As the lazy days of summer are slowly coming to an end, it is not uncommon for people everywhere to reflect upon the last three months and realize, "Boy, summer's already over and I really have nothing to show for it." These exact sentiments are not only applicable to wasted afternoons on the golf course or at the pool, but they also perfectly depict the 1997 summer music scene. Without question, last summer provided nothing short of one of the worst displays of modern rock ever, thanks to the lifeless and uninventive efforts of groups like Third Eye Blind, Tonic and Matchbox 20 drenching radios and music television channels across the country.
With seemingly no ounce of shame, the powers-that-be of such hallowed institutions as Spin, Rolling Stone and MTV, as well as virtually all "modern rock" radio stations, attempted to get creative this summer. They blended all sorts of distinct musical genres, thereby creating such make believe musical categories as "adult contemporary" or "electronica," only to then cram and label handfuls of bands into one file or another. It was also these same people who had no qualms about over-saturating the market with the same three or four "hit" singles until radio listeners and magazine readers everywhere were singing "Mmmbop" subconsciously in their sleep.
Unfortunately, the consequences of these maneuverings have thrown the term "alternative radio" into such a charcoal gray area that it is now virtually impossible to define. Because of the attempts to make mainstream hits out of "new" music (considered "new" only because it may have a saxophone or a trombone as its fundamental instrument instead of the beloved guitar), one could flip on a modern rock station and hear a wacky Squirrel Nut Zippers tune followed immediately by an electronically thumping song from The Prodigy. Such inconsistencies only serve to clutter the gene pool of today's rock with mediocrity. At the same time they prevent bona fide talents like The Dandy Warhols and Spiritualized from getting their fresh musical ideas heard by the masses.
The summer of 1997 was devoid of new albums from several big name acts such as Liz Phair, Hole, the Sundays and Sonic Youth, as these groups all decided to delay the release of their new material until late fall or even the early part of next year. As a result, there was not huge anxiety over most of the stuff that actually was released during the heart of the summer months, although Radio-head's "O.K. Computer," Ben Harper's "The Will To Live," Sarah McLachlan's "Surfacing," Catherine Wheel's "Adam And Eve," Toad The Wet Sprocket's "Coil" and most recently, Oasis' "Be Here Now" were the shimmering exceptions.
Disappointments ran rampant during the summer of 1997, most notably evidenced by 311's laughable "Transistor," Offspring's putrid eponymous release, Dinosaur Jr.'s "Hand It Over" and even Foo Fighters' "The Colour and the Shape." Because of such flops, even worse acts like Sugar Ray, Meredith Brooks, Collective Soul and Our Lady Peace were able to get their singles played continuously throughout the summer, plummeting the integrity of radio even further into the ground. Not even reverting to ska-rockers Less Than Jake, overly radio-friendly Live or even back to the used-up has-beens of INXS or Depeche Mode could exhume modern rock radio from its self-made coffin. One can only be grateful that Bush and Silverchair did not contribute any of their own material into the summer's lackluster showing.
But not everything about the summer of 1997 was a complete disaster. In addition to the previously mentioned British acts, other releases from across the Atlantic were more than worthy of attention, especially Blur's self-titled album, The Charlatan's "Tellin' Stories," Cast's "Mother Nature Calls" and ex-Stone Roses guitarist John Squire's new band The Seahorses' "Do It Yourself." Not to be forgotten are Morrissey's intriguing "Maladjusted," and also such singles as Embrace's "One Big Family" and The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony."
And things just might be getting better in the months to come. Already the rumor mills have been flying with reports of newly recorded REM and Pearl Jam material, speculated for release anywhere between this November and next February. Also, material awaits from Echobelly, newly-solo Tanya Donnelly and Garbage.
And so, summer has come and gone, and with some luck the songs that characterized it will also dwindle away with the same haste from radio stations everywhere. In the future, maybe listeners should start to question the greedy control freaks who head up corporate rock. Why allow the media to decide what should and should not be heard? Instead of just buying albums from whatever is on MTV at any given time, or from whoever graces the cover of "Rolling Stone" from month to month, perhaps some individual searching for something that hasn't yet been tainted by annoying commercial frenzy may turn up some good music. Chances are, it will be a whole lot better than anything you heard on the radio this summer.