You can stream the playlist in full below, and read about each individual track further down the page.
If you enjoy any of the songs featured here, we encourage you to support the artists by purchasing their music from your local record shop, or through online retailers.The September 1998 edition features music from Ash, Eels, Placebo, Arab Strap, Pulp, Hole, Belle And Sebastian, Mansun, Gomez, Six By Seven, Dodgy, The Divine Comedy, The Smashing Pumpkins, Delakota, Helen Love, Depeche Mode, Terrorvision, Silver Sun, Cypress Hill, Grooverider, Deep Dish ft. Everything But The Girl, Wagon Christ, Slacker, Binary Finary, The Wiseguys, Lauren Hill and The Beautiful South.
Eels- Last Stop: This TownThis magnificent single from the Eels reached number 23 in the singles chart. One of the best songs of the era. Featuring an irresistibly sweet music box-like hook that carries the track, this was the first single to be released from the second Eels album Electro Shock Blues. Mark 'E' Everett wrote the songs on the often dark and solemn LP following ther suicide of his sister Elizabeth, and after becoming the last surviving member of the Everett family (until the birth of his son Archie a few years ago)
Last Stop: This Town imagines the departed as spirits flying over neighbourhoods and cities, able to see everything below them in a way that the living can't. Well, that's how I see it anyway. Despite the song's tragic background, it has a joyous vibe and comes with a humourous video featuring animated singing vegetables. Typical Eels, balancing the sadness with joy. The latest Eels album 'The Deconstruction' was released earlier this year.
Read an article revisiting Electro Shock Blues HERE.
Hole - Celebrity SkinThis brilliantly in-your-face single from American outfit Hole reached number 19 in the UK singles charts, it can be found on the album of the same name, which was also released in September 1998.
Gomez - Whippin' Piccadilly
This brilliant single from the genre-twisting Gomez reached number 35 in the UK singles charts. It was taken from the band's debut album Bring It On, which won the Mercury Prize that year. The group have been playing shows this year to celebrate the anniversary of that record. At the current time, they haven't made a new LP for seven years...
Six By Seven - For You
Released 20 years ago back in September 1998, reaching number 87 in the UK singles chart. Known for their terrific guitar sounds and arrangements, the Nottingham band released their debut album The Things We Make earlier in the year and won acclaim for their epic indie rock. Over the years, the group would venture into space rock, shoegaze, neo-psychedelia, Krautrock and various other genres. They split in 2008, but reformed in 2012 with a new line-up and have released more great music since. As well as a great new album from side project Twelve, Six By Seven are currently preparing a new studio LP. Find them at https://sixbyseven.bandcamp.com/
The Wiseguys - Start The CommotionSome brilliant big beat antics from The Wiseguys, number 66 in the UK singles chart. The breakbeat/trip hop project was helmed by producer Theo Keating aka Touché, who has released solo material since ditching the Wiseguys alias in 2001. This song was from the album 'The Antidote'.
Pulp - Party Hard
This terrific single by Sheffield indie legends Pulp went to number 29 in the UK charts, this was taken from their classic post-Britpop comedown album This Is Hardcore. Featuring some of the best guitar sounds in any Pulp track, and bringing to mind Bowie's 'Scary Monsters', it perfectly captured the debauchery, decadence of the mid 90s, as well its decline and aftermath. The line "now the party's over" does seem to make it official that the era was over. Some people even consider this as the last true Britpop single, although I'd say Blur killed it off the previous year, and that its sound is more post-Britpop. Whatever it is, it was a magnificent album. Pulp would release their next LP 'We Love Life' a few years later before splitting. A comeback tour a decade later would produce no new songs or albums, aside from a newly recorded version of the old demo 'After You'.
The Smashing Pumpkins - Perfect
Number 24 in the UK charts. The breezy 'Perfect' was the second single to be lifted from the band's fourth album 'Adore', a record which found them in a more subtle mode. Following a number of line-up changes over the years since, a "reformed" Smashing Pumpkins featuring key members from the early days are releasing a brand new album next month.
Delakota - C'Mon Cincinatti
1998 and '99 are years that I will always remember for some amazing songs from new bands, who only reached the bottom end of the charts, before most of them disappeared forever.Delakotawere one such act. In fact, if this sort of indie band became more popular in the late 90s, they could've helped take guitar music to far more interesting places at the turn of the century.
Their previous single 'The Rock' was a beautifully tranquil song that soundtracked many of my evenings in the summer of 1998. An essential late 90s indie track. I wrote about it HERE.
Delakota's sound combined the big beat and hip hop sounds of the late 90s with strong indie rock songwriting and a lively, diverse range of influences. Described as an "alternative dance" act, they formed from the ashes of pop-punk outfit The Senseless Things, who split in 1995. Drummer Cass Browne and Morgan Nicholls formed Delakota with Des Murphy (Solid State Revival, Wasteland, Los Bastardos, Genius Freak) and Brian Pearce in 1997. In an interview with musicmuso.com HERE, Browne stated that he was shaken by
the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994 and as a result, steered clear of guitar music for a while, choosing instead to experiment with samplers: “Everyone had followed the band (Nirvana) from their early ‘underdog’ status to the behemoth that they grew into (whether they liked it or not!) and it felt to me that if this is what becomes of a band at the height of their career... I just couldn’t listen to guitar music for a long time after that. With Senseless Things over, especially so. I got heavily into soul music; Curtis Mayfield for one, Sly and The Family Stone, more James Brown, Funkadelic. Jimmy Cliff. The Studio One catalog. Sunshine music, really. I got into lots of Hip Hop. I guess it was me trying to stay away from anything that sounded self-depreciating. Kurt really took that to the 9th degree and it really made me want to stay well back from it for the time being. I just needed a complete internal re-invention. I wanted to feel positive.”
Number 65 in the UK charts. In the mid 90s, the music press was in a frenzy over Britpop. The whole nation would soon be captured, and the party escalated to crazy heights. By 1998, the bubble had burst and the media was awash with doom and gloom over falling sales and a grim outlook for the future of the music industry. Dated but ridiculously catchy, this humorous track by Welsh bubblegum punk outfit Helen Love is full of sarcasm and presents itself ironically, yet in another context it could be the defiant anthem playing as the Britpop ship goes down. This is the band's only entry in the UK singles chart. They have released a number of EPS and albums since, the most recent being the 'Double Denim' single from this year.
Belle And Sebastian - A Summer Wasting
This selection from 20 years ago isn't a single, but a track from a brilliant album which contained no singles. The magnificent moment is from Belle And Sebastian's third studio album 'The Boy With The Arab Strap', released on 7 September 1998. One of the essential end-of-summer records, with a charming Glasweigan sound. Back in the late 90s, the Scottish indie chamber pop combo were very cool, highly praised and respected on the independent scene. Their quiet, humble brand of delicate, folk-flavoured music was a refreshing contrast to the high profile bombast of Britpop. After a number of EPs and albums, 'The Boy With The Arab Strap' found the band at their creative peak.
Read an article about the album and listen to it in full HERE.
Mansun - Six (Album Version)
In a change from the usual singles from 20 years ago, here's another album track from 20 years ago. Another version of this was released as a single the following year, but this is the opener from Mansun's second LP 'Six'. The Chester combo's extraordinary post-punk prog masterpiece has gone on to be regarded as a cult classic. You can listen to the album HERE, where you can also read a recent article I wrote revisiting this great record, along with pieces from an interview with the band's Paul Draper, and other memories of 'Six'...
Depeche Mode - Only When I Lose Myself
Tthis haunting beauty from Depeche Mode reached number 17 in the UK charts. It was the band's thirty-fifth UK single, released on 7 September 1998 and recorded for their compilation album 'The Singles 86-98'.
The Divine Comedy - Generation Sex
This fine bit of chamber pop from The Divine Comedy reached number 19 in the UK singles chart.. Detailing the madness and corruption of the (then) pre-millennial age, the song also references the previous year's death of Princess Diana, and the ironic hypocrisy of the public buying tabloid papers to read about her death, while also believing the press to be responsible for the car crash that killed her. The song comes from the band's sixth album Fin de Siècle, and features a guest narration by columnist and presenter Katie Puckrick.
Silver Sun - I'll See You Around
Some excellent punky power pop from Silver Sun. Their best moment, the bright, catchy West Coast-flavoured 'I'll See You Around' reached number 26 in the UK singles chart and was taken from the band's second album Neo Wave. After various hiatuses over the years, a new Silver Sun album was released in 2013, recorded solely by frontman James Broad, and last year the original line-up of the band supported the reformed Sleeper.
Dodgy - Every Single Day
This single by Dodgy reached number 32 in the UK charts, and turned out to be the last song the classic line-up would release for almost a decade. 60s pop flavours and ominous vibes lead into a bright singalong chorus on this track, which doesn't suggest a band in crisis, but in reality 1998 was not a happy time for Dodgy.
Having risen as one of Britpop's best-known band's in the mid 90s, the trio were rising high in the charts during 1996 and 1997 with the hit singles from their album Free Peace Sweet. However, just a year later the group and frontman Nigel Clark announced that they were parting ways, and that this would be their final single together. It was released as part of the best of compilation Ace As And Killer Bs. Mathew Priest and Andy Miller would recruit a few new members and continue under the Dodgy name for a disastrous album, before bringing the band to an end in the early 2000s. Later that decade the original line-up reunited and began touring again. They have since produced two brilliant albums, and are currently writing material for their sixth studio LP.
Grooverider - Rainbows Of Colour
An epic single by drum n bass icon Grooverider, released 20 years ago in September 1998. This brilliant full length version of 'Rainbows Of Colour' can be found on the album Mysteries Of Funk.
Wagon Christ - Lovely
Some music hall reggae techno breakbeat madness, released 20 years ago in September 1998. This single by Wagon Christ (aka Luke Vibert) reached number 90 in the UK charts. Vibert's latest release was the 'Turn' EP from May this year.
Ash - Jesus Says
Infectious, driving, Velvet Underground style rock from Ash. It reached number 15 in the UK singles chart.
After the teenage trio rose to fame during the Britpop years with their energetic pop punk, they recruited additional guitarist Charlotte Hatherley in 1997 and became a four piece. They returned in 1998 with their second album Nu Clear Sounds, a darker, heavier more melancholic record. Something they had in common with many other indie groups at the time. 'Jesus Says' was the album's first single.
Following from the release of this year's Islands album, Ash will be touring the UK in October.
Terrorvision - Josephine
A fantastic single by Bradford rockers Terrorvision. It reached number 23 in the UK charts and was the first single taken from the band's fourth album Shaving Peaches. Terrorvision split in 2001 before reforming in 2005, and their most recent album Super Delux was released in 2011. Frontman Tony Wright will be supporting Babybird on tour this December, and will also be joining Dodgy on tour next year.
Deep Dish ft. Everything But The Girl - The Future Of The Future (Stay Gold)
A superb track which reached number 31 in the UK singles charts. The song can also be found on the final Everything But The Girl album, 1999's Temperamental. Deep Dish are an American house duo, consisting of Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi. In 2006, the DJs disbanded and moved to solo careers. They regrouped in 2014, and have released new material since.
Lauren Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing)This hip hop/RnB classic was featured on the former Fugees vocalist's highly acclaimed debut 'The Miseducation Of Lauren Hill'. As well as reaching number 3 in the UK singles chart, this track was Hill's first and only Billboard Hot 100 number 1 to date.
The Beautiful South - Perfect 10Celebrating body diversity and personal attraction, this upbeat hit single and middle class karaoke staple from The Beautiful South is a track that I will hate hearing on some days, and love hearing on others. Like many of the group's songs, in fact. The single reached number 2 in the UK charts was taken from their album Quench.
Apparently, the song "was written about an ex-lover telling their partner they are terrible at relationships". It can be found on the band's second album Without You I'm Nothing, released October 1998, produced (mostly) by Steve Osbourne, and recorded at Real World Studios.
For XS Noize readers who are wondering what happened to last month's 1998 round-up, below is a playlist featuring classic and underrated tracks from August 1998. You can read all about the tracks HERE.The August 1998 edition features music from Babybird, Manic Street Preachers, Mansun, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Electrasy, Theaudience, Placebo, The Bluetones, Shed Seven, Mover ft Ruby Turner, The Dandy Warhols, Puressence, Embrace, Kenickie, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Apollo 440, Sash!, Klubbheads, Paul Van Dyk, Souvlaki, D'Menace, Lucid, Airscape, David Morales, DeeJay Punk-Roc, Faithless, Storm and Moby.