Life continued apace at the Brighton Ave apartment, though I’m pretty sure the connection between Z and I would get strained at times. Between him practicing his keyboard at all hours of the night (he was also an extremely loud foot-tapper when he played, so there was also that thunk thunk thunk when he really got into the groove), and my barely making enough money to pay for a lot of the bills and the occasional actual food cooked in the apartment, we’d irritate each other quite often. Not enough for any loud arguments, because I’d do my usual hide-in-the-bedroom when things got stressful.

I mean, at the time I’d like to think I wasn’t feeling depressed or desperate like I had at the Shoebox apartment, and I was in a slightly better mood with a steady job and a girlfriend, but to be honest things could have been a lot better. I knew they could, I was just too damn broke and in debt to achieve it.

Which is pretty much why around this time I started hyperfocusing on my writing. Not on the daily just yet, but getting there. The first thing I had to do was remain focused on whatever project I was working on instead of sliding all over the place at whim.

Plus, March provided me with one hell of a great soundtrack.

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Annie Lennox, Medusa, released 6 March 1995. Annie’s second solo album is one of covers, and this too ended up a big hit for her, especially with the lovely version of Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” which also ended up playing during the closing credits of the Sandra Bullock film The Net — one of many computer-themed movies that would come out that summer, many of which would partly inspire the AI subplot of True Faith.

Radiohead, The Bends, released 13 March 1995. The last thing this band wanted to do was record another “Creep” so they headed in an all new direction with this stellar record that really is worth all the accolades it’s received over the years. It’s full of tension, irritation, delicacy and tenderness, an album with equal parts anger and love. Highly recommended. I got this one via Columbia House at some point and played the hell out of it for several years afterwards, it becoming a major mainstay in the Belfry writing sessions.

Matthew Sweet, 100% Fun, released 14 March 1995. After the dense and odd Altered Beast, Sweet returned with a sunshiney pop album that’s full of fun and addictive melodies. “Sick of Myself” was the big radio hit at the time.

Goo Goo Dolls, A Boy Named Goo, released 14 March 1995. A few years before their major breakthrough “Iris”, this album gave them the ability to open that door and head on through. It’s a great album that carries a hint of their former punkish roots but also hints at the stellar songwriting they’d be known for in the future.

Mad Season, Above, released 14 March 1995. A sort-of supergroup with Layne Staley from Alice in Chains and Mike McCready from Pearl Jam, their one album could have been a by the numbers PNW grunge album but instead they took the tenderest and most introspective parts of their own bands and created a lovely record worth owning. Highly recommended.

Collective Soul, Collective Soul, released 14 March 1995. Hardly anyone expected this band’s second album to hit the heights that it did, considering their first album was good but not entirely memorable. This album, on the other hand, just kept on kicking out one hit single after the next, with “December”, “Gel”, “Smashing Young Man”, “Where the River Flows” and “The World I Know”. This too would end up getting major Belfry writing session play in the early years. It’s well worth checking out.

Moby, Everything Is Wrong, released 14 March 1995. Moby had been known in the electronic genre a bit of an oddball who made shockingly lush music that could easily be used as movie scores, and this was the record that captured many people’s attention.

Garbage, “Vow” single, released 20 March 1995. I of course knew who Butch Vig was due to his several high-status album productions like Nevermind, and I’d expected his own band to be just as great, and I was not let down. This single introduced many people to their unique sound — not quite grunge, not quite commercial alternative, but just as heavy and hella sexy.

Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, brainbloodvolume, released 21 March 1995. This band’s final album is often overlooked and forgotten as their previous album Are You Normal hadn’t done all that well either, but this became one of my favorite albums of that summer when I’d found a promo copy on cassette. It’s an album worth listening to at top volume, as it’s absolutely overflowing with energy and spirit. Every time I heard “All I Ask of Myself Is That I Hold Together” on WFNX I’d crank it up. Well worth a listen.

Our Lady Peace, Naveed, released 21 March 1995. This band, like fellow Canadians Moist, wouldn’t get that much attention around this time, but this one’s a great opening salvo for the group. Their own brand of alternative rock was twitchy yet introspective at the same time.

Joan Osborne, Relish, released 21 March 1995. Joan’s debut owes a lot to the Laurel Canyon folk and rock of the 70s, but she manages to update that sound into something fresh and fun, inserting an element of Bonnie Raitt-like blues into the mix. You’ll still hear “One of Us” on the radio, but the lovely “St. Theresa” and the sexy “Right Hand Man” is also worth checking out.

Morphine, Yes, released 21 March 1995. This band drops another album full of their unique sound of sparse and bassy blues rock, and it was a big hit on the Boston stations, especially with the single “Honey White”.

Elastica, Elastica, released 24 March 1995. Yes, I’m still annoyed all these years later that they shamelessly stole from Wire’s “Three Girl Rhumba” for their biggest hit. Primarily because “Connection” got so much airplay and the first several times I heard it my reaction was ‘wow, they’re playing an obscure Wire tra–oh, wait.” That said, this is a surprisingly catchy and fun album that actually was worth all the attention it got.

Silverchair, Frogstomp, released 27 March 1995. I believe this was first band that gave me the feeling that I’d waited far too long to start a music career, heh. For a teenage trio, this album is frighteningly intense and superbly crafted from start to finish. They of course ended up on my ‘will buy anything from them’ list.

Soundtrack, Tank Girl, released 28 March 1995. I was excited about this movie, considering I was quite aware of Jamie Hewlett’s bonkers comic book about a trigger-happy punk girl living in the outback and hanging with mutant kangaroos. It was ‘what if the apocalypse was bizarre and hilarious instead of all doom and gloom?’ Sadly the movie didn’t quite capture it, having been severely watered down to be palatable to the normies, but it was a lot of fun and I sat through it several times after work. The soundtrack is amazing, however, featuring fantastic tracks from Bjork, Bush, Portishead, Belly, and a goofy cover of “Let’s Do it (Let’s Fall in Love)” with Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg.

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Coming up: Coming to a close, making some decisions.