July came and went and the most I remember is that it was a hot one, with a few storms here and there. Most of the time I’d be drinking tons of water and burning through AA batteries listening to my Walkman. Buying those weird Hawaiian Punch knock-off drinks. Listening to stupid jokes and hiding in the shade of trees. Falling off the back of the truck once when it pulled away from under me. Making mixtapes and mowing the back yard on my day off. Writing poems and lyrics and making future plans.

Not much else going on that summer, other than letting my brain clear itself of frustrations.

Gene Loves Jezebel, Kiss of Life, released 1 July 1990. In the 80s, this was a band you’d hear on John Hughes soundtracks (“Desire (Come and Get It)” is on the She’s Having a Baby soundtrack) but rarely would you get any crossover into the pop charts. Not so with “Jealous” which was a surprise hit for them. I tend to think of that song as one of the many from this year that helped break down that wall of commercial pop to let alternative rock in.

Mixtape, Listen in Silence IV: The Singles, created 1 July 1990. This one’s a mix of favorites from freshman year with a few 120 Minutes tracks and recent album deep cuts mixed in. Note that Faith No More’s “Epic” is on this one, a full year after its album The Real Thing came out, another breakthrough hit thanks to MTV giving it heavy airplay.

Alice in Chains, We Die Young EP, released 1 July 1990. This Seattle band’s debut EP laid out the groundwork for their swampy take on the emerging Grunge sound. I knew a lot of people who preferred them over Soundgarden, as they were less abrasive and more metal-meets-Led Zeppelin.

The Stone Roses, “One Love” single, released 2 July 1990. Following up from their funky single hit “Fools Gold” was another extended dance trip that may not have been as catchy or popular (at least not in the US) but reminded fans of their garage-psych influences.

Iggy Pop, Brick By Brick, released 9 July 1990. The Godfather of Punk broke through with this album, which featured radio favorite “Candy”, a duet with the B-52’s Kate Pierson. He’s still rocking (and acting!) to this day, but he never quite hit as high as he did here.

The Cavedogs, Joyrides for Shut-Ins, released 16 July 1990. Yet another Boston band signed to a major label! And just like the others, they had a huge local following that unfortunately did not reach much further. They were critical and radio faves, though, so you’d hear songs like “Bed of Nails” on Adult Alternative stations a lot then.

Pixies, “Velouria” single, released 16 July 1990. The Boston band that did make it, and make it BIG at that, dropped a preview single for their next album, Bossanova, that would drop in August. This song definitely signaled a slight change in their sound; gone was the noisy abrasiveness of Surfer Rosa and the quirky weirdness of Doolittle, with more melodic tracks than before.

The Soup Dragons, Lovegod, released 19 July 1990. This Scottish band was a somewhat obscure indie favorite on Sire Records with a small following, playing groovy 60s-influenced rock, until they too were bitten by the Madchester bug and created a wonderfully trippy Britpop album full of great songs. The Rolling Stones cover “I’m Free” became their signature hit.

Jane’s Addiction, “Stop” single, released 25 July 1990. After almost two years after dropping their biggest album to date, 1988’s Nothing’s Shocking, Perry Farrell and the band returned with a twitchy funk-punk single that would preface their upcoming album. These new songs held a new tension so fierce that people wondered what was going in the band. [It would, in fact, implode after Farrell’s brainchild, the first Lollapalooza tour, finished.]

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As was typical for years, music releases were usually kind of thin on the ground in terms of big names. Summer was made for the single — which was still a decent selling if somewhat flailing format at this time — and for the radio hit. But things would pick up again in August, once the kids started preparing for their return back to school or college. And in this new era of chart pop that would soon (and finally) embrace alternative rock as a significant source.