A-ha - train of thought remix, 1991

“In the ‘80s it was like we were run over by this massive train. We were not there to be pin-up idols. We knew that was part of it, but it was not the reason for doing what we were doing. The media was crazy, and that was one of the main reasons why we quit for some years, because we just had enough of it. We just wanted to make music.”

Neil Young - blowin in the wind cover live, 1991

"On a frigid night in January 1991, I piled into Madison Square Garden to see and hear Neil Young. After the intermission following the opening act (Sonic Youth), darkness enveloped the crowd. We heard the sounds of machinery and explosions, alarms rang out. We were surrounded by the sounds of war – a reminder that while we sat in that arena a war raged across the world in Kuwait and Iraq. Out of the cacophony came the unmistakable sound of Neil Young’s guitar – thick, muddy, purposeful – playing the simple melody to “Blowing it the Wind.” On the stage, roadies dressed in leftover Star War-movie robes, raised an oversized microphone in an echo of the flag rising over Iwo Jima. The microphone stand wore a huge yellow ribbon."

Paul McCartney - i've just seen a face live unplugged the official bootleg, 1991

"Paul McCartney's live acoustic performance of "I've Just Seen a Face" comes from his 1991 MTV Unplugged session, released as the album Unplugged (The Official Bootleg).Recorded on January 25, 1991, at Limehouse Studios in London, this was one of the earliest MTV Unplugged appearances and the first to get an official album release. Paul performed truly unplugged (no amplifiers), with microphones capturing the acoustic instruments directly. He explained the "official bootleg" title by noting they rushed the release to preempt unofficial bootlegs from the TV broadcast."

Neil Young - like a hurricane live weld, 1991

"Weld (1991) is a live album with Crazy Horse that was recorded on the 1991 tour following the release of Ragged Glory. Several songs from that album are featured, plus Young favorites such as “Powderfinger”, “Cinnamon Girl”, “Tonight’s The Night”, “Like A Hurricane”. It also includes a memorable cover of Dylan's "Blowing In The Wind".

Paul McCartney - here there and everywhere live unplugged the official bootleg, 1991

"It was the very first time Paul had ever performed the song live (not even The Beatles played it in concert)."

Neil Young - powderfinger live weld, 1991

"Young wrote "Powderfinger" as a Southern Gothic tale of a young man's doomed encounter with federal agents during Prohibition-era bootlegging. The lyrics evoke isolation and fatalism"

Neil Young - cortez the killer live weld, 1991

"Where Young's previous double live album, Live Rust, which bore some similarities to this one, was a career retrospective including some acoustic numbers, Weld was all electric rock with Crazy Horse."

Neil Young - cinnamon girl live weld, 1991

"The version of the coda released on Weld is from February 27, 1991 is truly severe and seemingly conveying the audio version of the tracer fire and missile launches viewed nightly during the Gulf War. In the middle of this mayhem, Young quotes the melody of “Norwegian Wood.” At first, this reference could be considered as a respite during the thunder and lightning or a reminder of gentler times, but then recalling how The Beatles’ song ends with the narrator either imagining or actually setting fire to his departed lover’s apartment, suddenly the allusion is appropriate to the rest of Young and Crazy Horse’s performance."

Paul McCartney - we can work it out live unplugged the official bootleg, 1991

"Unlike other artists who appeared on the show with acoustic instruments plugged into amplifiers, McCartney's instruments were entirely unplugged. Microphones were carefully placed close to guitars, pianos, etc. to pick up the sound (this can be seen on the album cover, where a large rectangular microphone is pictured in front of McCartney's acoustic guitar)."

Neil Young - hey hey my my into the black live weld, 1991

"one of the definitive live Neil Young moments — raw, feedback-drenched, and unapologetically loud. “It’s better to burn out than to fade away…” never sounded so apocalyptic."

Pet Shop Boys - where the streets have no name i can't take my eyes off you cover extended mix, 1991

"this track is one of the most insidious deconstructions of rock mythology that you're likely to find anywhere. It completely takes the wind out of U2's sails, essentially revealing the original to be precisely the dance track that it is but tries hard not to be."

Neil Young - love and only love live weld, 1991

"We were there all the way through it, and to me, that's what Weld is about. It's very brutal, especially the songs with the big endings. I was trying to create the sound of violence and conflict, heavy machinery, outright destruction. We were watching CNN all the time, watching this shit happen, and then going out to play, singing these songs about conflict. It was a hard thing. And I feel there was nothing else I could do. Whatever could bring people together was more important than me playing a new song. We couldn't go out there and just be entertainment."

Pet Shop Boys - always on my mind cover single discography, 1991

"Discography: The Complete Singles Collection is the first greatest hits album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 4 November 1991 by Parlophone."

Slowdive - brighter, 1991

“one of the lushest and most layered sounds of the shoegazer movement.”

Slowdive - catch the breeze, 1991

"Just for a Day is Slowdive's first album, and it shows; when one listens to the magnificent sound of Souvlaki or the brilliant experimentation of Pygmalion, it becomes clear that Just for a Day was only a step toward the greatness they would later achieve."

Frazier Chorus - walking on air, 1991

"Frazier Chorus may specialize in synth pop lite, but there's a certain atmospheric artiness that seduces the listener with its simplicity."

Saint Etienne - spring, 1991

"Stanley in many ways is essentially a nostalgist. Foxbase Alpha is full of sepia tinted nostalgia for an English childhood of the Sixties and Seventies. The album is superbly presented. An Indie girl in artfully tilted cap, t-shirt and skirt carrying a banner bearing the album title on the cover. An inner sleeve with pictures of heroes set up to resemble the stickers you used to buy in childhood days in those lost decades."

My Bloody Valentine - when you sleep, 1991

"We recorded the drums in September '89. The guitar was done in December. The bass was done in April. 1990 we're in, now. Then nothing happens for a year really. So it doesn't have vocals at this stage? No. Does it have words? No. Does it even have a title? No. It has a song number. "Song 12" it was called. And ... I'm trying to remember ... the melody line was done in '91. The vocals were '91. There were huge gaps though. Months and months of not touching songs. Years. I used to forget what tunings I'd used."

Frazier Chorus - all the air, 1991

"Original names for the band included both Fishing For Clouds and Plop!, but the band eventually settled on Frazier Chorus, a phrase they'd seen on a jacket for the Frazier College football team's cheerleaders in the United States."

Grant McLennan - easy come easy go, 1991

"Watershed does have moments of glory and McLennan’s excellence in song writing, musicality and storytelling is as sharp as it ever was. The track Haunted House displays McLennan’s ability to create gentle and warm ambience in his music that is unmatched by many of his peers. Stones for You is another sweet ballad that talks of love in a kind and not so saccharine way that McLennan handles well. Black Mule is an odd tale that is slightly long but showcases McLennan’s ability to paint pictures and create worlds. One highlight is Haven’t I Been a Fool which is a more strident song which has a sharp degree of alacrity to it. It’s a poppy number that brings to attention the amalgamation of McLennan’s soft vocals and catchy musical refrains in perfect harmony. His main single Easy Come, Easy Go is another example of this but unlike Haven’t I Been a Fool, there is a sense of trying too hard to make this a hit single rather than just focusing on just making a good song."