Show Notes
Diving deep into all things ’90s… Hardcore, crusty, dub, four to the floor, LET’S HAVE IT… we are, of course, finally diving into the unrelenting, tribe-declaring world of ’90s techno (and the chemical revolution that fuelled the whole thing).
The story starts in a Detroit suburb in the late ’80s with Kevin Sanderson, Derrick May and Juan Atkins – a trio of high-school friends with a deep fascination for European electronic music like Kraftwerk, Belgian synth-pop and Depeche Mode. Incorporating elements of Chicago house and funk, they created a sound that would go on to define the future of electronic music and even pop across the world, from the soulful Strings Of Life to the minimalistic bleep of Warp Records to Underworld and Orbital, and the almost impenetrable German punishers that packed out the floor at Tresor every weekend.
Music journalist and tech-head Joe Muggs evangelises on the magic of the 4/4 to a slightly sceptical Miranda – “Sometimes I think I’m too Northern”. You’ll have to listen in to find out what prompted that…
CORRECTION: Flux Trax, the brilliant techno primer album, was compiled by Richard Norris of The Grid not our own Andrew, but he did the sleeve notes. You can pick up a copy for next to nothing!
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Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait and Amelia Phillips. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.
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More from Talk ’90s to me
Diving deep into all things ’90s… Canadian art school kid turned indie bass player Melissa Auf Der Maur was sucked into the whirlwind of two of the biggest alt.rock and grunge bands of the ’90s, centre stage with two of the most divisive characters of the decade: first Billy Corgan and then Courtney Love.
Diving deep into all things ’90s… Which TV moments stick with you forever? If you were growing up queer in the 90s, some of those scenes went beyond fond memory and became monumentally life-affirming. From Two of Us to Queer as Folk, Brookside to Coronation Street, ’90s TV was peppered with script-writing that brought the LGBTQ+ experience to the fore, sometimes facing moral outrage, backlash and censorship, and often changing the tapestry of modern culture forever. Writer, broadcaster, podcaster and “utter TV-head” Scott Bryan joins us to talk about the impact of these moments; growing up in the shadow of Section 28; and his book Out Now: A Queer Journey Through Modern Television – which is, well, out now.
Diving deep into all things ’90s… We celebrate Andrew Weatherall, the DJ giant who influenced every corner of electronic music across the ’90s and ’00s. Master arranger, remix royalty, father of indie dance and pioneering selector, he brought dub, rock and roll, soul, pop, punk, noise and techno from across all generations to the dancefloor. “Wevvers” kickstarted the ’90s with Primal Scream’s ‘Loaded’ and subsequent album Screamadelica, working with Happy Mondays, New Order, Beth Orton, The Manics, St Etienne and My Bloody Valentine.
Diving deep into all things ’90s… It’s the episode you’ve been waiting for. We present to you, Princess of Pop, ultimate gay icon, international treasure… Kylie. She kicked off the decade with Michael Hutchence on her arm – a masterclass in shaking off your good girl past – before diving into the world of indie via Nick Cave, the Manics, the Poetry Olympics, and a series of identity-shifting haircuts. There were highs, and there were definitely lows. Indie Kylie left the fans wanting, and the death of Michael Hutchence closed the door on one of the most important chapters of her life. But the millennium – and those gold hotpants – heralded a comeback like no other. Today we are talking ALL things Kylie, and who better to lead us than the fabulous Michael Cragg: returning Talk ’90s guest, journalist, Kylie fanatic and author of Can't Get You Out of My Head: In Search of Kylie, out on September 24th.
We are going live! On 15th October, Talk '90s is live at the ICMP in Queen's Park, London. We are joined by former guest and Bandsplain-legend Yasi Salek to talk all things Courtney Love - don't miss out.