With more kids than ever swinging from the balls of days the 90s, I consider it my duty as an elder statesman of hardcore to tell Kids These Days the truth about How Things Were Back In The Day.
Consider the sad, embarrassing case of REVELATION RECORDS in the late 90s. Most people these days remember them for all the classic NYHC records they put out in the 80s, and rightly so. The sad truth is, though, that they were only a hardcore label for a few short years. By the late 90s, they had become the torchbearers for the 90s hardcore trend nobody talks about: when all the NYHC bands broke up, and all the guys who were in them started indie/alternative rock bands!
I’m glad that this era is mostly forgotten now and that people think of bands like Unbroken as the face of 90s hardcore, but the fact is that the Revelation indie/alt/emo bands were 10 times more popular than Disembodied, Trial, and Chokehold put together. It was all about trading in your Nikes for Chuck Taylors, your hoodie for a sweater, and starting a heartfelt, meaningful band that claimed to be part of the hardcore scene, but sounded like gay alternative rock. SOUND FAMILIAR??
Let’s take a look at the release that embodies this dreadful trend better than any other: Revelation Records “In-Flight Program,” a free “sampler” that they gave out in 1997 with catalogs, at record stores, and other places where people discovered music before the internet. I’ll skip over the NYHC tracks they included as bait, and focus on the meat of this comp: the definitive late 90s emo/indie “hardcore” bands!
You can download it here, if you’re a glutton for punishment.
TEXAS IS THE REASON, featuring members of Krishnacore bands 108 and Shelter, were probably the most popular of all these bands, and also the best. But if you listened to this and thought to yourself, “IDK man, this stuff doesn’t sound as bad as you’re making it out to be,” not so fast!! It’s all downhill from here, my friends.
Let’s all wish zakmorrison good luck with his being melancholy goals in 2012 (from the comments on this TITR song)
If you listen to this for like 10 seconds you’ll find it hard to believe, but SENSEFIELD were pretty big at the time. Before writing this post I hadn’t listened to them in years (for reasons that will be obvious), and they’re somehow worse than I remembered– like a shitty local version of Collective Soul, only even crappier than that :(
I’m guessing that the guys in SHADES APART were probably in various ‘classic, legendary NJHC bands’ before this, but I’m too lazy to look it up. All I know is that they could easily be some random local band who would have been the opener for the All/Toadies tour in 1995, or maybe got their “big break” opening for Silverchair on both of their Arizona shows.
I was going to make fun of this song until I remembered that FARSIDE were fucking sweet, and aged better than pretty much every other band from this era. That said, this video is mindbottling– so many XXL denim shorts, rockabilly haircuts, and bowling shirts!! Welcome to Orange County circa 1995.
Speaking of awesome OC pop-punk/rock bands from this era, I have to mention GAMEFACE even though they’re not on this comp. Yes, strong friendzone lyrics but no fucks given, I still love this band :(
Signed, every male Gameface fan ever (sent from the friendzone)
They weren’t really part of the emo fggt scene, but I’m including ICEBURN on here just for shits and giggles. As you can see, they weren’t hardcore, emo or anything else remotely related, but the ultimate in unmarketable, fringe genres: experimental jazz! Only not that good at it, via being dudes who were in hardcore bands a few years earlier (brb nerding out to Cecil Taylor, Jack Dejohnette and the one Chick Corea record that isn’t shamefully awful).
Another band who I never, ever heard anybody talk about in any context other than “who the fuck is BODYJAR?!” is the Australian pop-punk band BODYJAR. No idea who these guys were, where they came from or where they went, just that it was really weird to see Revelation hype them so much and that I had no clue why they signed this random, average band.
Let me clarify what I said about how Rev-style emo/indie bands were 10 times more popular than real hardcore: I did NOT mean all the weird, random bands like WHIRLPOOL. I don’t know anything about this band, literally never met a single person who liked them, and I think we all reacted the same to the news that they were on the same label as JUDGE: “Lolwat ok?!”
And last but not least, Greg from Sunn O)))/Southern Lord’s old, shitty alternative rock band ENGINE KID (more details on his other old, shitty bands here). Please note how sincere, meaningful and hearfelt they are- maybe it’s time for Greg to jump off the drO)))ne bandwagon and start an oldfag tr00 emo band!
Were you aware of this skeleton in the closet of the 90s hardcore scene??? Are any of these bands not shitty? Why can’t we learn from our mistakes and realize that going through tr00/srs phases always leads to embarrassing, shameful results???
Inb4 kids in 2022 start jocking BMTH and My Chemical Romance as Real Emo Music before trend hopping scenesters started infiltrating the scene.
They actually already do that with MCR (srs)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
*falls off cliff*
Fuck the 90′s.
99% of people who jock the 90′s were little kids for that entire decade, they didn’t listen to hardcore back then, yet they claim that it was some sort of “perfect decade” that is so much better than now.
Most of the oldfags who were actually in bands / going to shows back then are all burnt out and angry and regretful etc, or settled into a family/job life, not running around saying “THE 90′S ROOLED, SKRAMZ IS KOOL” and getting a boner every time they hear “hardcore band that doesn’t play breakdowns”
So just like every kid in the 90′s grew up sweating 80′s NYHC and wished they could have seen YOT/GB/Judge matinee shows at CBGB’s? It’s all a cycle broseph, chillax.
u seem mad
Aside from TITR, this music makes me feel very weird.
Best comment!
“whats a bodyjar? I feel funny :( “
This marked basically the end of Rev being good and was also a huge boost for Victory I bet. When this comp came out (with every fucking thing you mailordered from anyone, I swear) it was the most confusing shit ever to hxc kids like me who listened to Warzone, Judge, SOIA, GB, etc.
That said, still enjoy iceburn from time to time. Zero fucks given. Unlike the rest of this, it was weird in a way I like. And it is great background/not-distracting music for when you are reading or doing schoolwork or some shit.
Yeah i actually dont mind iceburn at all, and its cool that they did something so different. I do think its funny how kids tried so hard to force themselves to like that band, too.
Oh my god this music has aged poorly. All of these bands sound like they listened to a Dave Mathews Band album and tried and failed to copy them really bad.
I like TIITR, but the rest of that stuff…. oh my Krshna, why?
On the real tho, I don’t see why kids are getting so hyped on 80s/90s hxc. It might be all the bands reuniting to pretend that they’re still relevant. Imo, there were some good bands in those times, but most of them sucked major ass. Just curious, was CIV not included for any particular reason? I wouldn’t know about the scene at that time, but I know they were former hxc dudes on Revelation playing out of their style. PLEASE RESPOND.
Civ were sweet, but they were actually on Atlantic not Rev. I have been meaning to post about them though!
Pretty sure the Set Your Goals LP/Cd was initially out on Rev (don’t make me go dig it out) but something about European distro (maybe just CD) and a new deal with Atlantic for a follow-up no one bought I think. Besides, that record already sold a shitload without including it on a sampler and there’s a GB song anyway, which is almost the same thing.
Yeah, they were definitely on Lava (atlantic) in the US, that must have been a euro thing. I am sure of this because there was a lot of talk about them being “sellouts” for being on a major.
Post on Civ would be sweet. Still have SYG on heavy rotation after all these years & my kids love to car-mosh along to it (they’re not so keen on the deathcore sadly – I blame their mother).
There was talk about Rev being bought in a 49% by Atlantic at the time, never knew if it was true or not. Thing is they lifted CIV and ORANGE 9MM…does anybody remember Orange 9mm?
Yep. Still occasionally listen to Driver not included
I guess I’m glad I spent the 90′s playing sega genesis, watching Ren and Stimpy and listening to Green Day (in other words, being a little kid).
Then again, Bodyjar doesn’t sound so bad.
i remember getting this in 97 and thinking how fucking weird and boring it was. I still listen to the release from time to time for nostalgic reasons. Even for how bad it was it actually exposed me to old school hardcore bands because before this i was only listening to Victory stuff. Back and to the Left was the only non-hardcore song on the comp I could get into.
Haha, I totally loved this stuff when I was about 16 (though I don’t want to sound like an oldfag, it was about five years ago). Felt super-indimo when I dissed Senses Fail while listening to Sunny Day Real Estate. As I recall, some zine described this music as something that hardcore kids would listen while making out (which is weird, cause there were no girls in hardcore back then as stated before on this site).
Still, to be honest tho, i think this is the best version of indie-rock you can find. Simple songs, nice melodies, everybody looking like average dudes & it doesn’t feel as pretentious as other ‘indie genres’. But maybe that’s just me.
I might have missed something, but it would be cool to read something about stuff like Portrait of Past, Inidian Summer etc.
Ashamed to admit but I actually remembering paying for this shit (don’t think anyone was giving it away over here in the UK) & regretting it almost immediately. One of those records that I really tried hard to convince myself wasn’t entirely fucking worthless (see also Fugazi, YOT), but alas to no avail.
Hows about a post on the original Victory Style? The quintessential 90s comp & a reminder of when Victory wasn’t completely awful.
Ashamed to admit but I actually remembering paying for this shit & regretting it almost immediately.
Same here. I thought TITR sucked, liked Sensefield and Shades Apart though.
In the 90ties überhardcore dudes were at war with Lost & Found but at least they had better comps (albeit with bootlegs) than Rev.
guess this is only semi-related but w/e, were denim vests a big thing in the 90′s? seems every skinny white kid over here in australia is starting to get one (via being punx/tr00) to show off their ceremony/integrity patches & earn 5000 scene points
please respond
no. not in the 90s hxc scene
80s to 90s m3tal, sure. But 90s core would hate on that shit and respond wif their fat jeans and puffy vests and bleachy hair.
Metal vests were scarce even in the 90s metal scene. They didnt make a comeback until bands started jocking the 80s again.
The 90s were largely vest-free apart from some Color Me Badd/Nu-jack swing toolboxes in the early years and the Old Navy Tech Vest-core of the latter years.
no SHIFT ?
Why would i include a band that was not on this compilation?? They werent even on revelation.
Ugh god 90s, glad I was listening to rap back then, this was boring then – still boring now.
That Bodyjar song is terrible. If this sampler came out 2-3 years later, they would have had Bodyjar in their prime.
I used to love bodyjar when I was 13, they were awesome around 2001-02 ish
Great article, TITR is one of my favourite bands and you’re right, Farside are sweet. Thought the other stuff was a bit “meh”, though Iceburn was cool.
I was born 1990 and think that the 90′s are a horrible decade full of fail. That clothes, that shitty music in EVERY genre (except ny-hiphop) and that scene, OMFG.
NY hip hop is basically the same thing as Integrity: the appeal is based at least 60% on their image [via scary black people being exotic and intriguing to middle class whites]
Hey Sarge.
Not on the topic, but…
I’m just turning 21 and I already feel like I am old as fuck. I started to get into music when the nu-metal was losing touch and pop-punk was at it’s prime (read: selling most). Since then there have been poppunk-labeled-emo-MCR-FOB stuff, mid-00s core, we-steal-from-glam-metal-bands, metalcore, deathcore, all those numerous Enter Shikari offshoots (trancecore, crabcore), crunkcore, everybody-likes-post-rock-era, a-little-period-when-folk-punk-was-a-thing and now this srscore stuff. It seems like that if you’re away from chatboards and blogs (read: tumblr) for a week, you’re already missing the latest fad. I heard about ‘djent’ only about few months ago (srs).
So my point is, how was it in the 90′s, when internet didn’t rule everyhing? Was the evolving smoother or was it like nowadays: “Wow, what a good band. Is that powervio….WHERE DID ALL THOSE PW BANDS CAME FROM?”. I understand that people jump on bandwagons really fast, but I it’s hard to believe that missing shows for a few months would have meant total WTF.
It was basically the same thing back then: 1992 everybody thought “hardcore” = Agnostic Front whatever, then Earth Crisis came out and blew everybodys mind. Then there was the Krishnacore trend, then the thrash revival trend, etc etc. The big difference is the frequency that confusing new trends appeared- back then it took ideas much longer to spread (via zines or word of mouth, since the internet’s reach was pretty limited), so you would only be confronted with some bizarre new genre/scene ever 12-18 months or whatever as opposed to every other week.
I remember the late 90s on dialup, downloading every RealMedia file Victory put out on their site and thinking the tinny fart sound was pure gold.
lol @ the band named No Fun At All. Some of this stuff is fun and catchy. Like Texas Is the Reason.
I had forgotten about Sense Field. So bad.
Back around the time this came a lot of hardcore kids worked really hard to integrate these kinds of shitty bands into their identity. I’ll never forget my freshman year of college in 1997 when a friend said with a straight face: “I really like Chamberlain, but I like the stuff from before they changed their name from Split Lip better.” SO MUCH HATE.
I always thought the Bodyjar singer sounds a little like Chesney Hawkes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67edQOtQIfA
that song is off on of the Burning Heart Records Cheap Shots Samplers, which were awesome!
i definitely remember this comp and how unremarkable it was. this was when i was first getting into punk and hardcore, however…
it did introduce me to farside, and i can’t tell you how many “sad driving nights” included the “monroe doctrine” album back in the day! still love this band!
Back in 2000, I probably ordered every late 80s NYHC record that Rev put out. I remember they stuffed an Iceburn 12″ in one of the packages so something else in there wouldn’t bend. Next time it was an Engine Kid record. Not to mention all of the fucking whack stickers — basically like saying, “Here, you throw this away.”
the only saving grace of all these songs are (as already stated) Texas Is The Reason and Farside. On a side note, i recently downloaded the Gin Blossoms album with Hey Jealousy and Found Out About You, the whole thing is much better than alot of the stuff on this list. jus sayin.
Backed 110%, only revise to say that it’s much better than EVERYTHING on this list.
Wow, those bands seem cool listened now instead of back then. (lol Engine Kid)
people who jock the 90s seems to forget the other things which happen back then. really shitty things. They have p good memory repression, gotta hand it to em
Man, Gameface, Farside and Texas Is The Reason were great. Even you recognize it. So that trend was not all that bad.
Aw man, one of the first times I’ve disgareed with you. Most of my favourite Revelation releases consist of this kinda stuff. Elliott, TITR, Sense Field etc. Though the glory of it all is kinda being ruined by the tr00 brigade jocking those bands.
Never really got that into Farside or Knapsack though.
I’d love an early naughties post. I know you did Mid naughties but sorta 2000-2003 when it was all about Further Seems Forever, Funeral for a Friend and stuff.
THE SIDEBAR, HOW DOES IT WORK??
http://www.stuffyouwillhate.com/2011/12/lets-talk-about-early00score-and-mid00score/
oh nm, I think that’s what you were referencing. I don’t know that I would have anything to say about 00-03 that I didn’t already say in that other post, maybe someone else can do it!
I stand by Shades Apart – Eyewitness being a great record, but the stuff they pit out on Revelation kind of blows.
SAY THE LINE. VALENTINE.
I’m going to agree with everyone that says TiTR was awesome. I never really listened to anything else in this “genre”. Gameface were tight too.
I still listen to a lot of stuff from the 90s, but I don’t jock it and pretend it to be the tr00est tr00 since tr00 started because we all know the tr00est of the tr00 was some obscure jazz artist that only six people saw/heard before he vanished.
I’m going to go try and figure out what the deal with slipknot is.
I actually paid 5 bucks at a store when this came out. So many shitty bands, but the “old bands used for bait” were new to me so I learned about some stuff that I still listen to so it wasn’t totally worthless.
Civ was on a major, but there were a few 7″ss on Rev. Like someone else said, they put GB on the cd anyway.
Since I have so butthurt/annoyed by “WHY DIDNT U INCLUDE BAND XYZ” comments lately, I guess my point is, why in the world would I include Civ in a post about a compilation that they didn’t appear on?? The image at the top has a complete track listing, and Civ is obviously not on that list. Why would I include a review of “Air Bud” in a post about Vin Diesel’s best movies??
did u actually write this Vin Diesel post? I think someone should. I’m interested to see your stance on “The Pacifier”
Save that for my OTW Action Heroes post.
(i work on cp time though, so it’ll be a while)
I hear you, no butthurt on my part, I was just responding to that earlier post.
I think if I like 8 songs on this comp, which is better than I would have expected at this point.
Loved this post. I was totally into ska and Fat Wreck Chords in high school. I remember buying this, because cheap comps were a great way to find new bands, and being incredibly disappointed. Btw- I always thought Gameface were the worst. They just sounded like a bad 90s radio band.
I’m so confused by Engine Kid. Why was Greg Anderson in an emo band? The song was under a half hour and no one was dressed like a jawa… what gives?
Rev used that emo song because it’s probably the most easily accessible song on the Engine Kid record. Their other songs are mostly long, heavy and boring.
Personally I love Heatmiser & Sparklehorse. So it should come as no surprise that I’m totally digging a lot of these bands! So once again, thanks D for introducing me to Farside & TITR, even if it was for all the wrong reasons…
i have this cd in my car right now. it’s somewhere between nostalgic and still enjoyable, but i listen to it atleast twice a year. the Chinchilla and Into Another songs make it worth it.
Then again, i never viewed it as a “HxC” sampler, just a good mix of what 90′s music was about if you were a teenager trying to enjoy poppish music without your other hardcore friends talking shit on you.
Shit, I forgot to discuss Into Another– I actually thought they were great, and although I wouldn’t say that I listen to them on a regular basis these days, they at least sound competent by today’s standards when I do.
hey maybe next time you get a 90′s hair up your ass, you can write about the anomaly that was Into Another. Trying to understand how all my bros with Judge tattoo’s would listen to a guy sing about snowflakes in falsetto just cuz he was in Underdog
just cuz he was in Underdog
I think you just explained it (although I always thought Underdog were fucking awful)
HEY MAN, SAY IT TO MY FACE!
good point/agree.
BODYJAR has a track on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. It’s pretty cool!
There are bands who can actually do these styles well and make listenable music, but weren’t in the 90′s, so no one cares :/
dude this comp! haha! i remember listening to this thing and half the bands i was like WHHAAAAA??? my band in high school used to cover texas is the reason during rehersals which thinking back is just hilarious. they made the kennedy assassination emo! the emo revolution from like 96-99 was just ridiculous. heres to being a tr00 oldfag.
I remember my older brother gave me this comp for my 10th or 11th birthday, along with about time by Pennywise and punk-o-rama vol.2.5. I liked the TITR song a lot, but mainly just listened to the other cds and would put that comp on when he was home so he didn’t feel bad about giving a shitty gift. Cool story, huh?
Punk O Rama 1 and 2 were infinity times better than this
That is 100% true. I meant 2.1, you know the one that’s the exact same as vol. 2 except without that TSOL song?
I know this wasn’t the reaction you were hoping for but your Metalsucks post on Greg Anderson convinced me to re-buy Engine Kid’s “Angel Wings”.
LOL from what I can tell they’re deleting comments left on the site (presumably calling Kim a sloot or whatever) on the grounds she found them “disturbing”, how very feminist of them.
But if you listened to this and thought to yourself, “IDK man, this stuff doesn’t sound as bad as you’re making it out to be,” not so fast!!
muahaha exactly what i was thinking while reading this!! How you get in my mind??
…are you a wizard? *trembling*
A couple of years ago I ordered some records from Rev and they stuffed them between two XXL Whirlpool longsleeve t shirts…I still wear one to sleep once in a while.
The only bands too pull off the whole alternative rock for hardcore bros were Quicksand and Rival Schools. I love the fuck out of the first Quicksand album.
Sounds like Jimmy Eat World’s first album. All of it.
Not to go all oldfag, but once Rev moved to CA, it was straight down hill… lots of shit was obviously going on at that time as well – Cappo had sold his share in Rev, moved onto Equal Vision/Krishnacore stuff, YC was falling apart and general tastes were changing. Just unfortunate that they decided this kind of shit was what the ‘next big thing’ was…
Another riveting and educational post. Thanks bro!
I dont like to be mean for no reason, but the HopeLegion website that this comp is uploaded to seems like it was made by a total cocksucker.
You posted a shit Bodyjar song. Their big singles in Australia were ‘Not The Same’ and ‘Fall to The Ground’ which are awesome songs (and I don’t even like much pop punk), before they signed to Dexter Holland from the Offspring’s label, not sure if that was before or after Revelation.
The song by Engine Kids is kind of cool actually. It sounds like a poor mans Sunny Day Real Estate and Soul Asylum. Its wierd sounding but it works.
Props for showing the love for Gameface. Great fucking band. I remember getting this compilation in high school in ’99. Still dig it.
Man it’s so weird that you are talking about farside in this post, I bought “The Monroe Doctrine” in a music store the other day because I was feeling nostalgic. Haven’t heard anybody talk about them in ages. Listening back on it now it is still awesome haha. Also I still jam Texas is the reason all the time, timeless band. Good post man!
Haters gonna hate but this comp basically signalled the end of an era. Strangely enough I owned Whirlpool’s Liquid Glass and find them so underrated. Don’t give a rat’s ass about the rest of the bands though.
This is coming from someone born in the 70s.
All I’ve got to say is : you suck, sorry for you man. Asylum.