The Student Playlist

Showcasing the Best New Music, Curating the Classics

Tag 25 years old

CULT ’90s: Dr. Octagon – ‘Dr. Octagonecologyst’

Fabulously inventive in its wordplay and sonic world-building, Kool Keith and Dan The Automator’s ‘Dr. Octagonecologyst’ pushed hip-hop to weird places.

CULT ’90s: Underworld – ‘Second Toughest In The Infants’

Sophisticated and cool but also hedonistic and primal, Underworld’s ‘Second Toughest In The Infants’ is one of British dance music’s finest album-length achievements.

CULT ’90s: Sparklehorse – ‘Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot’

Mark Linkous’s first Sparklehorse album, ‘Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot’ is split between spacy folk-rock and scuffed, lo-fi indie.

CULT ’90s: Scott Walker – ‘Tilt’

One of the most challenging and avant-garde albums from a major artist of all time, Scott Walker’s malevolent ‘Tilt’ turns 25 years old.

CLASSIC ’90s: Elastica – ‘Elastica’

Elastica’s skillful, accessible reconstitution of their obvious post-punk influences made their 1995 self-titled debut one of the fastest-selling albums in UK history.

CLASSIC ’90s: Jeff Buckley – ‘Grace’

‘Grace’, the sole completed album by the iconic Jeff Buckley before his untimely death at the age of 30, still stands up as a universally relatable yet highly personal record.

CLASSIC ’90s: Portishead – ‘Dummy’

Portishead may not have invented ‘trip hop’, but their endlessly cool and inventive 1994 debut album ‘Dummy’ came to define it completely.

CLASSIC ’90s: Weezer – ‘Weezer’ (‘The Blue Album’)

An album of endearing yet emotionally sharp power-pop that’s resonated with generations of outcasts, Weezer’s ‘The Blue Album’ turns 25.

CLASSIC ’90s: Blur – ‘Parklife’

Representing one of the commercial apexes of Britpop in the mid-Nineties, ‘Parklife’ was the realisation of Damon Albarn’s vision for Blur’s music.

CLASSIC ’90s: Nas – ‘Illmatic’

Arguably the greatest hip-hop album of all time, Nas’ 1994 debut ‘Illmatic’ is a perfect distillation of the genre’s essence.

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