KRISTIN HERSH Hips and Makers 1994

Discogs

Artist Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

After the release of Throwing Muses' fifth album, Red Heaven, Kristin Hersh, the band's lead singer/songwriter, took a break from the group and issued her first solo album, the acoustic Hips and Makers, in early 1994. Thanks to the airplay the single "Your Ghost" -- a duet with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe -- received, the album sold more copies than any of the Muses' releases. Later that year, Hersh also released the Strings EP, which featured versions of selected songs from the album recorded with a string quartet, and did a solo tour. Despite her success as a solo artist, she kept the Muses going as well, releasing their next record, University, in February 1995. Throwing Muses and Hersh as a solo artist moved from Sire to Rykodisc, forming the boutique label Throwing Music in 1996; the label's first release was the final Muses album, Limbo, which appeared that summer. Before the Muses hit the road in support of Limbo, Hersh began work on her second solo album, wrapping it up in early 1997.

At the completion of the Limbo tour, Hersh disbanded Throwing Muses, claiming that it was no longer economically feasible to continue with the band. The acoustic-based Strange Angels, her first post-Muses album, was released by Rykodisc in February 1998. That year, she also released Murder, Misery and Then Goodnight, a collection of lullabies and Appalachian folk songs, as a Throwing Music exclusive. In 1999, Hersh and Throwing Music returned to her original label, 4AD, for Sky Motel, 2001's Sunny Border Blue, and 2003's The Grotto. Hersh also established the Works in Progress series, a subscription service of exclusive rarities, through Throwing Music's website, www.throwingmusic.com.

Hersh also released another Throwing Muses album in 2003, then collaborated with Muses bassist Bernard Georges in 50 Foot Wave, a more rock-oriented expression of her sound, for 2004's self-titled EP, 2005's Golden Ocean, and 2006's digitally released Free Music EP. In 2007, Hersh released another solo album, the intense Learn to Sing Like a Star. Cats and Mice, an unedited performance recorded at Yoshi's in San Francisco, was issued in 2010. That same year, Hersh published her memoir, Rat Girl, which focused on events in her teens from 1985 to 1986. Also in 2010, she released the album Crooked via her website. 

Tracklist  

1	Your Ghost	3:16
2	Beestung	3:08
3	Teeth	4:10
4	Sundrops	4:02
5	Sparky	1:29
6	Houdini Blues	4:26
7	A Loon	4:18
8	Velvet Days	3:52
9	Close Your Eyes	5:27
10	Me And My Charms	4:16
11	Tuesday Night	3:03
12	The Letter	2:47
13	Lurch	0:36
14	Cuckoo	2:12
15	Hips And Makers	3:19

THE END Gusto 1991

by request

Thanks to Luke

Discogs

Tracklist

Powerblind
Destiny
City Of Lost Souls
Weapon
Smack Of Shame
Cut Me Loose
Nowhere No Good
Redman
Cavaliers
Weirdo

VARIOUS ARTISTS There's A Boy Who Lives On Heaven Hill... A Tribute To Hüsker Dü 1994

by request

 

A cover tribute released by Burning Heart Records April 1994. 

Discogs

Tracklist  

1	– Sator	Pink Turns To Blue
2	– Merryland	Back From Somewhere
3	– Popsicle	Visionary
4	– Fireside	Don't Wanna Know If You Are Lonely
5	– Ledfoot	Girl On Heaven Hill

 

THROWING MUSES University 1994

Discogs

Tracklist  

1	Bright Yellow Gun	3:43
2	Start	2:48
3	Hazing	3:15
4	Shimmer	3:15
5	Calm Down, Come Down	1:49
6	Crabtown	4:20
7	No Way In Hell	4:45
8	Surf Cowboy	2:45
9	That's All You Wanted	3:26
10	Teller	2:52
11	University	2:12
12	Snakeface	3:29
13	Flood	3:14
14	Fever Few	6:47

LOVE 666 Please Kill Yourself So I Can Rock 1996

by request

 

Discogs

Tracklist

1	Bummer	4:20
2	D.S.A.	2:22
3	Drag	3:21
4	Ball And Chain	3:40
5	Reality	3:35
6	Life	2:26
7	Big Tower Of White Noise	3:17
8	D Rock Out	2:16
9	Please Kill Yourself So I Can Rock	3:39

 

GOO GOO DOLLS Hold Me Up 1990

by request

 

 

Discogs 

 

Artist Biography by Steve Huey

Early in their career, the Goo Goo Dolls were frequently dismissed by critics as mere imitators of the Replacements; however, they refined and mainstreamed their sound to become one of the most popular adult alternative rock bands of the 1990s, selling millions of records to audiences largely unfamiliar with their influences. That's no knock on the band, either -- the music simply improved in craft and accessibility as the years progressed, and radio happened to be receptive to a style that, one decade earlier, would have been considered collegiate power pop. Thus, the band landed two huge hits with the acoustic ballads "Name" and "Iris," followed by a string of Top Ten singles.

The Goo Goo Dolls formed in 1985 in Buffalo, New York. Guitarist/vocalist Johnny Rzeznik, bassist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska initially banded together under the name the Sex Maggots, and their new moniker was chosen from an ad in True Detective magazine at the behest of a local club owner. Originally a cover band with a taste for power pop and classic rock & roll, the group soon began writing original songs. Their early sound recalled the Replacements' origins as a bratty punk band: melodic, snotty, and a little bit thrashy. That sound was the reason the band attracted the interest of the heavy metal label Metal Blade, which issued their debut album in 1987 (known either as The Goo Goo Dolls or First Release). Released in 1989, the follow-up album Jed continued in a similar vein, and the band's college radio breakthrough came with 1990's Hold Me Up, a Replacements-ish power pop record.

Released in 1993, Superstar Car Wash was the Goo Goo Dolls' artistic breakthrough; though it did nothing to quell the Replacements comparisons, it was a finely crafted pop/rock record, and its lead single, "We Are the Normal," was even co-written by Replacements leader Paul Westerberg himself. Still, Superstar Car Wash wasn't the commercial force the band hoped it would be, especially in light of the success of similar bands like the Gin Blossoms. That all changed with 1995's A Boy Named Goo, when an L.A. rock station put the acoustic-driven ballad "Name" into heavy rotation. It was eventually released as a single and climbed into the Top Five later that year; platinum sales for the album followed close behind. Unfortunately, drummer Tutuska was no longer around to enjoy the band's success; prior to the album's release, he'd been sacked and replaced by Mike Malinin. Dissatisfied with the royalty rates in their Metal Blade contract, the Goo Goo Dolls waged a legal battle that wound up allowing them to jump to parent company Warner Bros. Somewhat drained, Rzeznik and the band shook off a case of writer's block to contribute a new ballad, "Iris," to the soundtrack of the 1998 Nicolas Cage/Meg Ryan romance City of Angels. Appearing that April, the song became a monster smash, although it was never released as a single (so its official Top Ten pop chart status doesn't convey how popular it was). For a better indicator, "Iris" spent nearly a year on Billboard's airplay charts, including an astonishing 18 weeks at number one, and was nominated for three Grammys.

The band's next album, Dizzy Up the Girl, was released during the middle of "Iris"'s marathon airplay run and eventually sold over three million copies. Its clean, polished sound completed the Goo Goo Dolls' transformation into mainstream pop/rockers who happened to have alternative roots. Further hits from the record followed over the next year, including "Slide," "Dizzy," "Broadway," and the Grammy-nominated "Black Balloon." Although Dizzy Up the Girl quickly became the Goo Goo Dolls' highest-selling album ever, none of its singles appeared on the band's 2001's career retrospective, Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce, which focused on earlier material and B-sides instead.

the Goo Goo Dolls' audience shrank a bit during the 2000s, although the band still managed to go gold with its seventh studio album, 2002's Gutterflower. A concert recording, Live in Buffalo: July 4, 2004, appeared two years later and helped fans endure the long wait for the band's next studio effort, Let Love In, which didn't appear until 2006. It, too, went gold, as did three of its singles: "Better Days," "Stay with You," and a cover of Supertramp's "Give a Little Bit." A traditional greatest-hits album, Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: The Singles, was released in 2007, followed one year later by Vol. 2, which followed Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce's lead by compiling rarities, B-sides, cover songs, and live performances into one package.

Recording sessions for the band's ninth album began taking place in spring 2009 with producer Tim Palmer. Although a release date was scheduled for February 2010, the band headed back into the studio in January to make several last-minute changes to the album, with longtime producer Rob Cavallo -- who also worked on Dizzy Up the Girl and Gutterflower -- lending his help. Something for the Rest of Us was ultimately released that summer. The album debuted at seven on the Billboard 200 but generated no hit singles. The Goo Goo Dolls supported the album into 2011 and in 2012, they turned their attention to recording a new album. The resulting Magnetic was released in June of 2013, preceded by the single "Rebel Beat."  

Tracklist  

1	Laughing	3:41
2	Just The Way You Are	3:08
3	So Outta Line	2:22
4	There You Are	3:07
5	You Know What I Mean	3:24
6	Out Of The Red	1:40
7	Never Take The Place Of Your Man	3:52
8	Hey	2:51
9	On Your Side	3:05
10	22 Seconds	0:40
11	Kevin's Song	3:09
12	Know My Name	2:42
13	A Million Miles Away	2:45
14	Two Days In February	3:12

CAY Nature Creates Freaks 1999

by request

 

Discogs 

 

Cay were a London-based alternative rock band (containing members from the Netherlands, Sweden, England and Northern Ireland) who were active in the late 1990s. The band released one album and recorded several radio sessions for the BBC.

 

Tracklist

1	Better Than Myself	2:34
2	Princes & Princesses	2:02
3	Nature Creates Freaks	3:23
4	Dragonfly	3:06
5	Hooked On That	3:34
6	Skool	3:30
7	Neurons Like Brandy	3:15
8	Senseless	3:31
9	Come Out	4:05
10	Reasonable Ease In Chilled Out Conditions	2:15
11	Speed 13	3:29

 

CLOCK WISE Dead End 7 inch 1993

by request

 emo/hardcore from Long Island, New York

The sound quality of this isn't the best but it's pretty rare, so enjoy!

More on Clockwise here 

Discogs

Tracklist

A	D.y.e.t.m.
B1	Alone
B2	You Said

FIFTEEN Buzz 1996

by request

 

Artist Biography by Stacia Proefrock

Formed in 1988 after the demise of the Bay Area punk band Crimpshine, from day one Fifteen forged punk-pop songs with strong social messages. Singer/guitarist Jeff Ott's lyrics focus on social justice and issues such as homelessness, drug abuse, environmental destruction, and government strong-arm tactics. Many of the themes that his songs deal with seem to be pulled from his own experience; sexually abused as a child, he left home at 13 and lived the life of a gutter punk on the streets for 11 years. Other bandmembers had their own struggles; their 1999 album Lucky was named after a former bassist who killed himself after suffering from an amphetamine addiction. Other albums included three apiece for Grass and Lookout Records, as well as their self-produced album, Extra Medium Kickball All-Star. In the summer of 2000, the band released an EP with Sub City Records, Hush. Fifteen followed up several months later with the full-length Survivor. Kickball All-Star was reissued in fall 2003 with appended tracks as a benefit for the organization Any Positive Change, which worked to prevent the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C through needles. 

 

Tracklist

1	World Starvation	3:06
2	Helter Smelter	2:48
3	No Tion	2:40
4	Situations	2:19
5	I Keep On Tryin'	2:36
6	Question	3:54
7	Violation	3:18
8	Fifteen	2:36
9	Food Not Bombs	2:24
10	Predisposition	3:44
11	Abel's Song	1:40
12	In Our World	4:06