'90s Indie Rock

Bands from the North dominated the indie scene of the '90s, and provided the impetus for a nationwide, world-conquering movement — Britpop — that would ultimately burn out . . . but here we celebrate the glory days of Madchester heavyweights the Stone Roses ("Fools Gold") and the Happy Mondays ("Step On"), Northwich's the Charlatans ("North Country Boy") and Sheffield's Pulp ("Do You Remember the First Time?"). Leading the charge from the South were Blur ("There's No Other Way") and Suede ("Trash"). "Peaches", Pixies, Moz, McAlmont and more . . . in Next Steps.

Indie invaders from U.S. who made a huge impression in the '90s included the Lemonheads, led by Evan Dando in a spiky cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", the Presidents of the United States of America, whose "Peaches" appeared to do exactly what it said on the tin — i.e. convey a love of tinned fruit — and the Pixies ("Planet of Sound"). Morrissey ("Alma Matters') continued to thrive post-Smiths and Bernard Butler followed his departure from Suede by teaming up with David McAlmont ("Yes"). Indie superwomen crank it up, in Deep Cuts.

The trailblazing women of '90s indie included Sleeper's Louise Wener, who became a novelist and a rather handy poker player after leading her band on standout tracks like "Inbetweener"; Miki Berenyi from Lush ("Single Girl"), who worked in magazine publishing after the band split in '96; and Toni Halliday, whose lead vocals with Curve ("Fait Accompli") would bring her guest slots with the likes of Leftfield, the Future Sound of London, and, in 2006, the Killers.

Let's be honest: indie music was in a bit of a pickle in the '90s. During the post-punk years, the indie movement, in all its D.I.Y. glory, had established a presence that was the antithesis of the major-label system — the scruffy enthusiasts had taken on the suits — but by the '90s, a lot of the fat cats had set up their own "indie" labels to milk the cachet that independent status guarantees. Still, the resulting hodge-podge of artists under the "indie" banner makes for one superb playlist — the anarchic techno of the Prodigy ("Out of Space"), the sublime jangling of the La's ("There She Goes"), the post-modern collages of Beck ("Devil's Haircut") . . . it's all here, and then some.