To be honest, I didn’t really mind working for the DPW for another summer. It was going to be just like the year before: riding in the back of one of the trucks around town, mowing the several town-owned cemeteries, cleaning the sides of the roads…eating brunch at the local diners, stopping at the packies for sodas in the afternoon, shooting the shit, listening to my Walkman, coming up with new song lyrics, and generally spending the entire summer outside and actually doing physical work. On rainy days we’d hang out at the main garage, or maybe the old shed if we were stuck at one of the cemeteries, playing poker. It wasn’t the best paid job, but it helped me get in shape a bit.

Even though I was trying hard as hell to escape my hometown, I didn’t really mind being there for a quick couple of months, to be honest. I got to watch 120 Minutes episodes again, I made money I could spend at record shops and save for college, and I could hang out with T when we both had a free moment. In retrospect I think what I was doing was working on leaving town at my own pace, as I wanted to do it, making peace with it all. I was growing out of it but I didn’t hate it.

As for writing, I’m sure I was trying to revive the Infamous War Novel once again, but I believe I was working on other story ideas as well. My main focus, however, was writing new songs for the slightly altered Flying Bohemians. Nate was off doing his own personal things, and Chris and I would share the occasional new song here and there. By the time we had an official jam session in August, we’d have a handful of new songs that sounded much different from our previous ones, songs that we’d be proud of.

And speaking of music, considering WAMH was now off the air for the summer and Athol was just outside of reach of WFNX, my source of modern rock mostly came from WMDK 92.1. They were an Adult Alternative station by this time, playing your more laid back stuff that would fit on 120 but not necessarily vice versa. There were moments where the radio in one of the DPW trucks could get ‘FNX in, but most of the guys on my team noped right out of that. Alternative was definitely not their thing.

The Stranglers, 10, released 4 June 1990. The last album featuring singer Hugh Cornwell, this band had evolved over the last several years and their former post-punk brutalism had softened considerably. This wasn’t a fan favorite, but it did get some airplay on Adult Alternative stations at the time.

Blues Traveler, Blues Traveler, released 5 June 1990. Well before their huge chartbusting album Four, John Popper and his harmonica stormed the jam band scene with the huge indie hit “But Anyway” and gained a serious fanbase that lasted for years.

Dead Can Dance, Aion, released 11 June 1990. DCD’s early 90s output felt less gothic and more global, and it did take some fans time to get used to that, but it was a direction that brought them far more listeners. I didn’t listen to this one all that much at the time but it’s grown on me over the years.

Heretix, Gods & Gangsters, released 15 June 1990. Another Boston band signed to a major (and produced by Ed Stasium, natch) that was a huge hit in the local area but sadly did not gain enough steam to follow through. This album remains a fan favorite, and “Heart Attack” one of their biggest local hits.

David J, Songs from Another Season, released 18 June 1990. The Bauhaus/Love & Rockets bassist finally broke through with this pleasant and folky album that just seemed so much perkier and positive for him. “I’ll Be Your Chauffeur” became a minor radio hit and its video was a staple on 120 Minutes that season.

Uncle Tupelo, No Depression, released 21 June 1990. Before their acrimonious split a few years later (with Jay Farrar starting Son Volt and Jeff Tweedy starting Wilco), this band made famous what is now pretty much known as the alt-country scene, but back then the style took its name from this landmark album.

Chapterhouse, Freefall EP, released 26 June 1990. This UK band from Reading was unique in that they took the ecstasy-fueled rave sound, melded it with the noise-pop of bands like the Telescopes, and inserted a infectiously groovy hippie vibe. The end result was yet another version of shoegaze, less about the wall of sound and more about a swirling mood you could get lost in. “Falling Down” was their first single and it’s one of their best.

Sonic Youth, Goo, released 26 June 1990. The always confrontational Sonic Youth signed to a major label (Geffen) and against all expectations, became one of the hugest alternative bands of the early 90s. “Kool Thing” may have been one of the few songs that could get significant airplay at the time, but it was a hell of a great song.

Candy Flip, “Strawberry Fields Forever” single, released 28 June 1990. Another quirk of the Britpop scene: everyone sampling James Brown’s “Funky Drummer”, thanks to numerous rappers using it in the late 80s. This Beatles cover could have easily tanked as being a bit too cheeky, but it worked perfectly for two reasons: the JB sample was slowed down considerably and the vocal delivery given in a hazy, dreamlike way, thereby updating the song’s already psychedelic feel to suit the Madchester crowd.

Aztec Camera, Stray, released 28 June 1990. Roddy Frame’s band had been around for most of the decade and his records had always been a critical if not a chart hit, but this particular album somehow hit every single chord with fans and critics alike. Several of its songs are absolute corkers, from his cheery duet with BAD’s Mick Jones, “Good Morning Britain” to the lovely jazz guitar influenced “Over My Head”. This is an album well worth having.

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Could it be that I was in a much better mood at this time? Maybe…? I’m pretty sure I was still wallowing in a bit of self-inflicted moodiness and stress as well as not knowing entirely want I wanted to do with my film studies other than tell stories I wanted to tell. I think my problem was that I knew I was stuck between a past I wanted to escape and a future I wasn’t entirely sure I could attain. I’m also sure that I’d had second thoughts about the school I was attending too, but at the same time I refused to give in; I knew I wanted to tell stories and Emerson felt like a place where I could learn how to do that in my own way.

Meanwhile, I had a few more lazy months to pass by before I headed back for another round of higher education.