Earlier this week we took it back to 1987 to spotlight some albums that in 2017 turn the dreaded 3-Ohhhh. Well, we seem to have a fair flash of anniversary fever, because our time travel to the late-'80s quickly got us thinking about the late-'90s -- a time of compact discs, Tower Records, Britpop's last wave, and the time just before a straight-up dreadful few years of nu-metal, post-post-grunge FM rock, and forgettable pop music. But 1997 in alt-rock was pretty alright, yeah! Radiohead raised their game with OK Computer, an album that set the tone for their status as rock royalty over the next two decades, Daft Punk got the kids into dance music, and Blur jumped from the NME to American sporting arenas (woo hoo!). Oasis, Spiritualized, and the Verve displayed grand ambitions, Foo Fighters shed their skin as "Dave Grohl's new band," and Harvey Danger published zines and raged against machines. Pierce your tongue all over again and revisit 20 classic alternative (we use that terms loosely here) albums that turn 20 over the next several months. Let's all feel old together.
Ben Folds Five, Whatever And Ever Amen
Released: February 5
