It's over, Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend

Released October 22, 1991 on Zoo Entertainment

Another artist I found thanks to my sister.  I seem to remember her just giving me this CD straight up one day.*  Or maybe I stole it, I'm not sure.

This disc got a ridiculous amount of air time in my room during high school.  From beginning to end, a true classic album in my opinion.  Tracks like "I thought I knew you" and "I wanted to tell you" seem to carry a ton of emotion and are somewhere near the top of my favorite Sweet songs.

I bought the next three albums of his, stopping with "100% Fun" (exp. '15).  I sort of seesawed on "Altered Beast" (exp. '13 ) and Son of Altered Beast" (exp. '14) never really embracing them in the same way as "Girlfriend."

In 2006 he released a Legacy Edition called "Goodfriend" with all remastered tracks from his 1991 album.  Feeling reminiscent, I picked it up.  Unfortunately, I don't acknowledge remastered tracks of expired music so I have to let them go as well.  For some reason none of his other albums ever made it to my iTunes, so my iPod is officially free of Matthew Sweet.

Additionally, Del tha Funky Homosapien's 1991 release "I Wish My Brother George Was Here" has also expired as of Oct. 22nd.  I will be deleting this album from my iPod after publishing this article.


* I know that's how I got Bad Religion's "Stranger Than Fiction" exp. '14

Nirvana, Tribe, Chili Peppers, oh my!

Released Sept. 24th, 1991 on DGC

Twenty years ago, a number of albums hit record stores for the first time, including Nirvana's "Nevermind", RHCP's "Blood Sugar Sex Magic" and Tribe's "Low End Theory."

Today they've expired.

Released Sept. 24th, 1991 on Warner Bros.

Released Sept. 24th, 1991 on Jive/RCA

Sorry, Charlie. Ween - The Pod

Released on Shimmy Disc, Sept. 20, 1991

As indicated on the Ween Facebook page, today is the 20th anniversary of the band's second album, "The Pod."  It's also the first record to expire since starting this project that I listen to on a regular basis.  As I've mentioned before, Ween is my all time favorite band and getting rid of any of their music is a painful yet necessary thing to do.

I knew last night that I'd be expiring this album, so I grabbed my iPod and listened to thePod one last time before falling asleep.*

You could classify their entire catalogue of music as "weird", but "The Pod" may be the weirdest of the bunch.  

I've still got plenty of Ween left to enjoy.  "Pure Guava" doesn't expire until next November.  Yay!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to delete these songs from my iPod and iTunes.**

*Unfortunately, I fell asleep about halfway through.  
**The music is backed up on my hard drive.  I'm not deleting it for good.  I just can't risk these songs popping up while on shuffle. 

Back in the holster, Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion I, II

Released on Geffen Sept. 17th, 1991

Once again, I'm a couple days late in updating, but as of Saturday Gn'R's "Use Your Illusion I & II" have expired.  I don't have a lot to say in the record's defense.*  I've never been a Guns N' Roses fan.

If you've read any of my previous posts, you'll know I wasn't listening to much "hard rock" from the 80's and early 90's.  So when my friend showed me this CD in 1991 and began talking about its music and lyrics my eyes sort of glazed over.

I just remember repeating the title over and over in my head trying to wrap my brain around it.  It didn't (and still doesn't)  make much sense to me.  Maybe if I'd listen to the records or did any type of research, it would.  The album cover is the only thing that's really stuck with me.  I only now realized it's a small segment of a larger painting by Raphael.  I always thought it was a person bending over after having ben set on fire.  I was clearly wrong.

Anyhoo, all you GNR fans playing along are running low on available content.  "Appetite for Destruction" expired four years ago.  "GNR Lies," three years ago.  I haven't heard "Chinese Democracy" (Exp. '28) but from the few reviews I read after its release I can't imagine I'm missing out.  I suggest you consider this a prime opportunity to replace GNR with a new, relevant band/record from the past twenty years.

*I'm starting to realize how truly uninformative my blog can be at times.

You've crapped out, Rush - Roll The Bones

Released September 3, 1991 on Anthem/Atlantic

I'm a few days late, but as of Saturday Rush's 14th studio album "Roll the Bones" has expired.  My uncle introduced my cousin and I to this band when we were kids.  I spent the next several years collecting their music.  Every time I'd walk into a music store I'd head straight for the "R" section.  I still remember being in the New Orleans Riverwalk Mall and coming across "Caress of Steel" on CD*.  I'd never heard of it and felt like I'd unearthed a secret bootleg recording.

I've probably got more memories tied to this band than any other.  19 studio albums makes that an easy title to hold.  One of my favorites is when the local classic rock station announced they'd be playing the yet-to-be-released "Counterparts" album in its entirety beginning at midnight.  I stayed up super late, sat in the corner of my room and recorded the whole thing on cassette.

I'll also never forget the summer my cousin and I (with the help of my aunt) painted two large murals in their church's game room.  James did an amazing job recreating the "Grace Under Pressure" cover while I painted the "Signals" cover.**  Both were badass, both have been painted over since.  Why did it happen?  Because it happened.

I'll be honest, though I do love "Roll the Bones" it's not in my top five Rush albums.  It hasn't gotten a lot of play in recent years, so it will most likely be a while before I really start to miss it.  In the meantime I'll be listening to their last five albums...  Well, I'll at least be listening to "Counterparts."

*"Lakeside Park" is one of my favorite tunes of theirs.

**I hid my initials on the face of the hydrant.

Even Superman gets old, Spin Doctors - Pocket Full of Kryptonite

Released August 20, 1991 on Epic

I'm a little late getting to this, but as of a week and a half ago, Spin Doctor's "Pocket Full of Kryptonite" has expired.

I have two small memories surrounding this album.  The first is listening to "Two Princes" while riding my bike in circles on my friend's driveway, waiting for him to come out and play.  The second is less of a memory and more of a stupid habit.  To this day, if someone asks me what time it is, I'm 40% likely to respond with "4:30.  It's not late, it's early."*  This is a lyric from, I believe, "What Time is It?"  Track 2 on "PFoK." 

This was their debut and most successful release going five times platinum.  If you absolutely must listen to the Spin Doctors, they've still got four studio albums that will remain accessible until 2014 when "Turn it Upside Down" gets the axe.  Or, you can just catch their contribution to the opening credits of Spin City in reruns.

A couple interesting facts I learned about tSD's from Wikipedia is that they are good friends with the band Blues Traveler, even sharing members in the beginning.  Also, singer Chris Barron lost his voice due to a rare acute form of vocal cord paralysis that severely affected his ability to talk.  He was told he had a 50-50 chance of ever talking or singing normally again.  Spoiler alert, he can talk and sing normally.


*100% if you ask me at 4:30

Time's run out, Pearl Jam - Ten



Released August 27, 1991 on Epic

Most of the records I've blogged about prior to today remind me of my time in the fifth grade.  Pearl Jam's "Ten", however, has sixth grade written all over it.

I remember standing at the bus stop one morning with a girl who had just recently purchased Pearl Jam's debut album.  She yapped and yapped about it with such passion, convinced that it was the greatest music ever recorded.  I was a bit skeptical, but this girl was way cooler than I was and the fact that she was speaking to me about anything was a pretty big deal, so I listened.

Eventually I did buy the tape.*  And in no time I was totally on board with the rest of the world.  In the beginning, there was some question within the music community about whether or not PJ should be considered true "grunge."  I wasn't aware of any of this at the time, so it had no effect on me, but had I been, there's a good chance I'd have a different opinion about it today.** 

"Ten" eventually fell out of my regular rotation as I got more and more new music.  About three years ago I found a copy on CD in the dollar bin and picked it up to replace the one I'd lost fifteen years prior.  And you know what?  I couldn't tell you where that CD is today.  I think I bought it purely for sentimental reasons, but the reality is I'd moved on. 

The only other Pearl Jam record I ever owned was "Vs."  I listened to it once and hated it immediately.  The next day I gave it to my younger friend who lived down the street.  I regret my behavior that day.  I'm a lot better about giving music an honest, fair chance, ESPECIALLY music from an already established band/artist.  I know now that music can take hold and grow if given a shot.  And yet, I never did listen to "Vs." again.

* I say "bought", but odds are it was given to me as a birthday or Christmas gift.  Oh, and I'm 90% certain it was on cassette tape and not CD.

**Just to be clear, I think this is a fantastic record.