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PODCAST

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock

J and Tim dig into the grunge, alt-rock, and indie albums that changed everything—the forgotten classics, the underappreciated masterpieces, and the legends worth hearing again. One album at a time. Let’s dig it out.

music music commentary

All Episodes

30:29

Art Alexakis of Everclear | Interview

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/06/16

There isn’t a Dig Me Out listener who isn’t familiar with Everclear, a staple of ‘90s alternative rock radio and MTV. With a string of hits like “Santa Monica,” “I Will Buy You a New Life,” and “Father of Mine,” Everclear spent the better part of the decade relentlessly touring, playing to sold-out crowds around the globe. But, had it not been for the relative success of the band’s 1993 debut, World of Noise, Everclear might have been just another footnote in a long line of forgotten bands. Singer

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49:55

Face To Face - Ignorance Is Bliss | Album Review

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/06/14

Face To Face had established themselves over their first three albums as a skate punk band with elements of Bad Religion and Hüsker Dü. But for 1999's Ignorance Is Bliss, they purposely showed the tempos and expanded the pallet to a much more alternative rock sound. That left some fans confused, others angry, but also welcomed new listeners into the fold. Depending on whether you're a punk purist or prefer creative detours, there is plenty to enjoy on the album, which sounds confident and catchy in

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45:10

Headstones - Picture of Health | Album Review

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/06/07

Describing rock bands can be tricky, as there is usually a need for comparison to set expectations. In the cast of Headstones, it's not that simple. The band is heavy, but not metal. They rock in a way that fits into the 90s, but they're not grunge or alternative. Smart lyrics, big guitar riffs, and short catchy songs that have hints of Australian bands like AC/DC or The Angels, with a touch of Guns 'n Roses and even a ballad or two. On their 1993 debut Picture of Health, all the ingredients for a

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45:46

C-Tec - Darker | Album Review

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/05/31

Composed of Jean-Luc De Meyer of Front 242, Mark Heal of Cubanate, and Ged Denton of Crisis n.T.i., along with special appearances by members of Front Line Assembly and Haujobb, C-Tec is something of a 1990s industrial supergroup. What that allows is the members to experiment on their debut Darker with a broader range of sounds away from their regular bands, like including breakbeats on "Being Nothing," going 80s on "The Lost," or punishing noise on "Shift IV." Of course, there are some

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01:19:18

EPs of the 90s | Roundtable

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/05/24

The EP, that strange format in-between singles and albums. What makes up an EP? It can be anything - all new material, demos, live tracks, remixes, or anything else an artist (or record label) can think of. While around since 1919, the EP format never had a more successful decade on the charts than in the 1990s. "Jar of Flies" by Alice In Chains became the first artist to have an EP reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and that wasn't the only commercially successful EP of the era. Nine Inch

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37:15

Sandpit - On Second Thought | Album Review

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/05/17

Melbourne, Australia's Sandpit only managed one full-length, 1998's On Second Thought, along with a few earlier EPs before disappearing. Mellow and sparse one minute, abrasive and noisy the next, the band finds a sweet spot between the two thanks to inventive vocal melodies that play with phrasing and cadence to keep the listener's ears engaged. Like American counterparts in Slint, Seam, or Polvo, there are slowcore and post-hardcore benchmarks the band hits with ease, while still creating

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34:29

Bike - Take In The Sun | Album Review

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/05/10

Known as the more melodic half of the New Zealand alternative "Dunedin Sound" rock band Straightjacket Fits for their first two albums, Andrew Brough left in the early 90s to forge his own path. By the mid-90s Bike had formed and in 1997 would deliver their one and only album, Take In The Sun. The name is appropriate, as the album is full of shimmering, psychedelic sounds, and melodies that cry out for sunshine and warmth. But the band isn't a 60s retro act, incorporating fevered 80s alternative

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43:57

Madder Rose - Bring It Down | Album Review

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/05/03

On their 1993 debut Bring It Down, Madder Rose's Mary Lorson brings melodic sharpness and emotional depth to her vocals that helps make the band special. Billy Coté's guitar matches Lorson, weaving intricately disjointed solos and leads, while also bringing in shoegaze-styled textures and noise. This gives the band a unique niche in 90s rock, somewhere between the East Coast alternative rock of Belly, Letters to Cleo, or the Breeders along with UK bands like Lush or Slowdive. But with all the magic

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54:30

Miljenko Matijevic of Steelheart | Interview

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/04/28

Though Steelheart was considered a new band when its self-titled release came out in 1990, the nucleus of the band had been together for nearly a decade. As Red Alert, the band spent most of the ‘80s honing songwriting skills and recording demos in Connecticut while playing occasional shows in a state that didn’t offer a lot of opportunities for a hard rock band. With a plane ticket and 4-song demo cassette in hand, the band, now called Steelheart, scored a record deal almost immediately after

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41:44

East River Pipe - Shining Hours In A Can | Album Review

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/04/26

While bedroom recordings are nothing new to the music world, especially after the availability of cassette four-track recorders in the 1980s, going from crude demos to fully fleshed-out compositions is something else entirely. Many artists have taken advantage of computer-based recording programs in the 2000s, but musicians like F.M. Cornog, under the name East River Pipe, figured out to take an eight-track reel-to-reel home recording set-up and eschew any limitations. On the 1994 compilation

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59:54

Madchester: The Sound and the Scene | Roundtable

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/04/19

The Manchester music scene gained notoriety long before Ian Brown and Shaun Ryder thanks to 1960s artists like The Hollies, The Bee Gees, and Herman's Hermits. Following the rise of punk, Manchester provided their own twist with bands like Joy Division and New Order, The Smiths, and The Fall breaking out at home and abroad. But our focus is on the unique combination of guitar-driven rock and underground rave music that morphed into what became known as Madchester. Combining funky, percussive rhythms

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42:51

Karate - In Place of Real Insight | Album Review

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/04/12

Terms like post-punk, post-rock, emo, indie, etc. get tossed around when talking about 90s rock bands that strayed from the mainstream to embrace a different take on the soft/loud dynamic. Boston four-piece Karate takes the angular twin-guitar and vocal attack of Fugazi and shave off some of the rougher edges while incorporating Slint-like slowcore, dialing down the tempos and volumes ready to burst. Karate adds a twist with jazzy phrasings and even a dirgy blues riff, giving the band an opportunity

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01:17:15

Chad Fischer of Lazlo Bane and School of Fish |...

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/04/08

Though Chad Fischer’s musical resume begins with School of Fish, the drummer didn’t play on either of the band’s two full-length albums. Just before the recording of 1993’s Human Cannonball, Fischer was fired by producer Matt Wallace who brought in session drummer Josh Freese to play on the album. When Freese was unable to tour with School of Fish due to other commitments, Fischer rejoined as the live drummer until the band broke up shortly thereafter. Knowing that he wanted to make a living in

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53:49

New Radicals - Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too |...

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/04/05

New Radicals, the band that wrote the ubiquitous single "You Get What You Give" which will never the airwaves, was the brainchild of Gregg Alexander and former child actor Danielle Brisebois, the former who had previously failed to breakthrough in the late 80s/early 90s solo artist. Donning the iconic bucket hat and calling-out (then) current celebrities like Courtney Love and Beck gave critics something to spill ink about, but the overall 1998 release Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too never got the

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53:15

Defryme - Pure Killer | Album Review

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/03/29

Alternative in the late 80s included several artists who successfully mixed funk and hip-hop with hard rock and metal, such as Faith No More, Living Colour, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In Melbourne, Australia, Defryme would form in 1989 with a similar sound, but it would take them five years to release their debut Purekiller. By that time, the fusion of hip-hop, funk, and metal was a far less original concept, and while Defryme craft a handful of tight tracks, the band struggles with consistency

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52:33

Faith No More - Angel Dust | Album Review

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/03/22

Before the alternative explosion led by Nirvana in 1991, bands like Jane's Addiction, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Faith No More were already paving the way on MTV and modern rock playlists. Coming off the success of iconic rap-rock tune "Epic" from their sophomore album The Real Thing, Faith No More followed up with 1992's Angel Dust, further exploring the edges of thrash metal, funk, new wave, and more. While the record stretches the boundaries of what could still be called a mainstream,

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54:47

Powderfinger - Double Allergic | Album Review

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/03/15

After their 1994 debut album not only failed to make a commercial dent for Polydor Records, but was also panned by critics and even the band themselves, Powderfinger returned to the studio with veteran Australian producer Tim Whitten (Hoodoo Gurus, The Go-Betweens, Clouds, etc.) for the sophomore album Double Allergic. The pairing paid off as the group put the studio to good use while maintaining a tight band feel that shifts between American alternative and more adventures diversions. The twin

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58:20

Christopher Hall of Stabbing Westward | Interview

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/03/08

Though most people’s introduction to Stabbing Westward was via their major label debut, Ungod, in 1994, Christopher Hall (vocals) and Walter Flakus (keyboards) had been making music together since their college days nearly a decade earlier. Blending the industrial influences of Nine Inch Nails, Ministry and Skinny Puppy with the goth rock of early Smashing Pumpkins and Depeche Mode, Stabbing Westward found themselves smack dab in the middle of the mid-90s alternative wave and toured with a wide

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38:44

Pure - Generation Six-Pack | Album Review

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/03/01

A disaffected and laid-back vocal combined with loose playing will always draw a comparison to Pavement when talking 90s rock. And Pure definitely dabble in the slacker rock vibe, albeit with more chill than snark, and on Generation Six-Pack the chill is via a nice layer of fuzzy guitar that is somewhere between early Weezer and space rock Hum. The band uses some standard 90s tropes to good effect, like the quiet/loud dynamic of "Anna," while also integrating slide guitar to add a layer of

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52:23

Heather Duby | Interview

Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock ·

2022/02/24

After her band Clementine, with Reggie Watts (Comedy Bang! Bang!, The Late Late Show with James Corden) and Ryan Link, broke up, Heather Duby joined forces with noted Seattle producer Steve Fisk (Pigeonhed) to write and record what would become her 1999 Sub Pop debut, Post to Wire. A far cry from the punk and grunge acts the label was known for, Duby was released from her contract when Post to Wire failed to make waves. While she continued to make albums for Sonic Boom Records (2003’s Come Across

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