END OF A CENTURY, NOTHING SPECIAL....

As the calendar flipped over into 1999, the last year of the millennium (actually, 2000 was officially the last year, as a thousand years must pass, and there wasn't a year zero), and i was feeling pretty lonely in my bedsit, and really not enjoying night shifts on my own. The only thing that kept me going was music, and writing my Review section for the local newspaper, so they stopped printing it without any warning, it was a bit of a knock. So i plunged even deeper into my ever-growing record collection. The mainstream music scene had by now been almost swamped by identikit dance music, boy bands, stage school singers, and middle of the road crap. There was so much of it i found myself starting to like some of it - i had the two latest NOW albums - which was a disturbing development! I needed a jolt out of this, and it came in the form of a surprise No. 1 hit by U.S Punk band The Offspring. They had been one of the bands who were my introduction to Punk back in '94/95, but had been very quiet since, so when "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) - a tongue-in-cheek attack on white kids trying to dress and act as if they were black, complete with a goofy video (my mate John was the spitting image of the white guy, for which he was mercilessly mocked) - entered the charts at the top spot, it was a sign that alternative music was not yet beaten back. True, it was a pop song in punk clothing, as was the No. 2 follow up "Why Don't You Get A Job?" (a blatant steal of The Beatles "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"), but it pissed on the pop rubbish clogging up the charts from a great height. The album both singles came from - Americana - had some songs that were more true to the Punk ethos, such as the tale of dead end kids in poor areas, "The Kids Aren't Alright", which was another hit later in the year, reaching No.11.  Other alternative hits still peppered the airwaves and charts - Idlewild had their first Top 40 entry with "When I Argue I See Shapes" in February, and more hits followed from Mercury Rev, Placebo, Super Furry Animals, Mansun, Blur, and a one-off freak hit from U.S cult lo-fi band Sebadoh with "Flame", who gave a spectacularly moody and dissonant performance of the single on TOTP.

It was good to see my bands doing well, and Super Furry Animals scoring their biggest hit, the calypso-flavoured "Northern Lites" (complete with steel drums and a brass section) was almost like a personal triumph. I was less enamoured with the parent album, Guerrilla, which was much more experimental than anything they'd done before: drum and bass, glitchy techno, and more electronic sounds replaced the eccentric psych-indie of their first two long players, with some songs seemingly going round in circles. There were a few songs that were more in keeping with their older work, such as the punk-pop of "Do Or Die", the riotous "The Teacher", and "Night Vision", the latter of which collapsed thrillingly into sub-bass and electronically processed vocals. The beautiful harmonies, acoustic textures and synth warbles of "Fire In My Heart" made it a highlight for me. The more out-there parts of the album were a sign of things to come from the band, and it took me a few years to fully appreciate them. Another album that i found a let down at the time was Catatonia's third, Equally Cursed And Blessed. I remember buying it on the day of release, excitedly rushing home to play it, and being somewhat dismayed. The band have since admitted it was "all over the place, stylistically", and it was something of an attempt to not repeat themselves after the huge success of International Velvet. To their credit, they didn't go chasing pop hits, and did what they felt like, and it's only now i'm older that the songs make sense. There were obvious standout indie hits on the album - the string-drenched country ballad and lead single "Dead From The Waist Down", (another Top 10 hit), the anti-showbiz homesick anthem "Londinium", with Cerys roaring "I come alive outside the M25!", and the disco-tinged "Karaoke Queen" (Cerys was quite a fan of the aforementioned entertainment). Elsewhere there was the crunching guitars of "Storm The Palace", harps and strings on "Bulimic Beats", beautiful balladry in "Nothing Hurts" and "Valerian", and the almost Tom Waits-like "Shoot The Messenger", a drunken bar room lament. The album closed with the soaring "Dazed, Beautiful And Bruised", a kiss-off to an abusive former lover. Catatonia were never a "sunny" band, and they always had varying shades of light and darkness in their songs, but at the time i found the album too grown up, too complex. It didn't stop me liking them, or watching them play a massive outdoor concert at Margam Country Park on tv, with some pride.

 Another dark album that i bought that year that i did like was 13 by Blur. Documenting frontman Damon Albarns' breakup with Elastica singer Justine Frischmann, it was a painfully honest soul-bearing record, especially on songs like the deceptively simple "No Distance Left To Run", the gospel tones of lead single "Tender", and the circular strumming of "1992". There were opposites to these songs in the Stooges-influenced full on freakout "Bugman", the satirical lo-fi thrash of "B.L.U.R.E.M.I", and the dubby electronica of "Battle". The whole album was more experimental than their previous work, having been produced and mixed by dance music pioneer William Orbit from band jam sessions. 

The highlight of the year for me though, and one that cheered me up considerably, was the surprise return of my all-time musical idols - Madness. They had been playing the occasional tour and Madstock concert since their reunion in 1992, but Suggs activities as a tv and radio presenter, plus his solo career, had meant that the band had been quiet for a while, and it did seem as if they might not appear again. So when they seemingly appeared out of nowhere with a new single, the storming classic pop of "Lovestruck", on an edition of TFI Friday that summer, i was over the moon. It's fair to say that no-one had expected any new material from the guys, so the announcement of a new album was a joyful event. "Lovestruck" became their first new song to enter the Top 10 since 1983, and with it they were back all over the airwaves and tv screens. A December tour was announced, which would be the first time i saw them since 1994. When their first new album since 1985, Wonderful, was released that November, it was warmly recieved, and made it to No. 17. By the time it was released i was back living at my parents house, bedsit life having become just too depressing, and my Mum shared in the excitement of new songs from the magnificent 7. I found the album to be a mixed bag, and although there were several classic additions to the bands' catalogue, a few songs seemed like they were trying too hard to sound contemporary. "Lovestruck", "Johnny The Horse", "4am", "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning", and "No Money" were all great in my opinion. Songs like "Going To The Top", "The Communicator", and "The Wizard" sounded like they were almost parodying themselves. It didn't matter though: they were back, and not just as a band touring the nostalgia circuit. 

I'd never been one for buying Soul or R&B, but when i heard Macy Gray sing "I Try", in her wounded, raspy but somehow still sweet voice, it awoke something in me. Her album, On How Life Is, was on my Christmas list that year, and the songs contained within - witty, sad, feisty, quirky, and influenced by classic soul and r&b, as well as hip-hop - stood out from the pack. As well as soulful ballads like the aforementioned "I Try" and "Still", there were the libidinous come-ons of "Caligula" and "Sex-O-Matic Venus Freak", tales of fantasising about killing her boyfriends boss ("I've Committed Murder"), and songs of self-affirmation ("A Moment To Myself"). 

As the year came to a close, and i got to see my idols in concert again, my mood had considerably lightened. There was even a great Christmas single out, and one that has remained a favourite: Tom Jones had released Reload, an album of duets, covering rock and pop songs, from classics to the present day, and featuring bands and singers from the current post-britpop crowd: Stereophonics, Space, The Cardigans, and my musical crush Cerys Matthews, on a cover of "Baby, It's Cold Outside". That, and a Millenial New Years Eve spent at Rock City, ended my year on an up note.