Video: Early '90s Wicker Park Celebrated In Latest Pitchfork 'Yearbook'

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 29, 2016 3:02PM

Wicker Park was ground zero when it came to establishing indie rock—and later, arguably, many mainstream bands—in the early '90s. That time period's influence is still felt, and Pitchfork just released a short video documentary examining it.

These were the days that Urge Overkill and Liz Phair were exploding from the musical underground, and creating a rift in the local scene. At the same time, bands like the Jesus Lizard and local artists including Steve Albini continued to forge along the paths less taken, crafting challenging and abrasive sounds. And of course there were the superstars of the Wicker Park scene at the time: The Smashing Pumpkins. Billy Corgan appeared on the 100th issue of Spin in 1993, and Siamese Dream was on radios in every corner of the country. This was also the year a little band named Uncle Tupelo entered the final stages of existence, setting their bass player, a guy by the name of Jeff Tweedy, up for a career in his new band—Wilco.

The '90s in Chicago were a pretty amazing time when it came to the music scene, with so many players with so many varied backgrounds al coming to prominence at the same time, and I think this short film makes a solid argument that 1993 was the tinder that lit many of the band's rocketing fame.