At some point during my insomnia, I realized that 1991 was a monumental year both for the music industry and for myself as a fan of music.

Actually, “fan” isn’t strong enough of a word. I not only love music, it’s my lifeblood, it’s my high, it’s my most blogged about topic, but I digress.

In remembrance of what happened twenty years ago in music, I picking out some key events and reflecting on how they affected me then and now. I’ll try and do one of these every Monday until the end of the year.

Enough with the preamble, on to the main event.

1991 would be the last year I was a true metal head. When I used to go to a few metal shows a month, after 1991 I’d go to one or two a year, if that. I was about to completely change my musical identity. Why? This was one of the big reasons.

Although I was a kid, I had been following Metallica for a while and they represented everything that was cool: they were outsiders, they didn’t need a music video to sell out a stadium, they didn’t need to make radio friendly songs, they didn’t need to please an industry.

I saw them twice when they toured for “…And Justice For All” and I owned all their albums and every single that had an unreleased b-side (“Breadfan” still rocks).

And then the Grammys happened. There was a brand new “Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album” category. Metallica was nominated and they were gonna play just before the award was given out. All signs pointed to Metallica winning this award.

And then Jethro Tull won.

A band that hadn’t been relevant in twenty years (DING!) beat out the most breath taking, innovative band in metal. What the fuck? Was the music industry sending Metallica a message? “You can’t work outside the industry and expect to win an award.” Who knows, but this set a new course for Metallica and for yours truly.

Metallica didn’t take losing well. First they burned all their “We Won A Grammy” t-shirts (but I hear some are still floating around). Next they dumped the guys that had recorded/mixed/engineered all of their previous albums and hired the hit-maker du jour, Bob Rock. Finally, the decided to make an album full of short, radio friendly metal. They made “The Black Album“.

I bought that album and tried to convince myself that Metallica was still awesome, that they were still rebels, but my inner bullshit detector was pegging the needle. Something was different. This wasn’t my Metallica. After seeing them in support of this album, I knew in my heart of hearts that I would never buy another Metallica album. Yes, I know a lot of you first got into metal because of this album but when once these were the cool kids that I looked up to, they were now doing tricks in the back alley in the hope that more people would like them.

And so twenty years ago was the beginning of the end for Metal Head Me.

Next week: one dying fist pump for hard rock. Until then, have a great week.

Of all those listed, I’m most excited about…

• The Specials – Never seen them before.
• Public Image Limited – Ditto.
• Vampire Weekend – Saw them a few years ago, thought they were good but needed to mature as a live act. Let’s see how that’s progressing.
• Them Crooked Vultures – I keep hearing good things.
• LCD Soundsystem – Saw them a few years ago and I thought they sucked but I want to give them another chance.
• Jay-Z – How can I miss this? If past years have proven anything it’s that mainstream rap acts rock.
• Band of Skulls – Keep hearing good things.
• Frightened Rabbit – Absolutely seeing them at SXSW and I won’t miss them here.
• Tokyo Police Club – Missed them a few years ago and have been regretting it ever since. Won’t make the same mistake this year.
• Camera Obscura – I really hope their delicate sound survives the Coachella heat.
• The xx – Here’s hoping the live show holds up to the album.
• Dirty Projectors – Ditto.
• Devo – Put on a great show at SXSW, looking for them to rock the desert.
• The Dead Weather – The Kills are one of my favorite bands so I’m counting on Alison to cast a spell on me with her siren song.
• Faith No More – Last time I saw them was opening for Metallica so here’s hoping they rock just as hard.
• Muse – Missed them the last time they played Coachella and I won’t let that happen again.
• The Soft Pack – Heard a tune online, am curious to see them live.
• Yann Tiersen – Wait, is this the soundtrack guy?
• Florence and the Machine – I’m ready to fall in love with her (sorry Neko).
• The Big Pink – Love that one song; let’s see if they can rock it live.
• Matt & Kim – Am listening to them as I write this. I hope they put on a good show.
• Gary Numan – As in “Cars“? If so, sweet!
• Sly and the Family Stone – Um, how could I miss these guys?
• Phoenix – Did a phenomenal job playing a tent during daylight so I’m only expecting the best.
• Pavement – Got into them very late so I’m hoping to see what all the fuss was about.

As was the case last year, I’m kinda hoping it’s “the year of the old man act” but I’d love to mix that up with some “I never heard of those guys and they blew me away” action too. Also, there’s a good chance I’ll see most of these acts at SXSW in March but maybe some of them will be worth a 2nd whirl.

So who are you excited to see?