Cronenberg: A Curious History of Violence

Tackling Cronenberg’s Canon

There are only a handful of directors working today who, thanks to an extremely distinctive cinematic style and an unparalleled repertoire behind them, have created their own personal subgenre of film. Surrealist auteurs David Lynch and Terry Gilliam, new wave hipsters Wes Anderson and P.T. Anderson, post-modernist European art house filmmakers Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Pedro Almodóvar, and indie legends the Coen Brothers come to mind. Few directors though have had as curious and diverse a career as the Canadian born psychological film weaver, David Cronenberg.

Last week marked the opening of Cronenberg’s 16th feature film, the harsh but mesmerizing Eastern Promises, which is not only one of the director’s finest contributions yet but also a film that proves that his broad range and natural maturation as a filmmaker continues to pay off.

There are a number of certainties one can expect walking into a Cronenberg film. The film score will no doubt be contributed by longtime Cronenberg musical muse, Howard Shore, the chances of scenes of the grotesque generally involving gore, mutilation, deformation, or unnervingly realistic violence are high, there will no doubt be an underlying fascination with the human body, mind alterations via drug use, and sexual curiosity pulsing through the film’s veins, and above all viewers will be drawn deep into the harsh and sometimes surreal realms of the human psyche, even just for 90 minutes.

To truly appreciate and possibly understand Cronenberg’s unique style it is important to know his roots. Beginning as a TV filmmaker in Canada, Cronenberg spent the early part of his career focusing on low-budget horror schlock. Films such as 1975’s Shivers (a sci-fi B-grade horror film dealing with infectious parasites, sex fanatics, and of course gross out violence), 1977s Rabid (a medically themed zombie film starring a then famous female porn star thespian) and his cult favorite 1981’s Scanners (a film that Garth in Wayne’s World sums up nicely as the one where “that dude’s head blows up!”) are sub par in comparison to his later works but were no doubt important to his cinematic growth.

After the low-budget, but still fairly fascinating and ‘ahead of their time’ gross out horror lineup, Cronenberg broadened his style in this niche genre taking on socially conscious themes and focusing more on suspense than merely gore. The Brood showed the director’s true thriller chops and ability to get the most out of his actors thanks to a standout performance by the late great English actor Oliver Reed. In Scanners and 1983’s Videodrome Cronenberg explored science fiction, the latter also serving as a fascinating commentary on pop culture, violence in the media and the negative effects of television addiction, a theme that is still relevant today.

Then there was The Fly, a remake of a horror classic that truly helped land Cronenberg as an auteur with a promising future. The film paid homage to classic horror themes, particularly the mad scientist, Frankenstein storyline, utilized beautifully grotesque and realistic special effects and makeup (watching it today it’s still hard not to cringe at the bizarre sights Cronenberg dishes out), and stellar acting performances by Gina Davis (still her best role to date) and the distinguished Jeff Goldblum.

While The Fly remains one of Cronenberg’s landmark films it was 1988’s Dead Ringers, arguably his career masterpiece, that allowed the director to branch out yet again into drama, psychological thriller and above all tragedy. Fueled by a riveting performance or should I say performances by Jeremy Irons (curiously overlooked by the Oscars) playing twin gynecological surgeons whose psychological equilibrium is challenged by themes of lust, love, paranoia and drug use. The film was a radical 180 from The Fly or any of its predecessors, save Videodrome, but still managed to standout as a Cronenberg film thanks to the director’s ongoing fascination with the human body, medicine, mutation and a number of gruesome bloodstained visuals.

Cronenberg’s 90’s career was just as notable, again showing cinematic growth but is often overlooked. His bizarre adaptation of the puzzling William S. Burroughs novel Naked Lunch again explored drug use and paranoia with the weirdness and surreal vision that the story needed. M. Butterfly, a stage to film adaptation set in China circa the 1960’s, was a radical departure for Cronenberg tapping into the realms of quiet melodrama and romance but was done was a level of grace that again showed the director’s range.

The sexually controversial 1996 indie sleeper Crash (not to be confused with Paul Haggis’ Oscar winning film) was panned by critics, had a limited release due to its NC-17 rating when in reality it is a fascinating look at psychological and possibly perverse sexually fascinations that is really a clever allegory for any of humankind’s many obsessions and addictions.

The new millennium brought on yet another Cronenberg persona this time straying away completely with his horror and science fiction roots and focusing almost exclusively on dramas in which characters tackle their inner demons, troubled pasts, and unforgiving realities. The brilliant but under-appreciated Spider featured a brilliant performance from a Ralph Fiennes that was completely overlooked again due to limited distribution. It wasn’t until 2005’s A History Of Violence that Cronenberg truly returned to the forefront.

The film marked the first collaboration with Viggo Mortensen, a wonderfully versatile actor who, through his work with Cronenberg, is successfully shedding his majestic Lord of the Rings typecast. Adapted from a graphic novel, the story of revenge and redemption divided audiences (always a good thing in my opinion) due to a clever tongue-in-cheek script and standout scenes of sex and violence but is not to be missed.

Eastern Promises like all of Cronenberg’s films is not for everyone but it is a sophisticated and in many ways an important look at the realities of the mafia and the underground international prostitution market coming out of Russia and the former Soviet satellite states. The Cronenberg experience can be grueling for some. His use of violence has always been realistic and in-your-face. Tapping into the human psyche is not for casual filmgoers but for those looking to be challenged by films that aren’t afraid to tackle themes seldom explored in celluloid then Cronenberg’s impressive gamut is one to be explored.

When Liner Notes Just Aren’t Enough

The Finest Album Companions

In the “digital age” of MP3s and iPods it’s easy to forget about one of the truly unique parts of an album; the liner notes. These little foldouts that come with CDs and the larger inserts that once were so caringly paired with vinyl, often serve as more than just outlets for the tracklisting and endless shout outs from the artists and producers involved in the recording. From song lyrics, album mission statements, recording session notes, to galleries for album art, liner notes enable dedicated listeners to crack the musical shell and dive deeper into the record’s artistic core. For true music übernerds or really anyone looking to learn a little more about their favorite albums sometimes liner notes just don’t cut it.

Back in 2003 a group of music enthusiasts started the Thirty-Three and a Third series, a collection of pocket size books for loyal listeners looking to enhance their knowledge of their favorite albums. The series set out to examine a diverse range of pinnacle albums of the past 50 years, everything from undisputed masterpieces (The Beatles’ Let It Be, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, Neil Young’s Harvest), lesser known indie-gems (Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs, Belle and Sebastian’s If You’re Feeling Sinister), to overlooked albums from stellar artists (Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland, David Bowie’s Low). Consider this column a recommendation to fellow music lovers who may not be familiar with this wonderful series.

The growing anthology (50 books currently available with roughly 20 plus slated for future release) provides curious listeners with a look at how the album was created–from the initial incarnation, to the recording process, followed by the release and the album’s aftermath–and then discusses the records importance in the wide arena of popular music. These quick reads (average editions range from 100-200 pages in pocket size formats) are brilliant ways to explore another side of some classic albums for five reasons:

1) For starters, they’re highly addictive, providing listeners with an easy fix of background information pertaining to a slew of stellar albums. Some books use interviews with the bands or artists to tell the story others focus on the album’s shear importance; all provide that extra bit of insight not found on a mere record listening or skimming of the liner notes.

2) Pretentiousness is not the series forte. While the writers do choose to chronicle some universally agreed upon monumental albums (Pet Sounds and Let It Be for example) for the most part the authors and contributors are more interested in tackling the less obvious, under-hyped records (Nirvana’s In Utero over Nevermind, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn over Dark Side of the Moon) as well as lesser known picks (where else could you find an entire book devoted to the minister of weird, Tom Waits’, Swordfishtrombones or Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea).

3) The scribes range from well-known music journalists, scholars and even musicians (The Decemberists’ frontman Colin Meloy contributed a surprisingly disappointing self-indulged look at The Replacements Let It Be), giving each book a unique voice to tell the story of each album.

4) At eight to ten bucks a hit these books are cheap companion pieces to albums you already own or ones you may want to indulge in (and no I am not a savvy member of the company’s PR department, but rather a humble fan of the series who has been hooked ever since I discovered them two years ago).

5) Finally, with an entire history of noteworthy albums at their disposal and fans all around the world eager to learn more about the records that hold a special place in their hearts (the series’ official blog encourages readers to voice their opinions of which albums should be chronicled next), the possibilities for this series are endless.

The impressive canon so far is bound to provide at least something for everyone, from casual listeners to “High Fidelity”esque music elitists. Some books that I’ve read are disappointing (the daunting edition on Zeppelin’s IV spends more time discussing the mystery behind the band’s use of “zoso” mystic symbols/identities and fascination with the occult than the record’s conception or music) while other subject choices are a bit baffling (book #7 tackles ABBA Gold, a greatest hits compilation of the boisterous 70s Swedish band’s disco blahs and this December marks the release of a book examining Céline Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love). Still, because the series taps into every pop genre and sub genre spanning the second half of the 20th century, the books are in many ways a complete modern musical history told one signature album at a time.

Bookstores around the world are saturated with writings and ramblings on popular music. While an entire encyclopedia devoted to the career of Bob Dylan or the making of Revolver is warranted and welcome amongst avid music lovers, there is something comforting about the 33 1/3 series, which seeks out the less obvious album gems. Rather than utilizing pompous music historians the majority of this series channels the best music writers, the faithful fans.

We all have a short list of albums that truly changed our lives and what’s nice about this series is that there are others out there who share the same passions. For every Beatles or Stones aficionado there is someone who is equally passionate about a lesser-known group like The Minutemen (book #45 Double Nickels on the Dime) or Love (book #2 Forever Changes), or a singer songwriter like PJ Harvey (book #48 Rid of Me). The 33 1/3 series serves as a vehicle for the communal appreciation of great music going above and beyond the content found on the liner notes of the albums we love and cherish.

For more information on the series visit 33third.blogspot.com .

Songwriting Illusions

Listen Carefully

Gold Coast slaveship bound for cotton fields
Sold in a market down in New Orleans
Scarred old slaver know he’s doin’ alright
Hear him whip the women just around midnight

These are the opening lyrics to a song that most of us have probably heard a hundred times; a song the majority of us can sing along with on command. How many of you though knew this harsh stanza was the opening to The Rolling Stones’ classic hit “Brown Sugar” when you initially saw it, without the aid of Keith Richards ultra cool opening guitar riff and Jagger’s identifiable raspy vocals?

Now I know that some of you knew from the get-go that these were gritty Sticky Fingers era Stones lyrics, however, I’m guessing that many were initially stumped. There are hundreds of songs out there that, like “Brown Sugar,” a song that deals with some “fun” themes such as slave trade, rape, sadomasochism, heroin use, and sexual fantasies, are often misinterpreted by its audience. It’s not that we as listeners choose to ignore the song’s true meanings but often we are so taken back by the catchy music (“yeah, yeah, yeah, woo!”) and the pop friendly choruses that we often pass over the deeper lyrical messages.

Brown sugar, how come you taste so good,
Brown sugar, just like a young girl should

There are many reasons for why certain songs seem to elude the majority of listeners. There’s the passive vs. active listener argument; the former being those casual listeners who enjoy songs for the music and live for the power pop songs that don’t necessarily have to be about anything but simply are candy to the ear and the latter being those dedicated listeners who dissect the lyrics and seek out the fine nuances of songwriting. This column is by no means a criticism of how people listen to music nor is it a judgment of those who were stumped by the lyrics above (after all I myself have always, to an extent, been a listener who focuses on the music rather than the lyrics) instead it is a look at a handful of popular songs that, for one reason or another, are constantly misinterpreted.

Born down in a dead man’s town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much
‘Til you spend half your life just covering up

Probably the most popular and baffling case of a song being completely misunderstood is the story behind Bruce Springsteen’s monumental rock anthem, “Born In the U.S.A,” a song that’s true meaning even stumped a former President. The title track of the Boss’ biggest selling album of the mid 80s has often been coined one of the greatest patriotic rock songs about America when in reality the track is a blatant and satirical slap in the face of America. The song tells the story of a small town everyman who is sucked into the war in Vietnam to fight for his country, loses a comrade and quite possibly his will to live, and is ultimately forgotten about upon his homecoming. The supposed American hero becomes an exile and nobody, a tale that is all too familiar now as it was back then.

I’m ten years down the road
Nowhere to run, ain’t got nowhere to go

Now while Springsteen clearly wears his ironic take of the American dream on his sleeve (just look at the album’s satirically perfect American pastime-themed cover art) “Born in the U.S.A.” still managed to elude an entire nation who, thanks to Ronald Reagan, saw it as a patriotic anthem rather than the scathing portrayal of a failing country (Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” is another classic tune that comes off as being patriotic when its everything but). The track was used as Reagan’s 1984 campaign rally song and was embraced by his supporters, many of whom only truly heard the song’s pop savvy refrain.

In reality it’s no surprise that the lyrics on “Born in the U.S.A.” were so misconstrued. The song is a perfect power pop track. Loud, overpowering drums (I’m talking thunder snare hits people). Check. Ultra catchy 80s keyboard riff. Check. A vocal performance that screams rock. Check. And above all a ‘God Bless Americaesque’ chorus, “BORN in the U.S.A,” that tricks listeners into thinking the song is about pride and a love for a country when in reality it’s a sobering manifesto for hopelessness and the downfall of the American dream.

Often due to lyric misinterpretations songs take on new meanings all together, shedding the artist’s original intention completely.

Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
Ill be watching you

The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” remains to this day one of the “greatest love songs” of all time when in reality the song is a fairly creepy allegory for what happens when love goes wrong. The song’s narrator is not the smooth sounding love God that so many people believe Sting to be but rather a domineering stalker (“Oh can’t you see, you belong to me”). The big brother themes and anti-romantic realities are overshadowed by the gentle crooning vocals, a subtle melodic bass line, and new-age style drumming. Yet despite this and more “Every Breath You Take” manages to finds its place on thousands of wedding playlists and romantic mix tapes around the world.

In a college a professor once talked about James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain,” a song that has come to epitomize the singer songwriter genre but is often completely misunderstood. Taylor’s lyrics dive deep into his inner depression, his addiction to drugs and his struggles with his rising stardom, however, due to Taylor’s dreamy vocals and lullaby guitar strumming, the song is often mistaken as something more romantic.

It could be said that part of the brilliance of good songwriting is being able to convey a message without having to spoon-feed the audience. A song like “Born In the U.S.A” doesn’t have to necessarily sound dark to express a sad realization. Besides being completely overplayed, “Every Breath You Take” is a great song because you have to get past the cliché romantic melodies to realize the song really deals with the selfish and possibly dangerous side of romance.

Truly great music should be able to play tricks on its listeners. A song like “Brown Sugar” works well because upon first listen it’s a fast-paced, fun rock song but on a second, third or fourth take the listener grasps what Jagger is really saying. Lyrical appreciation and understanding takes patience, carefully tuned ears, and a will to dig deep into a song to realize that more often than not there is more to tune than what appears.

Come Together

Tackling Reunion Tours

Earlier this week it was announced that the remaining members of Led Zeppelin would reunite for an exclusive one night only gig at London’s O2 Arena in mid November. The performance, the band’s first together in 19-years, is part of a honorary show in remembrance of Atlantic Record’s founder Ahmet Ertegun who passed away last year. Original drummer John Bonham will of course not be attending since his booze induced death in 1980 was the major catalyst for the band’s breakup, however, the exciting news from the announcement is that the late drummer’s son, Jason Bonham, will be filling the hard to fill shoes.

Having grown up on my parent’s Zeppelin vinyl collection (by age 6 it’s safe to say I could pull from memory all the beautiful nuances and details from II’s epic “Whole Lotta Love”) this was tickling news. Thoughts started racing through my head of possibly a full throttle world tour, perhaps some new material and maybe even a concert DVD in the same vein of the Rolling Stone’s “Four Flicks” set. Visions of grandeur I know, but hey, it does seem that tons of band’s from yesteryears are regrouping for elaborate reunion tours so why not Zeppelin?

In this past year alone we saw a slew of classic bands reunite for large-scale tours and in a few cases even a new album. This summer the Police tapped into its past at a sold out Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Genesis toured the globe (sans Peter Gabriel however), The Smashing Pumpkins (really 50% of the Pumpkins) released its first album since 2000, followed by its own world tour, Iggy Pop joined the Stooges for a tour and a new album, and even the Spice Girls announced its upcoming, highly anticipated reunion–an anxious nation can now be put to rest.

These are just a few names on a long list of bands or artists in recent years that decided that retirement just wasn’t in their cards. Last year Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey brought back The Who for a grand tour and a new and fairly decent album, Endless Wire. Roger Waters reunited with Pink Floyd for Live 8, there was a short lived Doors reunion tour some years back, and earlier this month Stevie Wonder played Chicago marking his first tour in over a decade.

More often than not I support reunion tours, especially when it comes to bands that split up prematurely before I had the chance of seeing them live. Selfish I know but hey, we all have dreams. Sure there are reunions that are unwarranted (did we really need a Motley Crew regrouping or any other loud 80s hair band for that matter), some come too late in the game (The Police in my humble opinion), and sometimes these tours are nothing more than money making schemes for desperate has-beens (Van Halen anyone? Or pretty much anything David Lee Roth does with his time) but more often than not these tours can be a perfect way to rekindle your past or experience for yourself what others reminisce about.

In 1999/2000 Bruce Springsteen recompiled the mighty E-Street Band for a massive and well-received reunion tour (wonderfully captured on the Live in New York City DVD and album), followed by a very strong record release, The Rising. Here’s a group known for their monstrous live shows proving that not only do they still have what it takes but in many ways have improved and matured with age (don’t believe me watch/listen to Nils Lofgren’s virtuosic guitar solos, particularly on the electric version of “Youngstown,” paired with the Boss and Little Stevie Van Zandt).

In 2004 The Pixies, arguably one of the largest cult bands out there put its differences aside and joined up for a massive world tour chronicled on the ironically titled Pixies Sell Out DVD. It was subsequently one of the biggest tours of the year and proved that there are Pixies fans everywhere who all got a short but sweet blast from the past.

One of the most warranted and underrated recent reunions of the past ten years was that of 70s Cali jazz rockers, Steely Dan, a band that was almost exclusively a studio group during its heyday, very rarely treating fans to live performances. After the duo won a Grammy in 2000 for Two Against Nature they began touring off and on with stellar backing musicians and a career-spanning catalogue at their disposal. The band may not be in its prime in terms of albums but by performing live they are giving fans a taste of something new and refreshing.

Reunion tours are like “Greatest Hits” compilation albums. It seems like all capable bands or artists take part in them at some point in their careers. The tours can be gambles not so much in terms of money because, let’s be honest, who wouldn’t pay to see Led Zeppelin live, but more in terms of credibility. As the years go by artists can sometimes lose their chops, musically and vocally, and sometimes bands should just remain dormant (The Smashing Pumpkins recent “reunion” stunt is one of the worst yet in my opinion). Still for true fans reunions can be liberating experiences.

The closest I’ve ever gotten to a true Zeppelin concert was seeing a fairly respectable Zeppelin cover band, Zoso, out of L.A. play a small bar in Southern Indiana. Even Jimmy Page’s raw live album with The Black Crowes circa 1999 or Robert Plant and Page’s No Quarter live album/tour in 1994 (done painstakingly without the brilliant John Paul Jones) couldn’t truly do the band the justice it deserves. For years there were rumors of a Zeppelin reunion tour with longtime Bonham fan Dave Grohl taking on the Moby Dick of drummer replacements but these remained only rumors, so the idea of seeing these legends on stage with Bonham blood is beyond alluring.

There are no guarantees of what’s in store for this newly hinted Zeppelin reincarnation and its hard to say which future bands are headed down reunion road in the near future (I don’t know about you but I smell a Smiths reunion sometime soon) all I know is my fingers will be crossed that bands like Zeppelin or the Talking Heads take that next step. Hopefully some day their time is gonna come.

Good Times, (or) Bad Times

Ummm did anyone else see this…Zeppelin’s getting back together! Jason Bonham filling his father’s shoes! Could this be an unreal reunion tour or a mistake…

Good Times, (or) Bad Times

Ummm did anyone else see this…Zeppelin’s getting back together! Jason Bonham filling his father’s shoes! Could this be an unreal reunion tour or a mistake…

Closing on a Good Note

Glorious List-making

Last week on National Public Radio’s highly addictive rock and roll talk show “Sound Opinions” pop writers Greg Kot (Chicago Tribune) and Jim DeRogatis (Chicago Sun Times) discussed and listed their favorite album openers of all time. The two music geeks bantered over the importance of a solid opening track and put together an impressive short list of their personal picks–a diverse collection ranging from Aretha Franklin’s “Think” to N.W.A’s “Straight Outta Compton.” When the hour-long broadcast reached its close I started putting together my own mental list of songs that were ignored (for those curious The Rolling Stone’s “Rocks Off,” “Debaser” by The Pixies, Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue,” U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name,” Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains the Same,” and The Smith’s “The Headmaster Ritual” came to mind). Then I began pondering over an equally important roster of tracks; album closers.

The beautiful thing about a truly great album has always been the way it opens and closes. Similar to a great film or riveting literature, the best albums are the ones with opening tracks that draw you in and breathtaking final acts that reward you for your time and keep you yearning for more. Great closing tracks should in many ways sum up the albums meaning or bring closure to overall themes, the song should resonate with the listener long after its over warranting the albums revisit, and above all the album’s climax should blow the listener away.

Bruce Springsteen has long been revered as one of rock’s masterful storytellers and Born To Run conveyed the feelings of youth angst and romanticized life on the streets of the American city with a grandiose level of detail and perfection rarely heard on records today. The Boss’ “opera out on the turnpike” comes to an end with the magnificent “Jungleland,” a lush and evocative look at gang violence. The track is one of the greatest moments in rock history because it closes the record with an epic bang and showed us that after three albums Springsteen had finally found his niche as a socially conscious, everyman’s raconteur.

I’ve also noticed that some album closers serve as a mysterious peek into another side of an artist’s gamut. Nirvana’s Nevermind closes with the somber and haunting “Something in the Way,” a song that showed that Cobain could just as easily exorcize his inner demons with grace rather than rage. On Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea, fiery blues-punk singer/songwriter P J Harvey broke away from her previous styles, introducing a new softer but equally poetic side. The album’s dreamy closer “We Float” is a ballad that isn’t afraid to showcase Harvey’s beautiful vocal range, which was absent on previous records that played up the raw side of this versatile artist.

Sometimes album closers serve as a window into a band’s future, giving us a taste of what’s to come or what else the band is capable of. In my personal experience this is often the case with breakthrough debut albums.

I’ll always remember the first time I heard Weezer’s breakthrough self-titled album (Blue) when I was just beginning to truly explore the world of music. Here’s a disc that even today remains a perfect album. It opens with the bang that is “My Name is Jonas” and finishes with the slow building epic “Only In Dreams,” a song that was such a complete 180 of the album’s previous straight pop cuts that it showed not only the band’s musical range but also the possibility that its follow up album may just be a horse of a different color (sure enough 1996’s equally masterful Pinkerton showed even more diversity in sound).

It’s become a bit cliché to say that in the day of digital music “the album is dead” and frankly this statement just is not true. Sure the way we listen to music has changed but the art of a solid album is still alive and well. Like you my iPod has a slew of random playlists and my car is littered with old mix CDs, however nothing beats the feeling I get after I’ve absorbed a carefully crafty and brilliant album. It’s through these riveting records that one can truly be transported into the artists world, even if just for 70-minutes.

Other notable closing tracks:
“Release”—Pearl Jam (Ten)
“Oh Yoko!”—John Lennon (Imagine)
“Subterraneans”—David Bowie (Low)
“Hurt”—Nine Inch Nails (Downward Spiral)
“The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”—Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)
“A Day in the Life”—The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
“Moonlight Mile”—The Rolling Stones (Sticky Fingers)
“Street Spirit (Fade Out)”—Radiohead (The Bends)
“Here Comes a Regular”—The Replacements (Tim)
“Havolina”—The Pixies (Bossanova)
“In The Back Seat”—Arcade Fire (Funeral)
“Africa”—D’Angelo (Voodoo)
“This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)”—Talking Heads (Speaking In Tongues)
“I Am the Resurrection”—The Stone Roses (The Stone Roses)
“Adore”—Prince (Sign of the Times)
“Reservations”—Wilco (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)
“Reoccurring Dreams”—Hüsker Dü (Zen Arcade)
“I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)”—Stevie Wonder (Talking Book)