I survived my first year on the west coast with minimal damage and frustration, which is always a plus, and I even managed to complete the first draft of Love Like Blood on New Year’s Eve! I knew going in that 2006 was going to be a year of transition, focusing mostly on reorganizing my life, habits, and mindset. I did kind of feel like I didn’t get nearly as much done as I’d hoped (I really wanted to get back to work on The Balance of Light but was still blocked on that one), but I at least made the effort to get something done. The day job had its ups and downs, and working during the holiday season was a test of wills and patience, but I made it through.

What would 2007 bring…? Good question. I would work on Love Like Blood revision, maybe occasionally return to the trilogy, screw around with my music collection, and transfer out of the CD/IRA department and into the EDI/epayables department by the end of the year. That job definitely had its ups and downs, enjoyments and frustrations, and it’s the longest one I ever held (I would leave in 2020, y’all know the reasons by now). And by the end of 2008 I’d finally start the extremely slow and arduous campaign of reviving the trilogy once and for all.

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The Sisters of Mercy, First and Last and Always, Floodland and Vision Thing reissues, released 6 November 2006. Remastered and including several b-sides, I was happy to finally have these albums on cd, having owned them on cassette for years. I had a lot of fun revisiting these albums and reminding myself just how great they were.

Foo Fighters, Skin and Bones, released 7 November 2006. Dave Grohl and Co released this exceptional acoustic live record that took several of their hits and gave them new life. “Times Like These” in particular got a ton of airplay as it translated really well as a folk tune.

Depeche Mode, The Best Of Volume 1, released 8 November 2006. One of many greatest hits compilations from this band (and no, there were never any further volumes), this one featured all the hits you’d expect, plus the new single “Martyr” that got considerable play on the radio. In mid-December they’d follow U2’s path and release The Complete Depeche Mode on iTunes.

The Charlatans UK, Forever: The Singles, released 13 November 2006. Yet another best-of, this time from a band that often gets overlooked by those talking about Britpop. I always liked this band and listened to their debut Some Friendly constantly during my college years. This is a really good best-to-date mix to try out.

Chris Cornell, “You Know My Name” single from Casino Royale, released 13 November 2006. The James Bond franchise gets a fresh reboot with Daniel Craig in the lead role and starting off with an official take on the first Fleming Bond book. The theme song got a lot of play on alternative radio, but weirdly enough it was not included on the soundtrack.

The Beatles, Love, released 20 November 2006. The long-awaited soundtrack to the Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas and the first time any Beatles songs would be remixed and mashed-up under the expert hands of George Martin (his last work with them) and his son Giles. Some tracks feel more like incidental soundscapes, while others like the “Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows” mashup take you in unexpected directions. It might not be for everyone, but it was extremely well received by Beatle fans, and the show itself lasted until 2024.

Hooverphonic, Singles 96-06, released 27 November 2006. Yet another best-of, this one from one of my favorite electronic bands that I will always download no matter what they release even before I’ve heard a note. This is a really great cross-section of their work worth checking out.

Incubus, Light Grenades, released 28 November 2006. This one always gets forgotten because of their previous three albums being such huge heavy alt-rock favorites, but at the time the single “Anna Molly” got a significant amount of play.

Sonic Youth, The Destroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities, released 12 December 2006. In a month that’s nearly all best-ofs and reissues in my music library, this one stands out as a compilation from a band that rarely released such things at the time. It’s more of an odds-and-ends but it does feature the full scale twenty-five minute LP version of “The Diamond Sea” that goes on six minutes longer than the CD version.

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Whew! Now that I got that year out of the way, I’d like to start next week by going back ten years further to visit 1996. See you then!