1995 Survey Mix

This is the sixth in the 1990s survey mix series, which will come out monthly in chronological order through this year. You can find the previous mixes here.

I realized pretty early on in this project that 1995 was very special to me, and that I needed to present it a bit differently than the other years. I usually make an effort to mix up the genres throughout the surveys, but it was important to me to take up the entire first “disc” of this set to highlight what I’ve come to call Alt-Utopia – the creative and commercial pinnacle of alt-rock, indie, and Britpop in this year. I love the energy of this period. Everyone sounds so ambitious and energetic, and anyone playing rock music seemed to truly believe in the power of the genre. There was still a sense in the music industry that anything could be popular if marketed as “alternative rock,” and the definition of what could qualify as “rock music” was extremely broad in a way that opened up a lot of creativity. I have a lot of sentimentality for this period because I was a teenager at the time, but I truly believe this was a unique moment – the optimistic, fun times just before the alt-rock bubble burst.

1995 is also notable as a major boom time for rap and R&B, and lot of the very best of that is featured on the second disc. That stuff sounds kinda optimistic and utopian too, even the grimy prime era Wu-Tang music. This is also the year alt-country became a thing, which is kinda interesting as an American parallel to Britpop. But while those Britpop bands had mostly existed for a while before this major cultural moment in 1994 and 1995, almost all of the alt-country acts released their debuts within months of each in this year.

Thanks to Rob Sheffield, Eric Harvey, Dan Kois, Sean T. Collins, and especially Paul Cox for their valuable assistance in putting this set together.

DOWNLOAD PART 1

Pavement “Grounded” / Helium “Pat’s Trick” / Archers of Loaf “Harnessed In Slums” / Yo La Tengo “Tom Courtenay” / Guided by Voices “Game of Pricks” / Sonic Youth “Skip Tracer” / Thurston Moore “Psychic Hearts” / The Flaming Lips “Psychiatric Explorations of the Fetus with Needles” / PJ Harvey “Down by the Water” / The Smashing Pumpkins “1979” / Elastica “Car Song” / Pulp “Common People” / Blur “The Universal” / The Verve “History” / Oasis “Wonderwall” / Radiohead “Just” / Spacehog “In the Meantime” / Garbage “Only Happy When It Rains” / Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” / Stereolab “French Disko” / Fugazi “Target” / Pearl Jam “I Got Id” / Foo Fighters “This Is A Call” / Belly “Now They’ll Sleep” / Veruca Salt “Number One Blind” / Weezer “Say It Ain’t So” / Everclear “Santa Monica” / Green Day “Brain Stew” / Mike Watt featuring Eddie Vedder “Against the ‘70s” / Scarce “All Sideways” /Juliana Hatfield “Universal Heart-Beat” / The Caulfields “Devil’s Diary” / Monster Magnet “Negasonic Teenage Warhead” / Chavez “Break Up Your Band” / Royal Trux “You’re Gonna Lose” / Home “My Friend Maurice” / Flying Saucer Attack “Standing Stone” / St. Johnny “Scuba Diving” / Liz Phair “Animal Girl”

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Björk “Hyper-Ballad” / Tricky “Hell Is Around the Corner” / Raekwon & Ghostface Killah “Heaven and Hell” / The Notorious B.I.G. “Big Poppa” / Adina Howard “Freak Like Me” / TLC “Waterfalls” / Brandy “Sittin’ Up In My Room” / Mariah Carey featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard “Fantasy (Remix)” / Montell Jordan “This Is How We Do It” / Junior M.A.F.I.A. featuring The Notorious B.I.G. “Players Anthem” / Method Man & Mary J. Blige “I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By” / R. Kelly “You Remind Me of Something” / Seal “Kiss From A Rose” / The Jayhawks “Blue” / Collective Soul “December” / Sheryl Crow “Strong Enough” / Joan Osborne “One of Us” / Natalie Merchant “Carnival” / Jewel “Who Will Save Your Soul?” / Bush “Glycerine” / Hum “Stars” / Sunny Day Real Estate “J’nuh” / Mad Season “River of Deceit” / Neil Young “Scenery” / Portishead “Glory Box” / The Bucketheads “The Bomb” / Total featuring The Notorious B.I.G. “Can’t You See” / Ol’ Dirty Bastard “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” / Beastie Boys “Root Down” / GZA “Liquid Swords” / Da Brat “Give It 2 U” / Jodeci “Freek’n You” / Three 6 Mafia “Da Summa” / LL Cool J “Doin’ It” / Mary J. Blige “Not Gon’ Cry”

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The Cardigans “Carnival” / Suddenly, Tammy! “Hard Lesson” / Ben Folds Five “Jackson Cannery” / The Rentals “Friends of P.” / Soul Asylum “Shut Down” / Black Grape “Kelly’s Heroes” / U2 “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” / Gene “Sleep Well Tonight” / D’Angelo “Brown Sugar” / The Roots “Proceed” / The Pharcyde “Drop” / Redman & Method Man “How High” / Folk Implosion “Natural One” / R.E.M. “Tongue” / The Presidents of the United States of America “Lump” / Del Amitri “Roll to Me” / Blues Traveler “Hook” / Tim McGraw “I Like It, I Love It” / The Waco Brothers “Bad Times (Are Comin’ Round Again)” / Dwight Yoakum “Nothing” / Emmylou Harris “Wrecking Ball” / K’s Choice “Not An Addict” / Ani DiFranco “32 Flavors” / Heather Nova “Walk This World” / Mary Lou Lord “His Indie World” / Matthew Sweet “Sick of Myself” / Velvet Crush “Hold Me Up” / Echobelly “King of the Kerb” / Red Red Meat “Chain Chain Chain” / Bone Thugs N Harmony “1st of Tha Month” / Mobb Deep “Shook Ones, Pt. II” / Luniz “I Got 5 On It” / Cypress Hill “Throw Your Set in the Air” / Future Sound of London “The Far Out Son Of Lung And The Ramblings Of A Madman” / Massive Attack vs Mad Professor “Radiation Ruling the Nation” / Dirty Three “Kim’s Dirt” / Nine Inch Nails “Hurt”

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Morrissey “The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils” / Marilyn Manson “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” / Prick “Animal” / Rammstein “Rammstein” / Ned’s Atomic Dustbin “All I Ask of Myself Is That I Hold Together” / Rancid “Ruby Soho” / Less Than Jake “Liquor Store” /Mudhoney “Judgment, Rage, Retribution, and Thyme” / Green Apple Quick Step “Los Vargos” / Live “All Over You” / Filter “Hey Man Nice Shot” / Cornershop “6 a.m. Jullandar Shere” / Autechre “Dael” / Aphex Twin “Ventolin (Video Edit)” / Moby “Feeling So Real” / Rob Zombie “More Human Than Human” / KMFDM “Juke-Joint Jezebel” / Siouxsie and the Banshees “Stargazer” / Red Hot Chili Peppers “Warped” / Whale “Hobo Humpin’ Slobo Babe” / Cibo Matto “Know Your Chicken” / Dionne Farris “I Know” / Faith Evans “You Used to Love Me” / Dr. Dre “Keep Their Heads Ringin’” / Shania Twain “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” / 16 Horsepower “Shametown” / Tarnation “Two Wrongs Don’t Make Things Right” / Tracy Chapman “Give Me One Reason” / Sleeper “Inbetweener” / Luna “Sideshow by the Seashore” / S.F. Seals “Ladies of the Sea” / Alan Jackson “Gone Country” / Brooks & Dunn “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” / Kenny Chesney “All I Need to Know” / Boyz II Men “Water Runs Dry” / All-4-One “I Can Love You Like That” / Deborah Cox “Sentimental”

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Annie Lennox “No More ‘I Love You’s’” / Whitney Houston “Exhale” / Michael Jackson “You Are Not Alone” / Selena “I Could Fall In Love” / Outhere Brothers “Don’t Stop (Wiggle Wiggle)” / Scatman John “Scatman” / Skee-Lo “I Wish” / Big L “Put It On” / Smif-N-Wessun “Wrekonize (Remix)” / Coolio “Gangsta’s Paradise” / Alice In Chains “Grind” / Silverchair “Tomorrow” / Wax “California” / Spiritualized “Medication” / The Passengers featuring Luciano Pavarotti “Miss Sarajevo” / Goodie Mobb featuring Andre 3000 “Thought Process” / Prince “Pussy Control” / No Doubt “Just A Girl” / Better Than Ezra “Good” / Ruby “Tiny Meat” / Supergrass “Alright” / The Boo Radleys “Wake Up Boo!” / Deep Blue Something “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” / The Rembrandts “I’ll Be There for You” / Hootie and the Blowfish “Only Wanna Be With You” / Lenny Kravitz “Can’t Get You Off My Mind” / Garth Brooks “She’s Every Woman” / Toby Keith “You Ain’t Much Fun” / Trisha Yearwood “Thinkin’ About You” / George Strait “Check Yes or No” / Gin Blossoms “Til I Hear From You” / Wilco “Box Full of Letters” / The 6ths “San Diego Zoo” / Smog “Bathysphere” / Steve Earle “Nothin’ Without You” / Elliott Smith “Needle in the Hay” / Jale “Wash My Hands” / Freakwater “South of Cincinnati” / Scud Mountain Boys “Glacier Bay” / Palace “Gulf Shores”

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The Chemical Brothers “Leave Home” / BT featuring Tori Amos “Blue Skies” / Mouse on Mars “Saturday Night Worldcup Fieber” / Buju Banton “Only Man” / Shaggy “Boombastic” / Master P “When They Gone” / Tha Dogg Pound “Let’s Play House” / 2pac “Dear Mama” / Souls of Mischief “No Man’s Land” / Guru “Watch What You Say” / Black Moon featuring Smif-N-Wessun “Headz Ain’t Ready” / Real McCoy “Come and Get Your Love” / Ace of Base “Beautiful Life” / Shampoo “Trouble” / La Bouche “Be My Lover” / Everything But the Girl “Missing (Todd Terry Club Mix)” / The Magnetic Fields “All the Umbrellas In London” / Tina Turner “Goldeneye” / Sparklehorse “Someday I Will Treat You Good” / Poe “Trigger Happy Jack” / The Geraldine Fibbers “Dragon Lady” / that dog. “He’s Kissing Christian” / Throwing Muses “Bright Yellow Gun” / Catherine Wheel “Waydown” / Letters to Cleo “Awake” / The Muffs “Sad Tomorrow” / Babes in Toyland “Sweet 69” / Free Kitten “Harvest Spoon” / Ramones “I Don’t Want to Grow Up” / Pennywise “Peaceful Day” / Superchunk “Detroit Has A Skyline” / Aimee Mann “Choice in the Matter” / Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories “Do You Sleep?” / P.M. Dawn “Downtown Venus” / Dishwalla “Charlie Brown’s Parents” / Faith Hill “It Matters to Me” / Clint Black “Summer’s Comin’” / Old 97’s “Doreen” / Whiskeytown “If He Can’t Have You” / Long Fin Killie “(a) Man Ray” / Cat Power “Rockets” / Jane Siberry “Maria”

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Pizzicato Five “Contact” / Luscious Jackson “Here (Squirmel Mix)” / Eve’s Plum “Cherry Alive” / Squirrel Nut Zippers “I’ve Found A New Baby” / Plush “Found A Little Baby” / Papas Fritas “Guys Don’t Lie” / Mercury Rev “Everlasting Arm” / Scott Walker “Tilt” / Tindersticks “No More Affairs” / The Sea and Cake “The Biz” / Zumpano “The Party Rages On” / Tripping Daisy “I Got A Girl” / G. Love and Special Sauce “Nancy” / Southern Culture on the Skids “Camel Walk” / Primus “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” / Rocket from the Crypt “On A Rope” / Deftones “Bored” / The Offspring “Self Esteem” / 311 “Down” / Dog’s Eye View “Everything Falls Apart” / Bruce Springsteen “The Ghost of Tom Joad” / The Goo Goo Dolls “Name” / Jars of Clay “Flood” / Seven Mary Three “Cumbersome” / Son Volt “Drown” / Money Mark “Hand in Your Head” / Ice Cube “Friday” / Tha Alkaholiks “The Next Level” / Goldie “Angel” / Blind Melon “Galaxie” / The Mighty Mighty Bosstones “Hell of a Hat” / The Pietasters “Something Better” / Butterglory “The Skills of the Star Pilot” / Holly Golightly “Wherever You Were” / Brian Jonestown Massacre “That Girl Suicide” / The Dandy Warhols “Ride” / The Upper Crust “Let Them Eat Rock” / Teenage Fanclub “Sparky’s Dream” / The Dambuilders “Drive-By Kiss” / The Charlatans “Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over” / Slowdive “Miranda” / Cassandra Wilson “Love Is Blindness”

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Kyuss “One Inch Man” / Dub Narcotic Sound System “Industrial Breakdown” / Jonathan Fire Eater “The Spanish Fly” / Sleater-Kinney “The Day I Went Away” / Tsunami “Flameproof Suit” / CIV “Can’t Wait One Minute More” / Citizen Fish “Can’t Be Bothered” / Dance Hall Crashers “Don’t Wanna Behave” / Blink-182 “Carousel” / Toad the Wet Sprocket “Good Intentions” / The Apples in Stereo “Glowworm” / Guv’ner “Baby’s Way Cruel” / Golden Smog “Radio King” / Gloria Estefan “Everlasting Love” / Tina Arena “Chains” / Diana King “Shy Guy” / Mack 10 featuring Ice Cube “Foe Life” / DJ Quik “Safe + Sound” / Leftfield “Original” / The Orb “Oxbow Lakes” / Scarlet “Independent Love Song” / Gov’t Mule “Mule” / Ben Harper “Burn One Down” / Cornelius “Moon Walk” / DC Talk “Jesus Freak” / Insane Clown Posse “Riddle Box” / Atari Teenage Riot “Speed” / Bowery Electric “Out of Phase” / Opeth “Under the Weeping Moon (Orchid)” / Low “Stay” / Enya “Anywhere Is” / Take That “Back for Good” / Brian McKnight “Crazy Love” / Nicki French “Total Eclipse of the Heart” / Bryan Adams “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman” / Wet Wet Wet “Somewhere Somehow” / Blessid Union of Souls “I Believe” / Reba McEntire “Ring On Her Finger, Time On Her Hands” / The Pretenders “I’ll Stand By You” / Sarah McLachlan “I Will Remember You”