punk in ‘98

The September issue of Alternative Press has a fantastic piece by Scott Heisel entitled “The Class of ‘98: A Look Back at 10 Albums That Shaped the Punk of Today.” The other day Alex and I went through the list, and kept reminiscing over how great some of these albums are, and how much they meant to us at the time (I was 20 in 1998; Alex was 2). Most of the albums are available on eMusic, and I’d like to call out a few in particular.

First, the list:

Alkaline Trio, Goddamnit
At the Drive-In, In/Casino/Out
Braid, Frame & Canvas
Catch 22, Keasbey Nights
Chamberlain, The Moon My Saddle
Far, Water & Solutions
Hum, Downward Is Heavenward
Jets to Brazil, Orange Rhyming Dictionary
Kid Dynamite, Kid Dynamite
Zao, Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest

All of those albums were released in 1998, and all have had an impact on the punk, emo and hardcore that has become significantly more prominent since (some for good, some for bad). Still, by and large this is an excellent list of records.

Braid’s Frame & Canvas is easily my favorite of the ten listed above, and for a good couple years I didn’t listen to much aside that album. “A Dozen Roses” from that album was the pinnacle of that era, right up there with anything from Promise Ring’s Nothing Feels Good (released in 1997, or else it would absolutely make this list)(also shame on all of us for not talking about that record every single day — it’s amazing, perfect even) and anything else from that moment when emo began to crossover from the harder sounds of DC/Chicago/San Diego in the early ’90s to the poppier sound that dominates it now. There’s also “Never Will Come For Us” and “The New Nathan Detroits” and so many other songs by Bob Nanna and Chris Broach that were era-defining, and still sound perfect today.

A distant second is At the Drive-In’s In/Casino/Out, the band’s second album, a more pure expression of what would make them (almost) famous with Relationship of Command (and which they would perfect with the 1999 EP Vaya, still their best moment, track for track). Cedric and Omar rule on “Pickpocket” (more Fugazi than even Fugazi ever got) and “Napoleon’s Solo.” So good.

And who could forget Orange Rhyming Dictionary? Even as an avowed Jawbreaker agnostic, Blake’s next band, Jets to Brazil, was impossible to hate, even for me. With his Joe Strummer-voice and such self-assured songs about resignation that always seemed to have the perfect chord change, Blake Schwarezenbach did the impossible and failed to disappoint one of the most devoted (and fickle) fanbases the indie world knew. (Something J. Robbins could not duplicate when Jawbox became Burning Airlines — sadface.) Start with “Resistance Is Futile.”

One album I was pleasantly surprised to see was Chamberlain’s The Moon My Saddle, an album I vaguely remember hearing back in the day, but hadn’t heard since. Alex is an avowed fan, and listening to it today I was struck by how mainstream it sounds. Anyone trying to push the Hold Steady as the new Springsteen should spend an hour with Chamberlain instead. Seriously, it’s remarkable just how classic-rock radio ready this album is, especially considering the scene they came from (and what their earlier albums sound like).

Alkaline Trio, Kid Dynamite and Far I never cared for; Catch 22 and Zao I actively disliked. And of course Hum’s Downward Is Heavenward was a great one, albeit one of the most ubiquitous dollar-bin albums of the late-’90s (RCA thought they were gonna have another You’d Prefer an Astronaut, but it was not to be).

My list would look a bit different, naturally. Unwound’s Challenge for a Civilized Society (I mean, “The World Is Flat,” “What Went Wrong,” you can’t deny how fucking amazing that record is), Vehicle Birth’s Tragedy (which I wrote about here, and still ranks as one of my favorite all-time albums), Shellac’s Terraform (which I know is maligned but people are stupid) and maybe even June of 44’s Four Great Points (admittedly not their best moment). Oh! And Don Caballero’s What Burns Never Returns (considering Battles, an apt choice!) and Monorchid’s Who Put Out the Fire and Seam’s The Pace Is Glacial.

Of course these albums make a list like this in an alternative universe where popular punk and emo became simultaneously more minimal and denser, where dudes who shout nonsense over really taut guitar lines and adventurous bass lines became the norm. Obviously this is not our world — not even in the indie or noise scenes — but maybe it will be again, hopefully? We’re doing our part to bring it back, anyway.

Regardless, the AP list is a great one, and I’m all for looking back. If this whole genre is new to you, don’t be afraid to dip in a toe or ten! And for those of you who loved this scene, let’s all reminisce below. And buy some more of these records, too!