Nineties Friday returns! Friday May 23rd!
Today I’ll be bringing ya 5 tunes and doing a special #FiveTuneFriday on #NinetiesFriday
From the year 1996 I’ll be talking and sharing tunes from the band Failure. We’ll mainly talk the 1996 Fantastic Planet third album from the band and I’ll share 5 of my favorite songs from the record. I’ll also bring you a bonus jam from each there earlier albums (1994 & 1992). 🎸
🎙️Gene Talks Tunes Vlog 🎙️
- 1996 Underrated Album
- Failure
- Fantastic Planet
- The Tunes
- Older Records (BonusJams)
Let’s Go!
Band - Failure
Song - Saturday Saviour
Album - Fantastic Planet (1996)
Band - Failure
Song - Sergeant Politeness
Album - Fantastic Planet (1996)
Band - Failure
Song - Smoking Umbrellas
Album - Fantastic Planet (1996)
Band - Failure
Song - Another Space Song
Album - Fantastic Planet (1996)
Band - Failure
Song - Stuck On You
Album - Fantastic Planet (1996)
For bonus jams here’s two songs from the first two Failure records! The first released in 1992. The second released in 1994.
Band - Failure
Song - Macaque
Album - Comfort (1992)
Band - Failure
Song - Frogs
Album - Magnified (1994)
#Nineties #Friday #AltRock #Failure #NinetiesFriday #MTV #Alternative #Rock #GeneTalksTunes #NinetiesVlog
Thanks for swinging by! Join us any Friday using the tag #NinetiesFriday & talk anything you like from the nineties! Movies or sports or music or anything! Cheers! 🎸
Some bonus info on the band and album below if you didn’t get enough above! ⬇️
Album: Fantastic Planet by Failure (1996)
Genre: Alternative Rock / Space Rock / Art Grunge
Release Date: August 13, 1996
Score: 9.5/10
Released in 1996 to little mainstream fanfare, Fantastic Planet by Failure has become one of the most revered cult albums in alternative rock history. It’s the kind of record that flew under the radar when it dropped, only to grow in legend with every passing year. Now often cited by bands like A Perfect Circle, Paramore, and Tool as a major influence, Fantastic Planet is a sprawling, dark, and atmospheric journey that feels like it was beamed in from another dimension—or at least from a more daring musical era.
Fantastic Planet is dense, dynamic, and cinematic in scope. It takes the distorted textures of grunge and blends them with space rock, prog, and industrial elements to create something deeply immersive. The production, handled by the band themselves (Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards), is meticulous and layered, with shimmering reverb-soaked guitars, glitchy interludes, and pulsating basslines.
Think Smashing Pumpkins meets Pink Floyd, with a touch of Nine Inch Nails’ shadow and David Bowie’s sci-fi imagination!
Lyrically, Fantastic Planet is a deep dive into decay, disconnection, and escapism—themes that feel eerily prophetic today. It often uses space travel as a metaphor for addiction, depression, and dissociation. Lines like “You’re stuck on a cycle” and “Solar eyes are watching me” speak to the album’s constant pull between inner void and external surveillance.
Failure doesn’t just write songs; they create entire atmospheres. The lyrics don’t always make linear sense, but they resonate emotionally—like transmission signals from a lonely satellite!
Why It Still Matters? At 17 tracks and over an hour long, Fantastic Planet was out of step with radio trends in 1996—but that’s precisely why it has endured. It wasn’t chasing hits; it was chasing a vision.
This is an album made for headphones, late nights, and introspection. It predated the era where “concept album” became a buzzword for try-hard experimentation. Failure made something bold and beautiful without compromise—and listeners caught up eventually.
It’s no wonder the album has been reissued multiple times and regularly lands on “Best Albums You’ve Never Heard” lists.
Fantastic Planet isn’t just one of the best alt-rock records of the ‘90s—it’s one of the most underappreciated artistic achievements of the decade. It’s daring, emotionally resonant, and endlessly replayable.
If you’re into spacey, emotionally raw, intricately layered rock with zero filler you’ll love this album! 💿