Collective Soul - Shine

Ahh, 1994. While there wasn’t much to shout about when it came to the state of affairs around the world, there wasn’t room to swing a cat for all the moody alternative rock milling around. This was the year that the underground and overground met, with bands making it big on the radio with songs you wouldn’t have heard in a million years otherwise, in part kickstarted by big events within the scene – the death of Kurt Cobain a particularly somber catalyst for the spotlight swinging over. Soon, the Billboard charts were full of introspective pondering and muted rage alike, though your mileage may vary on how good a thing that was every day on the radio while you drive to work.  

Personally, I love a bit of grungy melodrama, which brings us not-at-all-forcedly to Collective Soul. Technically, this week’s sacred pick came out in 1993 originally. The gang from Georgia, USA were rushed into re-releasing the demo they had put out by new record label Atlantic Records by virtue of just how goddamn popular the song “Shine” turned out to be. So, 1994 became the official retconned birth year of their self-titled debut and, while the album itself drew a decent handful of critics, Shine itself proved timeless, with that infectious bridge inspiring many a headbang and meme in equal measure.

Collective Soul are still plying their trade to this day, with an album release in 2023, but for today we are going back to those alternative rock glory days with the aforementioned and almost guiltily enjoyable Shine. Enjoy unrestrictedly; just try not to fill in all the gaps in the riff with screams that scare your coworkers/cat. Or do; we’re not the police.