1996 & 10-Year-Anniversaries

Quasimoto - Rappcats pt. 3 - The Further Adventures of Lord Quas (Stones Throw 2005)


Chin Up Chin Up - Trophy's for Hire - Slaying Since 1996 (Suicide Squeeze 2006)


Savath + Savalas - Rolls and Waves of Ignorance - The Rolls and Waves EP (Hefty 2002)


Apparently 1996 was a hell of a year for new record labels. Music was somewhat in a transition period as grunge’s reign over alternative rock was waning, the division between mainstream and underground rap began to significantly widen, the new wave of teeny bopper pop stars began to emerge, electronic music began to feel the effect of exponentially advancing equipment, post-rock and fringe rock were taking hold of college radio, punk was dissolving into pop-punk, emo and hardcore and indie-rock was greatly feeling the effect of wider exposure thanks to the quickly developing interweb and DIY ‘zines.

Other 1996 musical facts

Top 5 Billboard albums: Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill, Mariah Carey – Daydream, Celine Dion – Falling into You, Waiting to Exhale Soundtrack, The Fugees – The Score

Notable albums released beneath the mainstream: DJ Shadow – Endtroducing, Dr. Octagon – Dr. Octagon, A Tribe Called Quest – Beats, Rhymes and Life, Tortoise – Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Beck – Odelay, Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup, Ghostface Killah – Ironman, The Olivia Tremor Control – Dusk at Cubist Castle, Aphex Twin – Richard D. James, Ben Folds Five – Ben Folds Five, Weezer – Pinkerton, Jamiroquai – Travelling Without Moving, De La Soul – Stakes is High, Tricky – Pre-Millineial Tension, The Roots – Illadelph Halflife, Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister, Outkast – ATLiens and probably a whole bunch more that I missed.

Other random and funny 1996 music events I found on Wikipedia:
-January 16 - Jamaican authorities open fire on Jimmy Buffett's seaplane, mistaking it for a drug trafficker's plane. U2 singer Bono was also on the plane, but neither singer was injured.
-January 18 - Lisa Marie Presley files for divorce from Michael Jackson.
-January 29 - Garth Brooks refuses to accept his American Music Award for "Favorite Overall Artist". Brooks says that Hootie and the Blowfish had done more for music that year than he did. (hahahahhahaha)
-March 28 - Phil Collins announces that he is leaving Genesis to focus on his solo career.
-April 3 - M.C. Hammer files for bankruptcy.
-May 25 - Brad Nowell lead singer of the band Sublime is found dead of a heroin overdose in his San Francisco motel room. (not funny)
-August 6 - The Ramones play their last ever show at Lollapalooza.
-September 7 - Rapper Tupac Shakur is shot 4 times in Las Vegas, Nevada while leaving the MGM Grand hotel, after seeing the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon boxing match, in what is apparently a drive-by shooting. (not funny either)
-Jay-Z's musical career begins
-Arrested Development disband
-Jawbreaker split.
-The Pogues disband.

More importantly, three amazing and influential labels formed and are now celebrating their 10-year-anniversary with career-spanning compilations. L.A.’s Stones Throw, Seattle’s Suicide Squeeze and Chicago’s Hefty Records all set out for world domination with a cast of talented young artists and the motivation to put their personal stamp on the current music scene; needless to say all three are widely successful now, but it surely took a minute to get the ball rolling. Here are three brief bios of each for your reading pleasure, and if you are not yet turned on to any of the three, I strongly recommend each one.

Stones Throw Records – Los Angeles, CA – Founded by Peanut Butter Wolf
Stones Throw Records, started by beat maker/producer/DJ extraordinaire Peanut Butter Wolf, was created in 1996 as an outlet for releasing his own material after he realized that he got as much enjoyment promoting the music as he did creating it. It was also a way to release the material he produced with his late friend, emcee Charizma (who passed away in 1993) after a failed stint on Hollywood Basics (hip-hop subsidiary of Walt Disney). Stones Throw started by releasing 12"s, 7"s and instrumentals before breaking on to the scene hard in the late 90s. Within 4 years (1998-2002) and the release of long players by Peanut Butter Wolf (My Vinyl Weighs a Ton - 1998, Peanut Butter Wolf's Jukebox 45s - 2002), Lootpack (Soundpieces: Da Antidote - 1999), Quasimoto (The Unseen - 2000), Breakestra (The Live Mix Part 2}, Yesterdays New Quintet (Angels Without Edges - 2001) and a fantastic funk compilation called The Funky 16 Corners (2001) along with singles from the rest of their core line-up (MED/Medaphoar, Dudley Perkins, Wildchild), Stones Throw was able to solidify their position as the essential independent hip-hop label on the west coast. The label would not have earned nearly as much popularity without beatmaker/producer/emcee/DJ Madlib, ST's flagship artist. He is not only responsible for probably about 75% of the label's music and production, but is actually 40% of the label's artists himself, just under different monikers. His unparalleled innovation musically along with PBW's creative knack for promotion and presentation has made Stones Throw maybe the most important independent label of recent times and moving strong into the future. Their second generation of artists is currently making noteworthy noise including new music from Georgia Anne Muldrow, Aloe Blacc, Oh No and Koushik.

Suicide Squeeze Records – Seattle, WA – Founded by David Dickenson
Like most record labels, Suicide Squeeze began as a hobby of David Dickenson who set out to release ‘top caliber records with a punk rock soul.’ Located in Seattle, SS began in the waning moments of the grunge hype and in the shadow of burgeoning Sub Pop; needless to say, they were the underdogs. Grunge’s punk attitude and soft/loud counterbalance along with a heavy post-punk influence can be easily heard on a lot of the bands early releases, including music from 764-Hero, Modest Mouse and The Aisler Set. At the turn of the millennium, SS had become a full-time business and the roster became increasingly eclectic, including notable additions Pedro the Lion, Minus the Bear, Hella and the Six Parts Seven. Maybe most importantly, friends were turning to SS to release limited edition EPs and 7 inches which brought a lot of attention to the label. Elliot Smith, The Melvins, The Constatines, The Black Heart Procession, Les Savy Fav, Of Montreal, Iron and Wine, The Unicorns and Black Mountain have all turned to Dickenson to release music through Seattle’s quickly expanding label. Today’s roster is about as diverse as it gets in indie-rock with albums being released by art-poppers Chin Up Chin Up, bedroom musicians Metal Hearts, the Twiggy Ramirez/Zach Hill collaboration Goon Moon, the anti-angular We Ragazzi and the urgent art-punk of Hint Hint. Predictability has never been a word associated with Suicide Squeeze, but quality always has been.

Hefty Records – Chicago, IL – Founded by John Hughes III
Ok, so I cheated just a little bit because Hefty was actually started in 1995, but their 10-year-anniversary comp was just released recently, so they count. Started by John Hughes III, who is actually the son of the film director responsible for the 80s classics ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ and ‘The Breakfast Club,’ Hefty was established in an attempt to release music drawing the line between yesterday’s jazz, soul and funk scene and today’s electronic scene. Heavily influenced by the editing rooms he spent time in with his father, Hughes’ natural inclination directed him towards music heavy on the collage aspect, most notably electronic and experimental music. Hefty releases have ridden the wide line between post-rock, IDM, jazz, hip-hop and down-tempo; almost every release seems to touch on each of the genres, but none can be easily describe by just one of them. Official Hefty artists include Hughes’ soul-jazz outfit Slicker, the laptop soul duo Telefon Tel Aviv, electro-baroque exes L’Altra and jazz legend Phil Ranelin among others. Another fruitful collaboration of the label is with Guillermo Scott Herren and his Eastern Developments label, which Hefty kindly distributes (and rightfully so since their musical output is so similar. The similar-minded Herren has also released music under his folktronica moniker Savath + Savalas through Hefty. Hughes’ music of choice commands the listener to be challenged and see the similarities between seemingly unconnected genres; and we are all better listeners because of it.