Panic On.    I remember getting into them around the time that listening to Nirvana was leading me to discover other American bands.  I loved this album when it first came out and again one of their songs appeared on a Mojo CD lately that when I was looked through the CD rack there it was.  Fantastic album to listen to again.

On 25 March it was all dedicated to Steve Lamacq!  This collection called Lost Alternatives curated by Steve put together quality cuts from Irish and British indie bands from the 90s that would have been played on the Evening Session on Radio 1.   Lots of these bands that I was listening to I got into via music magazines giving away free tapes or CDs which was a good way to find something new to listen to.  I still have loads of these tapes and CDs about the house.  A new idea of the blog maybe.

There was four CDs of music and plenty of tunes to keep me going.  This was like stepping into a time capsule and going back to remembering where you heard the songs from first time round.   Personal favs included Teenage Fan Club’s Everything Flows, Ash’s Uncle Pat to name but a few.

But it was definitely that kind of album to stick on and break away from listening to just one band all the time.  I have another collection entitled Evening Session and some of the tracks in this collection are repeated here.  Might do another one of these CDs listening again.  That would be my version of Now That’s What I Call Music.

Next day it was back to all things American.  I definitely like more American bands that I can count, so this one was a diverse snapshot of the music at the time.  Helmet, I got into around the time of the Judgement Night soundtrack.  Film was probably rubbish but the soundtrack was brilliant mixing metal and hip hop.

Dinosaur Jr I started listening to after Nirvana.  I think they kind of opened the floodgates to this new American sound for me.  Where You Been was the first album I bought but this one, Green Mind is brilliant.

Oldest CD that day was Living Colour’s Livid.  Late 80s/early 90s I was getting into what they probably called funk rock.  Living Colour were amazing.  The one band I loved but never got to see live.

Last up is the Gutter Twins which was a collaboration of Mark Lanegan (ex Screaming Trees) and Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs).  I am a big fan of both these guys and their bands.  The album was called Saturnalia.  Recommended.

Talking of Judgement Night.  The end of the first working week inspires me to do film soundtracks.   Now I don’t have that many as I don’t really go for soundtracks.  But there is something about these ones that go beyond the film.

We have two X Files soundtracks, Singles and of course Judgement Night.  Each soundtrack plays a different part on where I have been in life.  The X Files for a starter was my all time favourite show in the 90s.  I loved that series.  When they made a soundtrack to it some of the songs would have been used in episodes but it really works as it was a good platform to discovering something new.

The two X Files CDs, one entitled Songs in the Key of X was music from and inspired by the series.  I really loved this CD as it really summed up the series.  The other X Files album was the soundtrack to the film.  The film might not have been the best you would ever see but it was full of good music.

Judgement Night put together the most diverse acts with rappers.  It was just unreal.  Prior to this my only other experience of listening to this hybrid was Anthrax and Public Enemy coming together to do Bring The Noise.  This album widened it out a bit.  Some quality collaborations especially Helmet and House of Pain’s Just Another Victim, Slayer and Ice T on Disorder.

Finally Singles really does not need an introduction.  If there was ever a soundtrack that came out at the time really caught my imagination this was it.  It was all about being at the right place at the right time.   It introduced me to Screaming Trees, Smashing Pumpkins and Mudhoney.  Also it included all my favourites like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.  One of my all time favourite songs, State of Love and Trust by Pearl Jam is on this album.  The film however was a bit rubbish but you did get cameo appearances of some members from the Seattle music scene.

Week 1 WFH soundtrack was quite an interesting experience.  I got to listen to lots of great music, some that I haven’t listened to in years.  If I am going to survive this lockdown, music is the key to keeping me sane.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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