1995 - New Music

Has it really been 30 years since all this music?

You oughta know that 1995 was quite a year. The biggest news in Canada was Quebec’s vote on sovereignty. I was living in Ottawa at the time working for the government and moonlighting as a DJ at Zaphod’s in the Market. When I was born, my family lived in Quebec until I was six, then living in Ottawa going to Quebec was second nature – to ski, to drink, to go to cottages, to go to concerts. Quebec was certainly something that I took for granted. At the time I probably had a little too much of a blasé attitude about the whole thing. Thirty years later, I’m extremely happy that the “No’s” won 50.4% to 49.6%. With the increased resentment of western provinces and the increased talk of alienation and separation, I think back to 1995 and I hope that if it ever comes to a vote there will be enough “No’s” because I love the whole country and we’re definitely better together.

If I can learn to like a Nickelback song, there’s hope for all of us.

Here’s my 1995 playlist which if yours to enjoy on the Velcro Staircase Spotify Page.

January

If I’m being honest, January was a bit of a mess with charts around the world. Number 1 in the UK for the month was the Swedish band, Rednex and the classic Cotton-Eyed Joe. In the US and Canada, the biggest song was Boyz II Men with On Bended Knee. In Canada, Green Day’s Dookie held the number 1 spot on the album chart from January 23 – March 20. On January 30, Leftfield released their debut album, Leftism and on January 14, the third song from Sleeper’s debut album, “Inbetweener” debuted on the UK singles chart at number 16.

February

A couple of pretty important albums were released in February of 1995. On the 7^th, Shania Twain released The Woman in Me. It took a while but the album would eventually sell four million copies by the end of the year and eventually sell over 20 million copies worldwide. On the 28^th, Jewel released her debut album, Pieces of You, which would take even longer to make its impact. Initially, the album failed to chart, but through touring and the release of strong singles over the next few years, including “Who Will Save Your Soul”, the album would eventually make the top 5 in the US and go 12-times platinum.

March

After 21 months of marriage, the greatest disparity in looks between two famous people finally came to an end as Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts announced their separation. I’ve never met Lovett or Roberts and I can only assume they are both wonderful people. But for 21 months Mr. Lovett gave everyone hope that no matter how weird they looked, they could get a woman like Julia Robert to talk to them, let alone marry them. So, thank you Lyle for giving all of us hope. There were so many great albums released in March of 1995: Tupac, Radiohead, Moby, Cardigans, and Gene, just to name a few. In the UK, “Wake Up Boo” entered the chart at number 9 at the beginning of the month. It would become The Boo Radley’s only top 10 song and eventually become the morning theme song to numerous breakfast television shows around the world. It is impossible to be unhappy after hearing this song.

April

April 1995, gotta be honest, I don’t really remember much. But do you know what happened, Take That’s final original run single with Robbie Williams “Back for Good” began a four-week run at number 1 in the UK. As with all boy bands, they run their course. And if they are lucky, a star will arise. Record executives had put all their chips on that being Gary Barlow from Take That. The final number of singles all pushed Gary to the forefront and try to showcase him as the future superstar. Needless to say, Robbie wasn’t a fan and was the first member to leave. Gary had a good career with 6 top 10 singles and 3 number 1 albums. Robbie on the other hand had a UK career that is almost unparalleled with 14 number 1 albums and 29 top 10 singles.

May

On May 15, Supergrass’ debut album I Should Coco came out. On May 27, Hootie and the Blowfish’s Cracked Rear View began its first run at the top of the US album charts. The album would occupy the top spot until June 17, then move back to the top in July, August, and September. The album would eventually sell over 15 million copies and be one of the biggest albums of the decade. Also in May was the release of the Friends theme song, “I’ll Be There for You”. For the pilot of the show, the song Shiny Happy People by REM was used. But Michael Stipe rejected its inclusion, so the producers wrote their own song and enlisted the Rembrandts to perform. The crazy thing about Friends was that the show was so popular, callers would pester radio stations to play the song. After a radio announcer in Nashville looped the original version into a full-length track, the band decided they should write a second verse and bridge and release a full version. The new track was released on May 23, 1995 and would become a number 1 airplay song in the US and the number 1 song in Canada for 1995. And I had completely forgotten about this “comical” music video with the Friends cast.

June

Growing up in Ottawa I had known Alanis since her early dance singles Too Hot and Walk Away and they were fine. Little did I know that in June 1995 she would release one of the most important albums of the 90s in Jagged Little Pill. Released on June 13, it is a juggernaut. It would eventually sell over 30 million copies worldwide, produce a Broadway musical and speak to a generation.

July

On July 4, Foo Fighters released their debut self-titled album. Dave Grohl wrote and recorded the entire album as a cathartic experience to recover from the suicide of Kurt Cobain. Grohl decided to choose the name Foo Fighters to hide his identity. Next thing you know – Hall of Fame. Well, it didn’t happen just like that, but after recruiting a band and releasing great music for the last 30 years – Hall of Fame. And to think it all started with a short 6 day recording session to get over the death of your bandmate.

August

There was nothing bigger in the UK for music in 1995 than Britpop and there was no bigger story than who would wear the crown between Blur and Oasis. August 14 was known as the battle of Britpop as new singles from both bands would be released on the same day. Oasis made the announcement that Roll with It would be released on August 14, Blur’s record label thought it would be a great idea to move up the release of their single "Country House" to determine who ruled Britpop. There was already an intense rivalry between the two bands with verbal sparring being reported on the evening news. It divided the country between “working class” Oasis and “middle class” Blur. In the end it was Blur’s “Country House” that sold 274,000 copies to Roll with It’s 216,000. But even that wasn’t without controversy as Blur’s label had released two versions of “Country House” one with regular B-sides and another with three live tracks from the previously huge Parklife album and both versions counting towards the “Country House” total. That being said, this version of Blur doing “Country House” on TOTP is awesome for so many reasons.

September

“Fantasy” began its 8-week run at the top spot of Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart on September 30 and solidified Mariah as the queen of pop for the 90s. I understand that my musical taste is slanted towards indie rock and alternative, but c’mon, “Fantasy” is a perfect song. It marked the first time a song by a female artist debuted at number 1 and finished the decade as one of the most celebrated tracks.

October

So many great albums were released in October 1995. Oasis, What’s the Story; No Doubt, Tragic Kingdom; Pulp, Different Class; and The Smashing Pumpkins, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was the Pumpkins third album and an ambitious endeavour as it was a double album consisting of 28 tracks. Billy Corgan self-produced the record alongside Flood and Alan Moulder. It was not only ambitious in size, but ambitious in styles as it contained many musical styles including heavy metal, pop, classical, art, and of course grunge. Led by lead single “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” MCATIS would debut at number 1 and move a quarter million copies its first week. Six singles would eventually be released from the album as it would go on to be certified diamond in the US and receive seven Grammy nominations including album of the year.

November

Technically Oasis’ “Wonderwall” was released as a single on October 30, but it debuted at number 2 on the November 5 chart in the UK. It would become the band’s only top 10 hit in the US, but it was a top 10 hit everywhere. How big is “Wonderwall”? It was the first song from the 90s to reach a billion streams on Spotify and even though it’s been surpassed by Teen Spirit, it is the second most streamed song from the 90s with over 2 billion streams. The song would be nominated for two Grammys. Both Virgin Radio and Radio X listeners in the UK voted “Wonderwall” the best British song of all time and Rolling Stone had the song at number 95 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.

December

In December 1995, a new Beatles single was released. As part of the publicity for the Beatles Anthology album, “Free as a Bird” became a top 10 single in Canada, the UK, and the US. Originally written and recorded as a demo by John Lennon, the surviving members incorporated the demo into a studio version. It would go on to win a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group. TBH, it’s kinda meh.

Wow, 1995 was definitely a pretty fun year for music.