Shortly after British rock band Suede released their debut album in the US in 1993, they encountered a trademark issue. An American lounge singer named Suzanne deBronkart had been performing under the name “Suede” since the 1980s and had already trademarked the name for musical performances in the US. She sued for trademark violation.
Two years later, the British band reluctantly agreed to use the name “The London Suede” for all their US releases and performances. This compromise allowed them to maintain their original name in other parts of the world while respecting the existing trademark in the United States.
This name change applied to all their album releases, merchandise, and concert promotions in the US throughout their career.
(The London) Suede’s Brett Anderson was born on this date in 1967. A handful of the band’s tracks are included on today’s playlist.
The year 1998 was a watershed moment for popular music. Emerging from the stylistic chaos and radical experimentation of the early/mid ’90s, the music of 1998 represented a culmination of daring artistic visions cohering into some of the most innovative, insightful, and flat-out infectious songs of the decade. Across genres, it was a year that shattered boundaries and solidified legends – a prolific melting pot of game-changing sounds destined to endure.
One of the standout tracks of the year was The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” a song that fused rock with sweeping orchestral arrangements, creating an anthemic yet melancholic sound that resonated with a wide audience. Its poignant lyrics and grandiose strings captured a sense of wistful longing and existential reflection that felt emblematic of the complicated late ’90s zeitgeist. Similarly, Radiohead’s “Karma Police” continued to explore the darker, more unsettling side of human experience with its haunting melody and cryptic lyrics, solidifying the band’s status as one of alt-rock’s most vital and cerebral forces.
The late ’90s also saw electronic music rapidly integrating into the mainstream pop landscape in visionary ways. Fatboy Slim’s “The Rockafeller Skank” was an explosively funky example of this trend, with its gritty, sample-heavy production and addictive dancefloor-ready beats. Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You” took a more soulful tack, combining classic house rhythms with a simple yet instantly catchy vocal hook to create an enduring dancefloor classic still beloved today. And the Norman Cook remix of Cornershop’s “Brimful of Asha” ingeniously blended Indian folk sounds with UK club vibes for a globe-spanning hit. For seekers of more atmospheric, boundary-pushing electronica, Massive Attack’s “Teardrop” provided a hypnotic, cinematic soundscape. This fertile era helped lay the groundwork for electronic music’s dominance in pop in the coming decades.
Hip-hop and R&B asserted their cultural force in 1998 as well, with few tracks as powerful as Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” – an undeniable feminist anthem of self-respect powered by Hill’s dexterous rapping and soulful crooning. Her ability to fuse hip-hop bravado with uplifting, socially-conscious lyricism over neo-soul grooves earned her massive critical acclaim. Similarly future-leaning was Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody?” which saw the singer’s sultry vocals gliding over Timbaland’s percussive, synthetic production for an alluringly sleek sound that felt years ahead of its time.
While maintaining their commercial clout, pop’s biggest icons weren’t afraid to musically reinvent themselves in 1998. Madonna’s “Ray of Light” saw the Queen of Pop shedding her known persona for a more spiritually inquisitive stance matched by the song’s trance-inflected electronica textures. And Janet Jackson’s “Together Again” honored loved ones lost to AIDS with its uplifting, gospel-tinged dance-pop sound tempering heavier subject matter.
In retrospect, the diverse brilliance of 1998’s musical landscape feels almost overwhelming. From fist-pumping dancefloor anthems to raw outpourings of soul, from guitar-driven songs of profundity to mindblowing productions that rewrote pop’s boundaries – the year’s music seamlessly bridged the underground and the mainstream in a way that felt thrillingly new. It was the sound of artists across genres at their hungriest and most inspired, creating the shared musical memories that still bond generations of fans together in nostalgic reverie decades later. For many, 1998 was simply the rarest of cultural moments – when everything intersected with perfection.
Buffaloes should have the right to choice. Their choice has no direct effect on you.
Buffaloes can use the bathroom that corresponds with their identity. The bathroom they choose has no direct effect on you.
Buffaloes should be free to marry who they choose, provided that other party consents. Who they marry has no direct effect on you.
Buffaloes should be able to go to the mall or the multiplex to see Barbie-Q without fearing gun violence.
Buffaloes should be free to move about where they choose and not be confined to one geographical location.
There should be no restrictions placed on the book a buffalo may choose to read or eat. A buffalo learning about something has no direct effect on you.
Buffaloes can dress and wear their hair as they choose, even at school. How a buffalo styles their hair has no direct effect on you.
Celebrating Neneh Cherry’s birthday today on the playlist.
“One minute you’re just cooking up someone’s order of French fries and the next minute you’re laying on the floor and they blow your brains out.”- The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne reflecting on being held up at gunpoint when he was a fry cook at Long John Silver’s
The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne on this date in 1961. A few of his band’s cuts are included on today’s playlist.
Along with a handful of other folks, I was invited to a friend’s home today for a celebration, which I can only assume is in honor of the birthday today of Nicolas Godin of the French duo Air. Nicolas provides vocals and plays keyboards, bass, and guitar, or should I say Air guitar. Man, I’m funny!
Lots of songs from The Smiths and their lead singer Morrissey on today playlist.
Today is Morrissey’s birthday, and I feel the need to mention that to me and many many others, he now comes across as a repugnant person who shares his abhorrent thoughts. He may have always held repellent views, but as opposed to the means during the heyday of his career, it is now easier for his offensive quotes to go viral. Before he utters his next racist pronouncement, he should heed the advice in the first line of the chorus of “How Soon Is Now?:” “You shut your mouth.”
