75 for 30: The List

so you want to make a list …

Discogs counts 59.838 albums which were released on CD in 1993 worldwide. Add to that cassette- and vinyl-only releases and you're well into 70k. 

Whittling these down to 75 automatically means, setting certain structural limitations. 

1. There are no live records or compilations on this list.

2. There is only one record per artist / group.

3. There are only CDs / LPs on the list.

The last point especially exponentially discriminates against certain genres (hardcore, punk, techno, etc.) while favoring the mainstream. Should I continue this project well beyond '93, that's the first rule to be reconsidered.

so you want to make a decent list …

This list is, while not exclusively, still incredibly Western in nature. In '93, Brazil released over 900 albums and Indonesia over 600 cassettes. You will find none of them here. 

The same goes for specific genres. I only listen to jazz and techno live and I intend to keep it this way. There is one roots album and a quick blown kiss towards classical compositions and I hope they can forgive me. 

But I did always pride myself on having a rather broad taste and I hope that this comes through in the variety here as well as in the challenges I have set for myself.

so you want there to be an order …

The list is arranged by the release dates of any given album which I sourced from Wikipedia, RateYourMusic and wherever else I could find them. If I could only find the month, I have placed the album at the beginning of said month. 

I do not intend to hit all of these on the date of their release, rather it constitutes a rough order for the year!

Some months and dates (e.g. 05-10-1993) are so crowded that I will write about some of these records earlier to cover ground in the months which are slower. As it is, I will try to write about a new record all 4-5 days and try to avoid triple releases and double releases if possible. 

I will link to all the releases here so that the site can function as a master list once the project is finished.

75 for 30

January

Moss Icon - Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly (Vermiform, January 1993)

Polyglon Window - Surfing On Sine Waves (Warp, 11-01-1993)

King Tee - Tha Triflin’ Album (Capitol, 26-01-1993)

February

Einstürzende Neubauten - Tabula Rasa (Mute, February 1993)

Earth - Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version (Sub Pop, 05-02-1993)

Quicksand - Slip (Polydor, 09-02-1993)

Darkthrone - Under A Funeral Moon (Peaceville, 15-02-1993)

2Pac - Strictly … (Interscope / Jive, 16-02-1993)

March

Kronos Quartett - Short Stories (Nonesuch, 05-03-1993)

Stereolab - Space Age Bachelor Pad Music (Too Pure / American, 22-03-1993)

Dwight Yoakam - This Time (Reprise, 23-03-2021)

Willie Nelson - Across The Borderline (Columbia, 23-03-2021)

Suede - Suede (Nude, 29-03-1993)

Onyx - Bacdafucup (JMJ, Rush Associated Label and Chaos Recordings, 30-03-1993)

April

David Bowie - Black Tie White Noise (Savage / Arista, 05-04-1993)

Tool - Undertow (Zoo, 06-04-1993)

Patty Loveless - Only What I Feel (Epic, 20-04-1993)

Mutter - Du Bist Nicht Mein Bruder (What’s So Funny About, 30-04-1993)

Mai

Slowdive - Souvlaki (Creation, 01-05-1993)

New Order - Republic (London Recordings, 03-05-1993)

PJ Harvey - Rid of Me (Island, 04-05-1993)

Janet Jackson - Janet (Virgin, 18-05-1993)

Anthrax - Sound Of White Noise (Elektra, 25-05-1993)

Tony! Toni! Toné! - Sons of Saul (Wing / Mercury, 22-05-1993)

Red House Painters - Rollercoaster (4AD, 24-05-1993)

June

Björk - Debut (One Little Indian / Elektra, 05-06-1993)

Burning Spear - The World Should Know (Heartbeat, 15-06-1993)

Liz Phair - Exit in Guyville (Matador, 22-06-1993)

Death - Individual Thought Patterns (Relativity, 22-06-1993)

Morbid Angel - Convenant (Earache / Giant, 22-06-1993)

Fugazi - In On The Kill Taker (Dischord, 30-06-1993)

July

Dwarves - Sugarfix (Sub Pop, July 1993)

Toni Braxton - Toni Braxton (LaFace / Arista, 13-07-1993)

The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream (Virgin, 27-07-1993)

August

Shelter - Attaining The Supreme (Equal Vision, 01-08-1993)

Sheryl Crow - Tuesday Night Music Club (A&M, 03-08-1993)

Brian Eno - Neroli (All Saints Record, 03-08-1993)

Billy Joel - River Of Dreams (Columbia, 10-08-1993)

Clutch - Transnational Speedway League (EastWest, 17-08-1993)

Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (Roadrunner, 17-08-1993)

Girls Against Boys - Venus Luxure No.1 Baby (Touch and Go, 20-08-1993)

Stereolab - Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcement (Duophonic / Electra, 24-08-1993)

The Breeders - Last Splash (4AD / Elektra, 30-08-1993)

September

GG Allin - Brutality and Bloodshed For All (Alive Records, September 1993)

Policy Of 3 - Dead Dog Summer (Old Glory Records, September 1993)

Global Communications - Pentamerous Metamorphosis (Dedicated Records, 06-09-1993)

Schonen Knife - Rock Animals (MCA, 08-09-1993)

Philipp Glass / Donald Joyce - Glass: Organ Works (BMG, 13-09-1993)

Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell II (MCA / Virgin, 14-09-1993)

De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate (Tommy Boy Entertainment, 21-09-1993)

Oktober

Entombed - Wolverine Blues (Earache / Columbia, 04-10-1993)

The Afghan Wigs - Gentlemen (Elektra, 05-10-1993)

Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See (Capitol, 05-10-1993)

Yo La Tengo - Painful (Matador, 05-10-1993)

Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne (Sire, 05-10-1993)

My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans (Peaceville Records, 11-10-1993)

Tindersticks - Tindersticks (This Way Up, 11-10-1993)

Julee Cruise - The Voice Of Love (Warner Bros, 12-10-1993)

Carcass - Heartwork (Earache, 18-10-1993)

Black Moon - Enter Da Stage (Nervous, 19-10-1993)

Sepultura - Chaos A.D. (Roadrunner / Epic, 19-10-1993)

Pearl Jam - Vs. (Epic, 19-10-1993)

Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (Nettwerk / Arista, 22-10-1993)

Phil Collins - Both Sides (Virgin, 25-10-1993)

The Spinanes - Manos (Sub Pop, 26-10-1993)

November

Kate Bush - The Red Shoes (EMI, 02-11-1993)

Mystifier - Goetia (Osmose Productions, 19-11-1993)

Pizzicato Five - Bossanova 2001 (Nippon Columbia, 21-11-1993)

Autechre - Incunabula (Warp, 29-11-1993)

Dezember

Sigh - Scorn Defeat (Deathlike Silence Productions, December 1993)

Dissection - The Somberlain (Hellspawn / Unisound, 03-12-1993)

Ice Cube - Lethal Injection (Lench Mob / Priority, 07-12-1993)

Eastern Youth - Eastern Youth (Sakamoto Shouten, 10-12-1993)

Naked City - Absynth (Avant, 10-12-1993)

Pitchshifter - Desensitized (Earache, 14-12-1993)

Mission & Manifesto

The mission is simple: I will write about 75 albums which came out in 1993 throughout 2023.

In these last years my writing shifted more and more towards covering cinema, but I miss writing about music and especially finding new ways to write about music. A more personal approach, more associative and less structured around the way music criticism nowadays writes and works. 

I'll also turn 30 in 2023 and found this the perfect time to go back and listen to a selection of albums which came out in '93 and which I haven't listened to before. 

I intend to treat this mostly as an exercise, something to get me back in the groove and keep me writing on a steady pace. Most likely the blog will expand from this initial concept. Maybe it will die. Either way it feels good to have this type of outlet again. 

***

I find that I work best when I set myself certain formal and editorial guidelines. I have formed these mostly through my writing on cinema but I think they'll just serve me as well here. 

1. 500 words per album or less.

2. Each album exists on its own terms. Compare only when necessary. Try to work more from within than from without. 

3. Subjectivity is key! Research as much as you must but not more than you need.

4. One writes predominantly for oneself and one's own interest, yet every piece needs to remain understandable to the reader at large. 

5. Have fun!