STACK #188 June 2020

MUSIC FEATURE

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It’s a truth universally acknowledged that the golden geese of music were laying 24K cackleberries during one particular decade: the ‘90s. From the break-out hip hop cavalry to the torn-jean grunge kings and queens, the British electronica barons to the alt-rock classics positively spewing from our own shores, the teeming pop-punk talent pool to the seemingly bottomless loch of outstanding film soundtracks: the ‘90s had it all in bucket(hat)s.Take a stroll with us down the lanes of this fertile era as we look back on the ‘90s biggest releases. Words Zo ë Radas FANGIN' FOR THE '90s

HIP HOP + R'n'B Emerging from its ‘80s chrysalis, the hip hop scene found its feet in the ‘90s as the three pillars that comprised its cultural ID – graffiti art, breakdancing, and using double turntables in a pioneering way that incorporated samples, breakbeats and scratching – erupted into the global zeitgeist. From the east coast of the US came Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Nas, Beastie Boys, Salt-N-Pepa, and Wu-Tang Clan; from the west came N.W.A., Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice-T, and Xzibit. Meanwhile, the more melodic R'n'B genre was dominated by fearlessly innovative female artists like Lauryn Hill, Neneh Cherry, and Aaliyah.

TOP TRAX Eminem and Dido, Stan Lauryn Hill, Doo Wop (That Thing) Snoop Dogg, Gin and Juice OZ ALTERNATIVE ROCK Our great southern land wasn’t resting on its laurels during the ‘90s; rather, it produced some incredibly enduring alt-rock, with the likes of Killing Heidi, Powderfinger, Regurgitator, The Living End, and beloved mainstays- to-this-day Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds participating in a bountiful epoch of truly lasting brilliance. TOP TRAX Killing Heidi, Weir The Living End, Second Solution Regurgitator, ! (The Song Formerly Known As)

Killing Heidi

Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg

JUNE 2020

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