Portishead | Dummy (1994)

[Portishead] wrote evocative pseudo-cabaret pop songs that subverted their conventional structures with experimental productions and rhythms of trip-hop. As a result, Portishead appealed to a broad audience — not just electronic dance and alternative rock fans, but thirtysomethings who found techno, trip-hop, and dance as exotic as world beat.
— Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Even though I'm just "discovering" them and almost out of my 40s, the quote above pretty much sums up my feelings. Very nice... one can either sit back and trip to their sound or listen intently to the poetic, hauntingly sung lyrics. Either way, it's enjoyable.

Hole | Live Through This (1994)

Courtney Love was angry and obviously was having a lot of trouble living through "this". Life is hard; being addicted doesn't make coping any easier. I'm not sure which came first, this album or Kurt Cobain's suicide, but the despair here is troubling and tough to listen to.

Joe Ely | Honky Tonk Masquerade -- Psst, don't tell my wife and son

Psst, don't tell my wife and son, but I sometimes listen (in secret) to Country Music. There's something uplifting about letting my Texas drawl reemerge once-again in song. It comes naturally even though this Dallas city boy has never worn a pair of cowboy boots or owned a Stetson.

This is a classic album, reflecting roots of Hank Williams, but still timeless. Recorded in 1978, it would be just as fresh on C&W radio today.

So even though I've long been a Northern Californian, vote Democrat now, support liberal social causes, don't own a hound dog, have limited experience with trains, and I've never served time in prison...

Honky Tonk Masquerade gives you homespun, hardwon Texan wisdom and timeless American music.
— 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Robert Dimery editor.