Before the dot-com bubble, there was the great indie-rock stock bubble of '94, where A+R execs seeing the next Nirvana and Green Day around every corner spent millions of dollars signing the best bands of every underground rock scene in America. The result was a slew of fantastic albums from plainclothes dressed acts not used to a label with a staff of more than four, press coverage, hair and makeup people -- the usual trappings that come when one crosses the line from rock and roll into show business. Most of these records sold under fifty-thousand copies, despite protestations that The Jesus Lizard, Orange 9mm, Jawbreaker, Smoking Popes (the list is endless) were going to be the next gigantic thing. Nearly all these bands were broken up within four years.
There are only a handful albums from the bubble that hold up as well as Jawbox's For Your Own Special Sweetheart, their first for Atlantic Records. The set from this quartet of technical wizards of Washington, DC is the ultimate extension nineties rock ideal -- no fancy outfits, no guitar solos, smart lyrics, heavy without being hard. Despite topping critics lists everywhere, it didn't take. Neither did their equally good self-titled follow-up, and the band split shortly afterward. Thankfully, Sweetheart is being reissued for its 15th anniversary, and Jimmy Fallon hosted the bands first performance in over 12 years last night. Make sure you check out the other songs they did (like B-side "68" and album opener "FF=66") on Hulu as well.
Since Jawbox's breakup, singer/guitarist J. Robbins has balanced being one of the most in-demand producers with helping his son Callum, born in 2006, fight a harrowing battle against Spinal Muscular Atrophy, an incurable nerve disorder. You can read about Cal and help chip in for his treatment here.
