Digital Underground - Sex Packets

Today we have another guest post from my buddy Herc who is helping me infuse a little bit of the 90's into Martin's View. As before, I will sprinkle in my own comments in italics with an MM: label. Take it away, Herc...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Depeche Mode - Violator

This is the first of, hopefully, a number of guest blog posts written by my online buddy Herc (the link to his blog can be found along the right column and also here). He does a lot of music-based posts as well so you should check him out. I'll sprinkle my own comments in via italics.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Today (March 19th) marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Violator, Depeche Mode's seventh studio album. This 1990 release spent seventy-four weeks on the US Album Chart, peaking at number 7. Attesting to the band's global popularity, Violator made the Top 5 in the UK, Austria, Canada, Germany and Switzerland while topping the chart in France.

Shania Twain - Come On Over

Happy forty-seventh birthday today (August 28th) to Eilleen Regina Edwards, known better to music fans as the Canadian country pop singer Shania Twain.

On November 4, 1997, she released Come On Over, her third studio album. This album, co-produced by her husband at the time "Mutt" Lange, went multi-Platinum the world over and has sold more than 40 million copies to date.

Happy Birthday, Prince

Happy fifty-fourth birthday today (June 7th) to the one and only Prince Rogers Nelson.

Four years ago, I wrote a blog post all about how much I am a fan of Prince's music (click here to read that one...I'll wait). Since that post, his representation in my iTunes library has grown to over 430 songs and over 35 albums. That does seem like quite a lot; it is in fact just a hair under 2% of my whole music library. Still, he is by far the most represented artist in my music collection.

Mermaids (soundtrack)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday. Today (May 20th) is also the sixty-sixth birthday of an American singer, actress, television star, director and winner of an Oscar, Grammy and Emmy. Of course, I can only be talking about the one and only Cher.

In December of 1990, Cher starred along side Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci in the comedy-drama Mermaids. The story is about fifteen year old Charlotte Flax (Ryder) who lives with her eccentric mother (Cher) and younger sister Kate (Ricci). The film did well at the box office, clearing over $110 million.

Green Day - Dookie

Happy fortieth birthday today (February 17th) to American rocker Billy Joe Armstrong.

In February of 1994, the California rock band Green Day released their third studio album Dookie. This was a breakthrough record for them, their first on a major label, as it launched the band into worldwide fame and sales. The album reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 200, number 1 in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, number 4 in Germany and number 13 in the UK. It has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and it won the band the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1995.

Matchbox Twenty - Yourself Or Someone Like You

Happy Valentines Day and happy fortieth birthday today (February 14th) to American rock singer and songwriter Rob Thomas.

In the Fall of 1996, Thomas and his band Matchbox Twenty released their debut album Yourself or Someone Like You. The record was a huge seller, going multi-Platinum in a number of countries. It reached number 50 on the UK charts, number 11 on the Canadian charts, number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 200, and number 1 in Australia. It also was nominated for a number of awards including a Grammy and two American Music Awards.

Sheryl Crow - Tuesday Night Music Club

Happy fiftieth birthday today (February 11th) to American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow.

Born and raised in Kennett, Missouri, Crow was exposed to music at a very young age. Her father played the trumpet and her mother taught piano. After graduating high school, she enrolled in the University of Missouri and got her degree in Music Composition, Performance and Education. She worked as an elementary school music teacher by day and performed in bands on weekends. From 1987 to 1989, she toured as a backup vocalist for Michael Jackson on his Bad world tour. She also did some backup work for other artists.

Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time

Happy thirtieth birthday today (December 2nd) to singer/dancer/actress/former Mouseketeer Britney Spears.

As the decade of the 90’s was closing out, Britney Spears released her debut album …Baby One More Time in 1999 and helped reignite a teen-pop phase on the charts. The record sold like gangbusters the world over; in the US and Canada it achieved Diamond status while in other countries it went Platinum. Chart-wise, it reached number 1 in the US, Canada, Germany and Switzerland, and number 2 in Austria and the UK. It also generated five singles to score well on the charts.

En Vogue - Born to Sing

Happy forty-third birthday today (November 28th) to singer Dawn Robinson.

In the summer of 1989, Robinson along with Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones and Terry Ellis came together in Oakland, California, to form the modern day R&B girl-group En Vogue. Combining strong voices with beauty and intelligence, the ladies made a strong debut with their 1990 album Born to Sing which reached number 21 on the US Billboard 200 and number 3 on the Billboard R&B charts. Within six months, the album had sold over one million copies in the US alone.

Vanilla Ice - To The Extreme

Happy Halloween! Time for some tricks and treats. Today also happens to be the birthday of rapper/extreme athlete/home-improvement TV personality Rob Van Winkle, known by the stage name of “Vanilla Ice”.

Ice’s debut album was first released in 1989 on Iciban Records, an independent record label, under the title Hooked. He was then signed to SBK Records who reissued the album under its current title of To the Extreme. Despite mixed reviews, the record did extremely well. It spent sixteen weeks at the number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 200 album charts, ranked at number 20 on that same charts end of the decade (1990-1999) list of sellers.

Pokémon: The First Movie (soundtrack)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday.

Just around Thanksgiving time in 1999, my four year old son had me take him to the movies to see Pokémon: The First Movie. He had recently become a fan of the syndicated television show and was getting into playing the video game on his Gameboy Color. Of course, the studio added the incentive of free exclusive Pokémon trading cards with each ticket purchase to encourage kids to see the film. Having watched the program and played the game myself, I was open to an afternoon of animated distraction (and it got him a second card as well).

Shortly after that he learned that the soundtrack CD was released and included a mail-in offer for an exclusive trading card. So, that Christmas he received the CD as a present. He was much more interested in the card than the music. Still, we would take the CD in the car with us for trips since we deemed it kid friendly pop music. Who knew I would be the one to enjoy the disk more than he?

Prince - Graffiti Bridge (soundtrack)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday.

In 1990, Prince wrote, directed and starred Graffiti Bridge, the sequel to 1984's highly successful Purple Rain. The film follows the Kid (Prince) who is now a performer at his own club Glam Slam. Morris Day also returns, playing himself, as the owner of a number of clubs including Pandemonium. However, rivalry still exists between the two which culminates in a showdown between the venues. The film also stars Ingrid Chavez, Jerome Benton, the Time, Mavis Staples, Tevin Campbell, and George Clinton.

Critically, the film was panned. At the box office, it barely managed to recoup the original production cost.

The double-record soundtrack album, however, did fairly well. I went Gold in the US, the UK and Canada. It reached number 6 on the US Billboard 200 chart and the US R&B Albums chart, number 4 in Germany and the Netherlands, number 3 in New Zealand, number 2 in Norway and Switzerland, and number 1 in the UK. It also produced a number of hit singles for Prince and the other artists on the record.

Prince - Girl 6 (soundtrack)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday.

In 1996, American film director Spike Lee released Girl 6, the comedic story of an African-American phone sex operator. The film starred Teherasa Randle, Spike Lee and a cast of cameos including Madonna, Richard Belzer, Coati Mundi, Naomi Campbell and Quentin Tarantino.

For the soundtrack album, Spike Lee tapped Prince for contributions. What resulted was a mix of previously released material from the Prince family of stars as well as a few original tracks. Unless otherwise mentioned, the tracks were performed by Prince.

Indigo Girls - Nomads Indians Saints

Today marks the 21st wedding anniversary for my wife Terri and me. When I asked her to suggest an album for me to review, she chose the Indigo Girl’s third studio album Nomads Indians Saints. Not so coincidentally it came out in 1990, the year we were married. So, I’m dedicating this album review to her and our marriage.

The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock duo hailing from the Atlanta, Georgia, area. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers began performing as students at Emory University before getting a contract with CBS Records. Both women identify themselves as lesbians, though they are not a couple. They are very active in causes both political and environmental.