The Feb '97 Zeitgeist
February 1997 was a tumultuous time. Bill Clinton was only days into his second term of office. The Albanian Revolution loomed on the horizon as the citizens confronted the proprietors of multiple failed pyramid schemes. The First Congo War, precipitated by the Rwandan genocides, raged in central Africa. The UTO and the government of Tajikistan were fighting to a bloody stalemate, unaware that peace would arrive mere months later. Slobodan Milošević was about to acknowledge his ouster.
And yet, amid all this: there was the music.
Blur, The Offspring, Aerosmith, Gloria Estefan, Kool Keith, Silverchair, Pavement, LeAnn Rimes, Live, P.O.D., Elliott Smith, Powerman 5000 and so many others released their best music that February.
And it's obvious why: January 1997 was the last month of innocence, not just for America, but for the world. On January 31st, humanity was carrying on like it always had, each day not much different than the one before. But February 1st marked the death of Herb Caen, that grand old man of letters. On February 1st, the South Korean economy was dealt a massive blow by the bankruptcy of Hanbo Steel, disillusioning an entire nation. Perhaps most tellingly, the shift to the digital age was heralded when Vanna White was informed that Wheel of Fortune would be changing from analog to digital technology.
What I'm saying here is that February 1997 was an inflection point in world culture. And you could hear that in Texas' White on Blonde, Anal Cunt's I Like It When You Die, and Sister Hazels pre-sellout masterpiece ...Somewhere More Familiar.
Yet by March 1st it had flipped. It became something bruised. The first of March was the first day of a funeral for what had been the greatest month in music.