APRIL 1990: Public Enemy, Fugazi, Green Day, Lou Reed, Afghan Whigs, Nick Cave

When John and I first looked at the list of albums released in April 1990, we both said the same thing: “heavy hitters.” These are some of the biggest musical acts of the ‘90s, all putting out important albums within weeks of each other. Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet would’ve been enough to chew on for the whole month, honestly. But we also get: a very early collection from Green Day (sounding already like Green Day), the post-hardcore classic Repeater from Fugazi, a weird, moving album about Andy Warhol’s life and death from the reunited Lou Reed and John Cale, alt-rock intensity from Afghan Whigs (a band I’ve only recently discovered), and the haunting goth-toned masterpiece The Good Son from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. This was the month that cemented, for me, the initial thought that began this podcast: the ‘90s were an incredibly important moment in the history of popular music, with a stunning amount of vital work dropped into the world month after month. Check out our playlist for April 1990 and let us know your favorites: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 120months.substack.com/subscribe