Since I ran a Blur concert the other week, and made mention of the fact that there was an intense popularity battle between them and Oasis (mostly press generated, one imagines), it was only natural I follow up with an Oasis concert to balance things out. Oasis were something of a huge worldwide phenomenon lasting a good ten years before dissolving into sibling bickering and fist fights between the Gallagher Brothers, who founded the band in the early 90's and eventually ended by not speaking to each other since 2009. While they were in their heyday they did manage to crank out a large amount of completely memorable (if not somewhat derivative of another huge worldwide phenomenon of another generation, The Beatles) songs and sellout venues in just about every corner of the globe.

In the odd event you missed them the first time around, or were otherwise preoccupied, here is a concert from that heyday period, given at Earl's Court in London on November 5, 1995.

The concert is complete and runs over 90 minutes. So, as is my custom to do with the Newstalgia Mid-Week Concerts on Wednesdays, I am splitting this one in half as well. With the first hour (give or take) on the top player, and the last 30-45 minutes on the bottom player.

The sound is absolutely wonderful and the band are in obvious fine form. You can't go wrong with that.

Enjoy.

Since it's 4th of July weekend, I thought it would be good to jump into a bit of serious Americana and post one of the really great American Indie/Alternative bands going back to the 90's, Throwing Muses this weekend.

Hands down one of my favorite bands fronted by one of my favorite singer/songwriters Kristin Hersh, Throwing Muses had a very big following among what was known as the "college circuit". Certainly enough to sustain a healthy output of albums during those years but not enough to sustain the interest of a Major label (Warners) into keeping them in the catalog for very long. They didn't achieve a huge commercial success (the benchmark of what the major labels consider sustainable), but they were a great band with excellent writing and production and whose work still sounds fresh.

This weekend's concert comes from May 1995, and was recorded at Fort Apache Studios in Cambridge Massachusetts to coincide with the release of their then-latest album University.

Below is the set list and info:

Throwing Muses
Kristin Hersh: vocals, guitar
Bernard Georges: bass
David Narcizo: drums
Fort Apache Studios
Cambridge, Mass.
May 25, 1995
FM broadcast

1: radio introduction > shimmer 5:21
2; teller 3:13
3: hazing 2:50
4: firepile 3:12
5: start 3:02
6: Bea 4:14
7: bright yellow gun 3:56
8: flood 3:20
9: snakeface 3:00
10: two step 3:52
11: pearl 5:55

One of the great underrated and under-appreciated bands who have since morphed into Fifty Foot Wave while maintaining Throwing Muses. Kristin Hersh is also doing solo work (and a lot of writing including a couple of books and this very cool blog) as well as touring both as solo and with the band(s). The lack of a major label, as we've found in recent years, no longer spells death for an artist or their work. Hersh, The Muses and Fifty Foot Wave are all available via her website Cash Music. So by all means, check her out and lend some support. In the meantime, here's a taste of what you may have missed the first time around.

It's never too late.

June 15, 1995 - a day where priorities in news coverage got tested. Beginning with news that the long-anticipated and much-dreaded Battle of Sarajevo had begun caused and that NATO forces were in that uncomfortable place of being peacekeeper and defender all at the same time. It would prove to be Topic-A in conversation at the upcoming G-7 Summit, which President Clinton was heading for on this day.

News also, with reference to G-7, of the threatened trade war between Japan and the U.S., mostly centered around the newly-imposed 100% tariff on imported Japanese Cars into the U.S.

A rescue effort was underway in Greece, which had suffered a 6.1 earthquake overnight and a growing list of casualties from collapsed buildings was reported.

But the biggest news, the news that occupied the most "air-time" on this broadcast, was the reported first interview with Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley on the occasion of the release of Jackson's latest album HIStory in which he answers allegations of Child molestation and the controversy surrounding anti-Semitic lyrics.

Buried in the rest of the news was report of the Senate, set to vote on a sweeping overhaul of Telecommunications Laws, in effect for over 50 years, and deregulation of Cable TV.

Also in there were reports of the continuing Timothy McVeigh/Oklahoma City Bombing and OJ Simpson murder trials.

And last, but not least - news on the Houston Rockets clinch of the NBA title in a 113-101 win over the Orlando Magic. Something they went nuts over in Houston.

And that's pretty much what happened, and what you may not have noticed amidst the noise of Pop Culture, on this June 15, 1995 as reported on The CBS World News Roundup.

Hard to imagine it was 17 years ago this day, but within minutes of the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the country stopped and watched as the story slowly unfolded and became more grim and horrifying with each fresh report.

And there was other news happening. But somehow it just didn't seem so important as the day went on.

Here are news reports just shortly after the bombing was reported, as casualties rose over the next few hours and on-the-spot coverage of the event as it was happening via CBS Radio for April 19, 1995.

(oops. Sorry about the wrong track - we fixed it!)
By all accounts, Whiteout may have been together for a little less than a year. Busting on the scene in the wave of Brit-pop and Guitar bands in 1991, they scored in 1995 with a single (Jackie's Racing). Opened for Oasis and Pulp and got a lot of attention. And then it curiously went downhill from there. Their lead singer left shortly after and then they carried on as a three piece. Did one BBC Session for John Peel (which I may put up in the future). Recorded some more, got bad reviews, finally packed it up in 1998 and went separate ways. As always, a depressing end to an auspicious start.

Tonight's track, Shoot Me comes during the halcyon period when they were riding the crest of the popularity wave and just before they hit.

And so went the 90's.

Although there was probably a lot more going on, the top news stories of this particular December 30th had to do with reports of the first U.S. troops wounded on the ground in Bosnia. Not by direct enemy fire, but by a roadside landmine taking out a Humvee. Despite news that the wounds weren't fatal, it still sent a message that this conflict wouldn't be the cakewalk it was set out to be.

The other big news was the budget and the shutting down of some Government services as the result. Ongoing talks were talking place between President Clinton and Senate leader Bob Dole and House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The proposed budget called for the biggest overhaul of Social Services in 60 years and the furlough of some 300,000 government workers who were not likely to return back to work anytime soon. The question, certainly on most media observers minds was, why weren't there mass protests?

In this segment of NPR's All Things Considered for December 30th, the question was put to two pundits; Todd Gitlin representing, the left and David Frum, representing the right. In an interesting analysis, it was argued that the Left had lost its direction (apathy) but the right were in danger of splintering (the Newt factor). Gitlin decrying the fact that the Left really didn't like the Social Programs anyway, that they no longer had a focus point and that the protests had no leader. Frum tut-tutted that the country was really mostly conservative anyway and if they really wanted to get anything done by way of protest, they had AARP to do it for them.

And that was what it looked like sixteen years ago. My, how times change. But the Budget crisis seems to go on forever.

As do wars.

A mostly unremarkable December 20th in 1995. Of course, if you were in Bosnia or anywhere in the former Yugoslavia it would be a remarkable day, as the UN handed over peacekeeping duties to NATO forces and a combined military force which included both American and Russians units took over to put an end to the conflict that ripped the entire region apart. The discovery of horrors would come shortly.

Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, negotiations were underway for a budget deal which, depending on who you asked, were either going well, going painfully slowly or not going at all. Another cliff-hanger in the offing.

In other news, it was learned that Insurance companies providing private supplemental insurance to seniors were raising premiums on average of 30% for that little slice of peace of mind. How unusual.

The White Water investigation was continuing. The Republicans pledged to override a Presidential veto of a bill designed to limit lawsuits by investors who were cheated by underwriters, corporate executives and accountants.

Winter storms were sweeping the country with the worst hit from the Plains to New England.

Communists were holding 1/3 of the seats in the Russian Parliament, causing a predicament for Boris Yeltsin. And to top it all off, OJ Simpson's net worth was deemed no longer a secret with regards to the upcoming Civil Suit.

No mass demonstrations, no calls for the toppling of governments. But the eventual discovery of mass graves and concentration camps gave proof inhumanity was still very much with us.

And that's how that particular December 20th went in 1995 as reported on The CBS World News Roundup.

Poster Children are one of those bands that have gone on for a very long time being underrated. With a healthy catalog of albums and more labels than most people can name, Poster Children have achieved a sort of underground cult status. Another one of those "best bands you've never heard of". Only they have gotten critical and loyal following success. But if you gauge success on the number of "hits" you've had, or the number of million selling albums you've sold, I think you'd be sorely let down as Poster Children just aren't commercial enough for bland tastes.

Blazing the trail of Post-Punk, Poster Children have kept it going since the late 1980's. Tonight's track is from their Sire/Reprise/Twintone period. Junior Citizen was released in 1995 - again, to good reviews and loyal following but not much as far as commercial success is concerned.

King For A Day is just one of the many strong tracks on this album. If you haven't discovered them already, there's a lot more where that came from. If you know who I'm talking about, this is just a gentle reminder there's an unbelievable amount of good music out there just waiting to be rediscovered.

Jus' sayin.

News on this day in 1995 of a shooting at Ft. Bragg Army Base with an at-the-time-unknown sniper firing into a group of soldiers, killing one and wounding several others. As the day dragged on it became clear the assailant was one of their own. And safety concerns arose over airbag use for children as it was claimed the bags could do more harm than good, especially if the children in question weren't wearing seat belts to begin with. Claims that the Million Man March yielded a million men went under scrutiny and a researcher claimed it may have actually been around 800,000 - but with the margin of error it may have been either 600,000 or 1.1 million. And the check gets made out to who?

Boris Yeltsin was rushed to the hospital, much to the concern of all those around him even though they were tight-lipped about it.

And the Cleveland Indians were still in the World Series, coming up on Game 6 in Atlanta this evening. Trailing at 3-2, the Indians were still hopeful of pulling this one out of the hat.

Hope, like everything else, springs eternal.

And so it was on this October 27th in 1995, thanks to The CBS World News Roundup.

It certainly was a day for civil unrest. October 21, 1995 saw a wave of prison riots erupting across the U.S. - some blamed the refusal to relax stiff penalties on crack cocaine, others attributed it to the Million Man March. Whatever the reason, all prisons in the U.S. on this particular day were on lock down.

And there were riots in Okinawa - due to the continued U.S. military presence on the island and the recent rash of rapes among U.S. service personnel and Okinawa locals.

Fingers were crossed that hostage David Hutchings and three others would be released shortly from captivity in India, at least it was hoped.

President Clinton leveled a few blasts at the GOP for their Budget plan.

Mexico suffered its third earthquake in a month. This doing a bit more damage than the others.

And the World Series was getting underway this evening with the Cleveland Indians going up against the Atlanta Braves - the first time the Indians made it to a World series since 1954.

And that's what today was all about in 1995, via The CBS World News Roundup for October 21, 1995.