Spice Girls - Spice

Label: Virgin
Genre: Pop
Year: 1996
Recommended By: Lauren Weidner

SPICE UP YOUR LIFE! Wait, that is from the follow up album. The debut of the Spice Girls brought girl power across the world. Weirdly, when listening to the album there wasn't all that much girl power happening. I guess at the time Women having a say in a relationship was revolutionary.

There are some creepy songs on the record too. The song "2 become 1" is some next level R. Kelly weirdness. It's weird. "Love Thing" takes a line from the sisters act in White Christmas. It's a rather sexual album, I'm surprised it was such a hit in my elementary school sock hops. I'm waiting for them to release a Spice Women album. It needs to happen.

Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

Label: Virgin
Genre: Alternative Rock
Year: 1993
Recommended by: Ryne Heinrich

The Smashing Pumpkins for a long while have been the rock band of Chicago. It's kind of annoying. Not because I believe they release sub-par music, but mostly because I think their success has led to too much Billy Corgan in my life.

He is a very good song writer, singer, and musician, but not a very entertaining personality. Even with that, "Today" is one of the greatest songs of the 90's. The fact that this album also contains a song that rocks as hard as "Cherub Rock" shows the great variety and range that Billy Corgan features. 

That just means he gets interviewed more though.

David Byrne - Look Into the Eyeball

Label: Virgin
Year: 2001
Genre: Folk Rock, World Beat,  Alternative Rock
Recommending Person: Denise Erazmus

I was really excited when I saw this recommended because who doesn't love David Byrne? Then I heard "Like Humans Do" and immediately got sent back to high school. THIS IS THE SONG THAT IS ON EVERY COMPUTER WITH XP ON THE PLANET! 

One, a nerdy person, would re-format your computer and Like Humans Do would appear. Being dumb and 14 I didn't know David Byrne was formerly the lead singer of the Talking Heads and I figured it was just someone who was talented at Microsoft and decided he could sneak in his song onto every computer on the planet. Again, I was dumb.

The record itself is enjoyable if a bit into itself, it's become a staple of Byrne, and it drifts into a multilingual album with "Desconocido Soy". It was catchy enough on the first listen, but it really succeeds on the 3rd listen and I would only layer more the more time I give it.