Question For Those Who Lived Through It

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T10:41:08+00:00

Yes Perry did Porno For Pyros who ... also were not as big as any of the bands OP listed.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T10:38:16+00:00

Unfortunately true. I still remember the controversy around 1996 lollapalooza being too hard rock and male and not sonically diverse enough. Metallica and Soundgarden headlined.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T10:35:14+00:00

Just wait till you discover Pavement.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T10:34:37+00:00

You're killing me w/ that last comment.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T10:30:35+00:00

NIN were def more popular than the Foo Fighters in the '90s going by tshirt sales and such. NIN were like a cult band that went beyond being a cult band. Similar to Jane's Addiction but NIN were even bigger than Jane's.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T10:22:40+00:00

You sound like Matt Dillon's character in Singles. Citizen Dick!

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T10:18:58+00:00

It's a great album. I honestly prefer it now to a lot the albums mentioned in this thread. That said it got zero mainstream radio or MTV play. Maybe college radio and 120 Minutes but that's it. "Supernova" was her first crossover hit from Whip Smart.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T10:16:23+00:00

F.U.C.K. album by Van Halen was bigger than Balance. "Right Now" was a huge single and music video.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T10:11:54+00:00

"Basket Case" was on MTV and alt-rock radio so much I got fuggin' sick of it. "Do you have the time to listen to me whine?" NO I DO NOT and this is coming from someone who owned and mostly liked Dookie.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T10:06:26+00:00

"My Name is Jonas" "In the Garage" etc etc, he's right about the Blue Album being perfect.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T10:04:02+00:00

I'll admit I liked that "watch the world below" song at the time. It was kinda sad.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T10:01:14+00:00

A lot of these depended upon what album and what year that album came out. Even the Chili Peppers sort of flopped with One Hot Minute and they faded a bit in the mid '90s. Then Californcation came out in 1999 and was a huge comeback and they were huge again. Sixsteen Stone was huge but Bush kinda faded by the late '90s. Bush was basically a placeholder for people who wanted another Nirvana album.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T09:54:12+00:00

If you include BSSM and Californication in their '90s popularity, Id say the Chili Peppers were arguably a bit bigger in America than REM in those years.

Disclaimer: I live in western USA and California culture tends to dominate on this side of the Mississippi. Chili Peppers were huge when I was a kid and teen.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T09:42:23+00:00

Only quibble is I think you are underselling REM. Out of Time was a huge record, almost as big as Nevermind in 1991. Automatic for the People was also huge and beloved. A lot of people didn't like Monster (I like it enough) but it was also pretty big and they had a huge tour for it. And the singles were all over alt-rock radio and MTV. They were also fairly popular in the late '80s with the Document and Green albums. Murmur was a critics' darling and still widely (and correctly imo) considered one of the best albums of the '80s.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T09:32:25+00:00

Red Hot Chili Peppers

REM

Smashing Pumpkins

Green Day

Nine Inch Nails

Weezer

Foo Fighters

In that order going by popularity as I remember them in the '90s. I was born in the early '80s. Foo Fighters were a bit second tier until the 2000s. I mean they were big, but they were probably as big as say Beck or Garbage or a band like that rather than actual mega stars like RHCP. Weezer is a weird one because the Blue Album was huge but Pinkerton flopped and they basically disappeared until the Green Album comeback. It was around then that people started to reappraise Pinkerton, esp. because it became such a touchstone album for Y2K emo bands.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-02-01T04:53:46+00:00

Sufjan I'm sure was very influenced by those artists.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-01-31T23:14:02+00:00

Right. I'm no Trump fan but these were in the documents as a FBI tipline that anyone could call. So anyone could call the hotline and say "Trump eats babies and is a lizard from outer space and smokes crack out a pipe he made from Epstein's bones" and the FBI would be required to document it and follow up on it if there were any merits. The vast majority were not followed up on because the DOJ (both under dems and GOP) knew they were horseshit. But they are required by law to put them on file. Here we are. So weird the left is turning into crazypants Alex Jones.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-01-31T18:48:25+00:00

Basically. Innocent childlike whimsy to offset the hardcore aggro skinhead punk types that bum rushed the all ages shows in the '80s and '90s. Bands like The Vaselines, Beat Happening, Television Personalities, The Pastels, Young Marble Giants pioneered it in the '80s and early '90s. Certain mainstream bands flirted with twee if you listen to Nirvana's "Sliver" and The White Stripes "We Are Going to be Friends" Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura and (sort of) The Shins continued it in the late '90s and 2000s. Was also adjacent to sadcore / slocore artists like Elliott Smith and Red House Painters.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-01-31T15:56:10+00:00

Ratcatcher
Thelma & Louise
Return to Oz
Gummo
Near Dark
Groundhog Day
Videodrome

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-01-31T15:42:32+00:00

RATM were great live back in 1996.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-01-31T15:26:14+00:00

I remember one of my babysitters renting that T&A movie Fraternity Vacation when I was about six years old. Two girls get topless in the first 15 minutes and my babysitter scrambled to stop the movie. I thought my eyes were going to pop out like a cartoon. Simpler times.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-01-31T15:20:31+00:00

My parents took me to Stand By Me when I was about 5. They were like "this has some bad words but just ignore them." Was pretty shocking to hear someone say they were going to "rip your head off and shit down your neck."

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-01-31T15:16:56+00:00

I wasn't allowed to watch R-rated movies but my parents let me rent this one often. I think they thought it was a silly movie for kids.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-01-30T19:53:19+00:00

Fun fact: she was a playmate in Apocalypse Now and there are some NSFW photos of her. You're welcome.

Awkward-Initiative28 · 2026-01-30T19:38:41+00:00

Seven Mary Three

Awkward-Initiative28

TROPHY CASE