Best music of 1998

See “Best of 2008” for a general introduction.

As I wrote in my “Best of 2000” entry, you’ll see that as I move backward in time I am starting to run out of a good stock of records from these years that I have memories and opinions and any sort of knowledge or interest in. Like for 2000, I only have 31 albums on my longlist for 1998. Of these, I was into precisely one at the time – Garbage’s Version 2.0 (maybe The Cardigans – Gran Turismo too, but that could well have been the year after). I would have been aware of a few others, at least the singles on the radio, but that’s all. Everything else is retrospective!

There are a few classics from this year that I certainly recognise as such, albeit they’ve passed me by a little too much or just haven’t quite made the top cut. Or really, any of the long list could form a credible shortlist. Things like UNKLE’s Psyence Fiction, Elliot Smith’s XO, Botch’s American Nervoso, Hole’s Celebrity Skin, Beastie Boys’ Hello Nasty, Raised Fist’s debut Fuel, Fatboy Slim’s You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby, Massive Attack’s Mezzanine, and Air’s Moon Safari.

I’m not sure Faithless (Maxi Jazz RIP) were ever much of an album band, although I might be wrong. 1998’s Sunday 8PM features such enduring classics as God is a DJ and Bring my Family back. Placebo’s Without You I’m Nothing is also home to some of their greatest songs – not least Pure Morning, the title track, and Every Me, Every You.

Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane over the Sea is from this year. I’ve tried it a couple of times and it is yet to take. Pearl Jam’s Yield features one of my favourite songs in Brain of J. but the rest of it is merely OK.

Manic Street Preacher’s This is my Truth tell me yours has some of their greatest songs on it, but there aren’t many album tracks that hold their own against the singles, and it feels a song or two too long overall.

Some great nu-metal from Soulfly (their debut following Max’s departure from Sepultura), Pitchshifter, and the underrated One Minute Silence.

One year before the release of Mos Def’s solo debut Black on Both Sides, he collaborated with Talib Kweli on Black Star. Two of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, in two years, then.

Finally, this was the year of Offspring’s Americana. While Pretty Fly for a White Guy was kinda cringy I guess, most of the rest of it was on par with Smash, I’d say. I certainly prefer it to Ixnay on the Hombre.

On to a top 11, then:

At The Drive-In – In/Casino/Out

A bit simpler than Relationship of Command, perhaps – certainly rawer, given it was recorded live (meaning all together rather than individual, but still in the studio) – but another fantastic ATDI album nonetheless. Plenty of punk with clever chords, and Napoleon Solo is one of the most beautiful things they ever did. The two-guitar interplay between Omar and Jim is just sublime. The lyrics almost make sense too.

Boards of Canada – Music has the right to Children

An old friend had probably played this in the flat, but it wasn’t until 2013’s Tomorrow Harvest that I got there myself (what a stunning album that is). I believe MHTRTC, the Canadi…Scottish Electronic duo’s debut album is generally considered their magnum opus, and features on several non-genre best-of lists, but the entire output is worthy.

Cave In – Until Your Heart Stops

My introduction to Cave In was via 2003’s melodic indie record Antenna. It was quite some time before I explored outside that, but before the rather gorgeous 2013 Record Store Day release on double vinyl. Despite the somewhat emo title, UYHS is raging metalcore, and it’s astonishing.

Garbage – Version 2.0

The album where it all began. I had the Spice Girls’ first two albums on cassette, plus some singles, but the first two CDs I ever bought were Natalie Imbruglia’s Left of the Middle and Garbage’s 2^nd album Version 2.0. I think Texas’ White on Blonde was third. A friend who knew how much I loved this record wandered into my room at university once to tell me he’d heard on the radio that…Colin Murray…I think…had suggested this as an example of a disappointing follow-up to a classic debut album. As amazing as self-titled is, that sentiment is just incredibly wrong. While the production is certainly very slick, once again Shirley shines through as an imperfect (and therefore perfect) rock star as she sings, croons, whispers, and spits her lyrical witticisms. Push It (not to be confused with Salt N Pepa or Tool’s songs of the same name, although the former got a writing credit for similarity – Brian Wilson got more for the sample of Beach Boys’ Don’t Worry Baby) was the universe’s way of letting me know I was going to be into heavy rock music and The Trick is to Keep Breathing is a real tearjerker (the book on which it’s based is a fine piece of Scottish literature. Incredibly depressing, mind). But really the whole thing is a marvellous ride.

Korn – Follow the Leader

Most of it hasn’t dated very well, and some of it is plain awful, but for a time this was peak Korn. Songs like Freak on a Leash and Got the Life, however, are enduring nu-metal classics.

Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of

Sometimes a record is so good it doesn’t matter what genre it is. This is one of them. I love everything about it – the singles, the deep cuts, the tunes, Hill’s voice, the skits, the concept, the musical quotations, and the spirit of collaboration (although Hill didn’t like to acknowledge this much outside of the named features).

Opeth – My Arms, Your Hearse

Another super-emo title of an album that isn’t. Progressive death metal, anyone? While Demon of the Fall is possibly Opeth’s best ever song, the rest of the album is nothing to sniff at, and it works well as a conceptual whole. In particular, each song’s lyrics end with the title of the next song.

Refused – The Shape of Punk to Come

This record is almost beyond reproach, being both easy to rock out to and ridiculously clever. I suppose it does wear its influences quite obviously on its sleeve, but ‘great artists steal and all that’ as I am very fond of parroting. The Ornette Coleman-referencing title and picture of John Coltrane on the cover are enough to make me delirious, but New Noise has got to be one of the greatest headbangers of all time. Nothing quite like it has been made since. To be fair to Refused themselves, they haven’t tried.

REM – Up

I don’t think many fans of REM at the time held this album in very high esteem. Even if it was OK, the absence of founding drummer Bill Berry was strongly felt. Even in spirit if not in sound (although drum machines are used at times). But it was one of the first REM albums I listened to, kindly handed down to me by a colleague at Waitrose at a time when I was branching out from just metal music. I relistened to it last year and I found once wasn’t enough, having it on repeat for several days. I just think it has a really high hit rate of good songs, Michael Stipe’s vocal melodies are lovely, and it gets better and better as it goes along.

System of a Down – s/t

Three of the bands I loved when I was getting into (nu-metal) music were Slipknot, 36 Crazyfists, and System of a Down. I was hooked by all three debut albums. Then, really strangely, the sophomore records came out and I didn’t like any of them. 36 CF’s A Snow-Capped Romance I grew to love but the other two I never did. Kerrang! recently asked for people’s unusual music opinions on Facebook and my comment that neither Toxicity nor Iowa are either band’s best work made it into their final ‘article’. I think I managed to avoid being called an edgelord in the comments, thankfully. Both records have stand-out moments but there’s a goodly amount of filler there too. SOAD’s self-titled, on the other hand, now that was a revelation. I hadn’t listened to it in years and worried that it wouldn’t have dated very well, Serj especially sounding a little too much 90s metal quirky (the Biffy Clyro of metal?), but no I think it holds up. The funny thing about the hate or indifference that a lot of those 90s metal bands get is how good a lot of them are as musicians. Whereas in, say, Limp Bizkit that accusation probably can’t be levelled at every member, in SOAD it can.

Tortoise – TNT

Chicago post-rock (with jazz and electronics) band Tortoise is one of those artists where I more or less got into all of it at once. Which means I generally listen to the entire back catalogue in one go, in chronological order. Nevertheless, TNT stands out. Even though its predecessor gets most of the accolades, I think TNT is the more consistent record front to back. Perhaps it’s not quite as innovative, but then why would it be?

1998, a playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6FgdwwFhpb8L7UCRO1Gngl?si=lWhPAHaVSrmXfqQgygZt3Q

Air – La femme d’argent

At the Drive-In – Napoleon Solo

Beastie Boys – Intergalactic

Black Star – Re:Definition

Boards of Canada – Olson

Botch – Dali’s Praying Mantis

Cave In – Moral Eclipse

Elliot Smith – Waltz #2 (XO)

Faithless – God is a DJ

Fatboy Slim – The Rockafeller Skank

Garbage – Push It

Hole – Celebrity Skin

Korn – Freak on a Leash

Ms. Lauryn Hill – Doo Wop (That Thing)

Manic Street Preachers – If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

Massive Attack – Teardrop

Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

One Minute Silence – South Central

Opeth – Demon of the Fall

Pearl Jam – Brain of J.

Pitchshifter – Microwaved

Placebo – Pure Morning

Raised Fist – Monumental

Refused – New Noise

R.E.M. – Daysleeper

Soulfly – Bumbklaatt

System of a Down – Sugar

The Cardigans – My Favourite Game

The Offspring – The Kids Aren’t Alright

Tortoise – I Set My Face to the Hillside

UNKLE – Rabbit In Your Headlights