Soul Asylum - Grave Dancers Union

This was one of the first cool albums I owned. I was raised on stuff like Lionel Richie and Neil Diamond who, while absolutely awesome in their own right, aren't winning you points in 8th grade when people ask you what's on your walkman. My first cool album was Nevermind, but my Dad outlawed the album and smashed my copy as punishment. Grave Dancers Union was much more forgivable because I never let my parents see the real cover (I flipped it to show the picture of the band on the front). I vividly remember the first time someone asked me what I was listening to and I told them it was Soul Asylum. They nodded their approval and I felt like I had my first taste of actual coolness (I was a huge nerd who didn't hit his true stride until college).

It's amazing to me how great this album still sounds after all the years. I keep having to remind myself that the 90's weren't just a year ago. It's been 20 years since this album was released and it hasn't really dated at all. Sure, the kids today aren't clamoring for more alternative rock (what they want are robots who sing about how great tonight is going to be) but there's still something timeless about this album. Maybe my own nostalgic tendencies are leading me to love the first (and really only) album to ever bestow a hint of coolness on me. Oh, and there was a certain connection between me, this girl I liked and "Runaway Train." I'm basically unable to see the album objectively because of the tall nostalgic pedestal I put it on, so take my review for what it's worth. I still think this is one of the greatest albums of the 90's and won't be talked out of thinking so.