Sounding like a suburban, melodic white-funk-injected version of King Missile's performance art/standup comedy, "The Distance" became a novelty hit in the fall of 1996, sending Cake's second album, Fashion Nugget, to platinum status. Certainly, "The Distance" was the only reason Fashion Nugget went platinum, because the remainder of the album is too collegiate and arcane for mainstream music tastes. It isn't because it's obscure or intellectual -- it's because the band is smirking. An "ironic" cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" is the key to the album, sending the signal that Cake consider themselves above everyone else, and nothing is too insignificant to make fun of. And that wouldn't necessarily have been a problem if they had the wit or musical skills that would make their music either funny or listenable. Instead, they wallow in sophomoric jokes that rely on self-consciously elaborate wordplay. Occasionally, their blend of collegiate musical styles -- funk, hip-hop, alternative rock -- makes the music easy to digest in small doses, such as "The Distance," but it isn't varied enough to prevent the album from becoming tedious when played straight through.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Boasting the mega-hit "I Will Survive," Gloria Gaynor's sixth album, Love Tracks, was the strongest, most consistent album she had recorded since 1975's Experience Gloria Gaynor. "I Will Survive," one of the most famous anthems of the disco era, is the gem that made this 1979 LP a big seller, but it isn't the only song on the album that deserves to be called a gem. Gaynor is also captivating on five-star offerings that range from the funky club hit "Anybody Wanna Party?" to the smooth soul ballad "Please Be There" and a memorable remake of Little Anthony & the Imperials' "Goin' out of My Head." The album's up-tempo selections didn't hurt Gaynor's standing with dance clubs, and yet Love Tracks is a great LP to sit down and listen to. Gaynor was well aware of disco's Northern soul roots, which is why she brings such a strong Motown flavor to "Substitute." Produced by Dino Fekaris, Love Tracks is among her most essential albums. © Alex Henderson /TiVo

Pet Shop Boys followed the release of 1993's Very (their only album to top the U.K. charts) with their third world tour, which brought them to Australia, Singapore, and Latin America for the first time. A particularly electric concert in Rio de Janeiro was filmed by a local television crew and released on VHS and Laserdisc as Discovery: Live in Rio in 1995. Inspired by the vibrancy of New York City nightlife, the duo focused the tour on uptempo dance songs, and embraced spontaneity more than they did on their earlier tours, which were more staged and theatrical. They're joined on-stage by a quartet of free-spirited dancers, a pair of percussionists, and charismatic backing singer Katie Kissoon. The energy is more than reciprocated by the audience, who scream, cheer, and sing along throughout the entire show. The arrangements totally embrace the type of hyper-glitzy Euro-dance which was everywhere at the time, and older singles like "Always on My Mind" and "Domino Dancing" sound absolutely huge. Early B-side "Paninaro" is given a reggae-disco remake, sounding even more charged-up than the version released as a single around the same time as Discovery. Elsewhere, PSB nod to several then-current dance hits -- the crowd goes wild when "One in a Million" slides into Culture Beat's "Mr. Vain," as well as the medley of "Left to My Own Devices" and Corona's glorious "Rhythm of the Night." They also perform Blur's cheeky alt-dance classic "Girls & Boys," which they had previously remixed, fully transforming an already PSB-indebted song into one of their own. Wisely, the duo know when to dial the energy down a notch from time to time, so that everyone involved avoids the risk of short circuiting and burning out. In this manner, even "West End Girls" feels like a bit of a comedown. Joking that they were never asked to appear on MTV Unplugged, they offer largely acoustic versions of "Rent" and "Suburbia," which only leave more room for the crowd to shout along. Of course, there's no way they couldn't do this show without ending it with a bang, and the final sequence includes "I Will Survive" into "It's a Sin," an Olympic-sized "Go West," and of course the poignant fan favorite "Being Boring." Long confined to obsolete formats, Discovery was given a long-overdue CD/DVD reissue in 2021.© Paul Simpson /TiVo

Los Lobos spent years playing parties, wedding receptions, restaurants, bars, and anyplace else where someone might pay them for a gig before landing a deal with Slash Records, and their first full-length album for the label, How Will the Wolf Survive?, is the work of a band that had learned how to play something for everyone while still maintaining their own musical personality in the process. How Will the Wolf Survive? swings back and forth from straight-ahead rock ("Don't Worry Baby") and potent R&B grooves ("I Got Loaded") to country-accented blues ballads ("A Matter of Time") and Mexican traditional numbers ("Serenata Nortena"), with the band's exemplary taste, musical smarts, and road-tested maturity in evidence on every cut. While rarely flashy, even a casual listen offers all the proof you might need that Los Lobos were a band of world-class musicians, with David Hidalgo's guitar work especially impressive throughout. Just as importantly, How Will the Wolf Survive? was the first album where Los Lobos showed how much they had to say as songwriters, especially on "A Matter of Time" and the title cut, two songs that offered a moving and compassionate look at the lives of illegal aliens in America. On ...And a Time to Dance, Los Lobos showed the world that they were a great dance band, but How Will the Wolf Survive? showed they were a great dance band, and a lot more besides.© Mark Deming /TiVo

After the juvenile observer and the gangster mogul, Nas needed a new challenge for his third album. Now a muse for an uncompromisingly globalised rap, an heir to both Rakim and Whodini, Nas was hailed and booed in equal measure for his choices and his position. His career ran into trouble after his group The Firm proved a commercial and critical flop; as did his collaboration with Cormega, who was his main influence and link to the streets; and his ill-fated work with Dr. Dre. With this new, hotly-anticipated album, Nas aimed to re-impose himself as a widely-acclaimed genius. Revised and remodelled many times, I am was one one of the first albums to suffer enormously from piracy and successive leaks. Nas threw in the ultimate provocation, appearing on the sleeve as a Pharaoh, and as a Christian martyr with Puff Daddy, commercial rap's great demon of the day, on the controversial "Hate Me Now".But, inviting legends Scarface, DMX and Aliyaah, he survived the decimation of the icons of the day, and paid his respects to 2pac and Biggie on “We Will Survive”. Bearing the cross for his movement, Nas sometimes gets lost in a suit that's too big for him, with some cheap flash from Trackmasters and LES. But alongside these contradictions, we also see a return to good old habits, especially with DJ Premier on the iconic "NY State of Mind Part II" and above all "Nas is Like". As his urban hymns continue to resonate, Nas remains one of the greatest voices of his time.  © Aurélien Chapuis/ Qobuz