I Love 1990: Enigma & Extreme

Kicking off our I Love the 90s series, we rewind to 1990, when kids played GameBoy while parents watched Twin Peaks. Don and Dude drop the needle on one groundbreaking electronic album and one guitar driven rock release that set the tone for the decade to come, connecting both records to a world of slap bracelets, Pretty Woman at the box office and cassette mixtapes traded on school buses.

The Albums

Enigma – MCMXC a.D. (1990)

Romanian German producer Michael Cretu built this project in Ibiza as an anonymous, continuous listening experience, weaving Gregorian chant samples, hip hop drum programming, whispered French vocals and ambient synth textures into one sensual, spiritual song cycle with Sandra Cretu and Frank Peterson. Anchored by the global hit "Sadeness," the album moved from a spoken, meditative opening through guilt, confession and a soulful, Ganges inspired close, proving electronic music could work as a full album statement rather than a string of club singles.

Extreme – Extreme II: Pornograffitti (1990)

Boston band Extreme, led by guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and singer Gary Cherone, opened their second album with the nearly seven minute funk metal statement "Decadence Dance" before moving through horn driven grooves like "Get the Funk Out" and socially pointed rockers into two stripped down acoustic songs, "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted," that became the record's biggest hits. Produced by Michael Wagener, Pornograffitti (subtitled A Funked Up Fairy Tale) fused glam era hooks with funk, blues and progressive touches, turning themes of excess, money and empty relationships into a genre jumping 1990 snapshot of rock just before the grunge shift.

Diggin Albums

Anthrax – Cursum Perficio (2026):

Thrash pioneers Anthrax return with their first album since 2016's For All Kings, pairing classic crushing riffs and sharp rhythms with career spanning, socially aware songwriting.

Alice in Chains – Facelift (1990):

Alice in Chains' debut introduced the Seattle band's heavier, more metallic strain of grunge through Jerry Cantrell's crushing riffs and his eerie vocal interplay with Layne Staley.

Jacqui Hunt – Desiderium (2026):

Single Gun Theory and Delerium veteran Jacqui Hunt blends electronic textures, piano and voice with husband Brian Conolly into a reflective meditation on grief and distance.

The New Pornographers – The Former Site Of (2026):

The Canadian indie rock collective's tenth album, led by A.C. Newman alongside Neko Case and Kathryn Calder, tells short story style songs about people pushed to emotional and societal extremes.

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"I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you?" - Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), Goodfellas (1990)