Geek rock hit a peak in the 1990s. Geeks everywhere found an alternative outlet as well. Geek rock bands were foreshadowed by groups such as The Cars and Devo. In the 1990s, many alternative subgenres were created, and geeks found alternative bands to resonate with. These are three no-skip geek rock albums from 1996 that we still geek out to 30 years later.
‘factory showroom’ by they might be giants
They Might Be Giants are one of the quirkiest bands of the 1990s. Notably, they performed the Malcom in the Middle theme song. They sounded like a hybrid of Weird Al and Devo, creating some of the best geek rock of the 1990s. Their sixth studio album, Factory Showroom, was the band’s last on the Elektra label. They left following the release, feeling that Elektra hadn’t promoted the band well enough.
In a legendary geek rock move, the band recorded “I Can Hear You” on a wax cylinder at Edison Laboratory without the use of electricity.
‘pinkerton’ by weezer
You simply can’t talk about geek rock without Weezer. They were the geek rock kings of the 1990s. Rivers Cuomo wrote most of the Pinkerton album while attending Harvard. The band had abandoned plans to record a rock opera for the sophomore release, named Songs From The Black Hole. Instead, they released Pinkerton, which was a commercial failure at first. Over time, it became a cult classic and is now a fan favorite. Pinkerton didn’t speak to a mass audience, but geek rockers resonated with it. Their true fanbase praises this 1996 release.
‘nothing for juice’ by the mountain goats
John Darnielle was known for his lo-fi recordings through a cheap boombox. It became his signature and gave the songs a sense of sincerity that was hard to find in overly polished pop music. When listening to The Mountain Goats, it feels like sitting on the bed next to Darnielle as he’s writing the song. This personal approach is what attracted many geek rockers to The Mountain Goats. This was the last album to feature bassist Rachel Ware. Her vocal contributions on songs such as “Alabama Nova” and “Going to Scotland” help give this release character.
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