Monthly Archives: August 2026

(Almost) Thirty Years On: September 1997

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Looking back on it, I think that road trip to Ohio was a key moment in my wanting to go out on my own a lot more. By this time I was still heading up to Toadstool Books in Keene on the weekends, but instead of heading back home afterwards I would sometimes expand on it by driving down to Leominster and stopping at the Barnes & Noble afterwards. I was driving into Boston on an almost monthly basis now, visiting my old haunts.

But I was also starting to take longer drives home from work as well. Sometimes I’d stop at that B&N on the way back, or maybe see a movie at the nearby Sony Theatre I used to work at (the multiplex at my mall was still under construction at this time, I believe). I started reminding myself that I had the ability to do this now that I had the paycheck and the transportation.

I’m not sure, but I think it was also around this time that I started taking the long drive to Amherst from my mall in Marlborough — a sixty-mile, ninety-minute trek mostly on Route 9. I’d restarted my comic book collecting, at first catching up on my favorite titles like Cerebus and Strangers in Paradise then discovering more titles that caught my interest, including several manga and indie releases. I probably only went once or twice a month on Wednesdays then, but eventually the trip would become a weekly habit that I’d hold until I left the store in 2000. [I’d continue the Wednesday runs until 2005 of course, though with a much shorter drive from Deerfield.] My family thought it was a peculiar thing to do, but I enjoyed the trip as it gave me time to think about my writing while listening to music or NPR. It was all part of my soaking up new ideas, inspirations and influences.

Joe Jackson & Friends, Heaven & Hell, released 2 September 1997. While Jackson wasn’t as prolific as he once was back in the 80s and early 90s, he used that extra time to conjure up even more eclectic music that never fails to surprise. This, for instance, is a thematic album based on the seven deadly sins, with guest singers like Suzanne Vega, Brad Roberts (from Crash Test Dummies) and Dawn Upshaw voicing them. It’s a peculiar album, but it’s also surprisingly enjoyable.

Travis, Good Feeling, released 8 September 1997. I remember the UK music magazines singing the praises of this Glaswegian band and how they were so different from the rest of the city’s scene by leaning heavy on the songwriting and dynamic sounds. They knocked it out of the park with the single “All I Want to Do Is Rock” (the song that got them signed by Sony). I was an instant fan and have been picking up their work ever since.

Cornershop, When I Was Born for the 7th Time, released 9 September 1997. You couldn’t escape “Brimful of Asha” during the late summer, the song was just everywhere. It’s a simple three-chord riff about famed Indian playback singer Asha Bhosle that gets stuck in your head for days. I remember liking it, getting sick of it, then liking it again after a while!

Forest for the Trees, Forest for the Trees, released 9 September 1997. This was a one-off project of Beck-adjacent musician Carl Stephenson that had a surprise minor favorite with the weird yet groovy “Dream”. I used to listen to this one in the back room of the store quite a bit.

Tanya Donelly, Lovesongs for Underdogs, released 9 September 1997. After the breakup of Belly, Donelly quickly started her solo career with this lovely record that features some of her musical friends like Pixies’ David Lovering and Throwing Muses’ David Narcizo.

Love Spit Love, Trysome Eatone, released 9 September 1997. The second and final album from Richard Butler (while The Psychedelic Furs were on hiatus) feels less cluttered and intense than the self-titled first, so much so that it sometimes feels like this is what the Psych Furs would have sounded like had they kept going. The second single “Fall On Tears” remains one of my top favorite songs of the year, especially with its quiet-progressively-louder format.

Death in Vegas, Dead Elvis, released 16 September 1997. The store was starting to see all kinds of oddball electronic (and semi-electronic) bands coming out of the woodwork by this time, and DiV is one of those where you’re not sure if they’re electronic, goth, punk, or something in between. The crunchy single “Dirt” got a lot of play on WFNX, partly thanks to its rigorous sampling of a famous Woodstock quote.

Stereolab, Dots and Loops, released 22 September 1997. This band continued to play its signature style of music that feels like it’s from another time and place, this time having success with the single “Miss Modular” which got a lot of play on a lot of alternative stations. One of my coworkers really liked this album and used to play it on the floor during his shift.

Dubstar, Goodbye, released 22 September 1997. I absolutely fell in love with the single “Stars” which kicks off the US version of this album. [It was originally on their first UK album from 1995.] Their lovely autumnal Britpop sound deeply appealed to me; it felt relaxing and took me to a different time and place whenever I put it on in the stockroom. It would soon be on frequent repeat at my writing nook soon after, earning its MU Legacy Soundtrack badge. I highly recommend this one!

Various Artists, A Very Special Christmas 3, released 23 September 1997. The start of Q4 always meant the new Christmas albums would be trickling in soon, and this third volume from the Very Special Christmas (the first in five years) was an instant hit, featuring performances by Sting, Smashing Pumpkins, No Doubt (their silly but fun “Oi! to the World” got considerable play on WFNX) and more. My favorite of course was Eleven doing their version of Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’ with breathtaking vocals by Chris Cornell.

Information Society, Don’t Be Afraid, released 23 September 1997. After a five year hiatus, Kurt Harland was the sole member and rights-holder of the IS name, and chose to take an altogether different route for this fourth album. Fully embracing goth, industrial and darkwave sounds this time out (not to mention themes of paranoia, heartbreak and distrust), it’s a grim record but also a fascinating listen. I played this one a hell of a lot over the next few years, earning its MU Legacy Soundtrack badge.

Bjork, Homogenic, released 23 September 1997. Just when you think Bjork couldn’t get any weirder, she comes out with an album that explores the stranger edges of electronica. It itches, twitches and slides all over the place and keeps you guessing. I wasn’t the biggest fan at first but it grew on me the more I listened to it.

The Sundays, Static & Silence, released 23 September 1997. Their third and last record was completely unexpected, having been written off as an early-90s pop band, and yet they had a hit with the excellent “Summertime” track that still gets a lot of play.

Chumbawamba, Tubthumper, released 23 September 1997. I do love the fact that this band of self-described anarchists (in the full-on contrarian sense) chose to write and release their most pop-influenced record and even embraced their one-hit-wonder status with the “Tubthumping” single, mainly because it gave them an infusion of money to move forward with their otherwise ongoing DIY-ethos style. It’s actually a surprisingly good record with gems like “Amnesia” and “The Good Ship Lifestyle”.

Portishead, Portishead, released 29 September 1997. While Dummy is considered one of trip-hop’s best and most important albums, this follow-up felt like a deliberate move towards the more experimental edges of it. It shifts between feeling like a nightmarish spaghetti western and a disturbing fever dream with only a few quiet moments of calm like the dreamy “Mourning Air”.

The Verve, Urban Hymns, released 29 September 1997. This was an instant hit right from the get-go thanks to the “Bitter Sweet Symphony” single, but the follow up single “Lucky Man” also got considerable play on the local alternative stations, and still does to this day. At this point they’d dropped the dreamlike almost-psychedelic sound of their first two albums and full-on embraced a more guitar-oriented Britpop sound here.

Loreena McKennitt, The Book of Secrets, released 30 September 1997. This Canadian singer seemed like an open secret for the longest time, writing (or arranging) and singing folk with a curious blend of Celtic, New Age and Middle Eastern elements added. She was a big seller for the store in that genre, and this was her major breakthrough. So much so that the track “The Mummers’ Dance” got a major remix by DNA (yes, the same who remixed Suzanne Vega) that enjoyed chart success. This was a perfect soundtrack for The Phoenix Effect, so it too gets an MU Legacy Soundtrack badge.

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Coming up: The store preps for Q4 with best-ofs, box sets, and soundtracks.

(Almost) Thirty Years On: August 1997

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After that long-distance road trip out to Ohio, I came back refreshed (and very sunburnt on my left arm due to my then habit of resting my arm on the open window) and ready to start working on The Phoenix Effect again. While it took me a little bit longer to get into the intended ‘write every day’ goal, the story was resonating with me even more as the days went on. My listening habits in the back room of the record store started evolving at the time, moving away from merely sampling a little of everything to the music that really caught my attention, enough that I felt I could use it as a writing soundtrack. These became the CDs I’d be playing on my little cheapo boombox down in the basement of my house while I started transcribing and revising what I’d written over the last few days. Pretty soon every album I brought home — whether a promo, bought or dubbed — became a potential soundtrack specifically for this project of mine.

311, Transistor, released 5 August 1997. An unexpected double album project for them with a staggering twenty-one tracks, they chose to squeeze it onto one disc to ensure fans could afford it. It is a bit of a beast, but it’s also a slight change-up from their then longstanding style of inserting rap into nearly all their tracks. “Beautiful Disaster” was the big single from this that got considerable play.

Jen Trynin, Gun Shy Trigger Happy, released 12 August 1997. Trynin’s second and final solo album was just as great as her first (1994’s Cockamamie) though it definitely has a more adult and autumnal sound that fit the playlists of the local AOR stations like The River. I loved the moodiness of the single “Getaway (February)” even though it sadly got overlooked by the label.

Mixtape, Songs from the Eden Cycle Vol 2, created mid-August 1997. I had so much fun creating the first mix that I knew I’d have to make more in the series, considering I was getting better and more consistent with my writing by then. But while the first volume holds a little more oomph, this one feels a lot moodier and introspective. There are a lot of songs about interpersonal tension and trying to fight for what you believe in.

Jesus Jones, Already, released 18 August 1997. It took them a surprisingly long four years to follow up from 1993’s Perverse, mainly due to their UK label being unhappy with that album’s underperformance and singer Mike Edwards’ increasing frustration about that. It took a while but after a few false starts they came out with what was a strong if sadly unnoticed record.

Mono, Formica Blues, released 25 August 1997 (UK). The first time I heard “Life in Mono” I was driving home from work when a local AOR station played it, and my mind was blown. It was such a spot-on Serge Gainsbourg riff that I went in the very next shift looking to see if I could order it for the store. It wouldn’t be released for another couple of months in the States (and by that time it had been featured on the Great Expectations soundtrack), but I immediately grabbed the import for myself. The album definitely has that trip-hop vibe but with an unexpected French-pop twist, and it’s one of my favorites from the 90s. It definitely earned its MU Legacy Soundtrack badge.

Stereophonics, Word Gets Around, released 26 August 1997. I don’t remember who introduced me to this Welsh band, but I somehow got a hold of the promo for this and I was hooked. They were British indie with a distinctive folky flavor to it, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

Oasis, Be Here Now, released 26 August 1997. Yeah, this album is definitely as bloated and drug-fueled as all the reviews say it is. The problem was that the Gallaghers wanted to top the brilliant Morning Glory and chose to do that by making everything about the new album BIG. The (admittedly great) first single “D’you Know What I Mean” tops seven minutes and the hippiefest third single “All Around the World” goes past nine. And the production is so crowded with sound (it being the peak of the Loudness Wars, of course) that it feels claustrophobic. Don’t get me wrong, though…it’s a really good album, it’s just a hell of a lot to take in. They’d learn their lesson and rein it in with the follow-ups.

Olive, Extra Virgin, released 26 August 1997. “You’re Not Alone” might be a one-hit wonder, but it’s a hell of a lovely song that shows up on several dance compilations, and the rest of the album is just as strong. This is a great example of that mid-90s/early 00s run of chillwave, electronic music that might sound great on the dance floor, but it’s just as wonderful hanging out at home enjoying the calm. It sold relatively well and we played this album quite a bit on the salesfloor.

Shaï nO Shaï, Human Condition, released 26 August 1997. I hardly know anything about this French band other than that this was their one album. They’re a fascinating listen, as they’re not quite Celtic folk yet not quite experimental indie either. I got this as a promo and I was fascinated by their sound, enough that it got repeat plays in the back room at the store and later during writing sessions. Another MU Legacy Soundtrack.

The Crystal Method, Vegas, released 26 August 1997. This techno band did in fact originate in Las Vegas and this debut was an instant hit with the local alternative stations with its blistering singles “Busy Child” and “Keep Hope Alive”. The original version of “Trip Like I Do” is here, but the US editions also added the version they did with Filter for the Spawn soundtrack that became a favorite that year.

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Coming up: Q4 brings not just more favorites but more road trips

(Almost) Thirty Years On: July 1997

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It had been ages since I actually had a paid vacation and given that I’d be here at HMV for the long term, I was able to accrue enough hours to finally get one! And so it happened that my inaugural vacation would be a roadtrip….to Ohio! My high school friend was living in Columbus with his wife at the time and as we hadn’t seen each other in quite a long time, it was planned that I’d spend the week there. [Side note, the only reason I remember exactly when this trip took place is because it was the same week Contact came out in theaters and I really wanted to go see it.]

It was also the first lengthy road trip I’d be taking with my own car, which excited me to no end. My four-year-old Cavalier still ran pretty good at the time (although I somehow kept forgetting to get oil changes for a while there), and I set about preparing for it. As I did not yet have a tape deck in said car, I’d be bringing my boombox to listen to any cassettes. And it also meant making mixtapes! I’ll be honest, I’d started making the first Songs from the Eden Cycle mix partly for this reason, and my sister made me a driving-themed one that’s mentioned below.

Did I do any writing? Well, actually no. I’m surprised I didn’t, but at the same time I wasn’t anywhere near the write every single day habit I’d eventually reach. This was more a time to soak in the ideas and let them steep in my head for a while so I could come out with something strong and exciting. Instead I would read what I had so far and make a few mental notes of how I could move forward. I did manage to write one scene when I stopped at a hotel in Wilkes-Barre PA on the drive home, and it’s a scene that made it into the rewrite as A Division of Souls, where Nehalé witnesses an attack on a church.

If anything, this weeklong road trip inspired me to go out driving a lot more often in the future. While I wouldn’t do any further long-distance or overnight ones like that (at least not until I went to my first science fiction convention in 2001), it would inspire me to head to my favorite places in Boston and elsewhere with more frequency, and would also inspire my soon-to-be-weekly drive across most of the state for Wednesday comic book runs after work.

The Prodigy, The Fat of the Land, released 1 July 1997. Very much like the Chemical Brothers, this was a long-awaited album after a hugely successful teaser single (in this case, “Firestarter”). It was an instant hit at the store and ended up on the year-end best-of wall. Interestingly I’d known of the band previously as one that played more blissed-out electronica, and this new more punk direction worked perfectly for them. Several of the tracks still get a lot of play on alternative radio these days.

Limp Bizkit, Three Dollar Bill, Yall$, released 1 July 1997. The kings of meathead metal rap rock, they were a band I wanted to hate and yet somehow they managed to surprise me with halfway decent songs every now and again, especially this goofy yet fun cover of George Michael’s hit. This was their first breakthrough, and would get even bigger with their next album.

Mixtape, Trust in My Tires, Faith in My Chrome, created July 1997. My sister provided me with this collection of driving songs across several different genres — alternative, country, folk, classic rock, and so on — and I did give it a few plays during my Ohio road trip. The first track, fittingly, was Pretenders’ “My City Was Gone”.

Primal Scream, Vanishing Point, released 7 July 1997. Just when I thought PM was firmly entrenched in their Stonesy style they’d perfected on their previous record, they went in a completely different direction and recorded what would be the first of three albums that explored the darker edges of their sound. I really liked this one, especially the single “Kowalski”. This one recently got a brand new expanded edition just last week!

Smash Mouth, Fush Yu Mang, released 8 July 1997. I remember the first time I’d heard “Walkin’ On the Sun”: I was on Route 80 through Pennsylvania when a local alternative station played it. It sounded so different from what was being played at the time: both 60s retro and 90s pop-punk, didn’t take itself too seriously yet contained smart lyrics, and had one hell of a great hook. I made a mental note to ensure that my store ordered enough copies of this when I got back to the store, as I knew it would be big. They’d be a favorite of mine ever since.

Sarah McLachlan, Surfacing, released 15 July 1997. While Fumbling Towards Ecstasy had some success with the sublime yet creepy “Possession” and the quietly intense “Hold On”, it was this album that broke her wide open with several singles like “Sweet Surrender”, “Building a Mystery”, “Adia” and “Angel”. She’d come a long way from her quirky early 90s beginnings, that’s for sure. She’d follow this up by hosting the massively successful Lilith Fair festival.

Lauren Christy, Breed, released 22 July 1997. You might know her now as part of the songwriting/production team The Matrix (known for their hits for pop singers like Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, Jason Mraz and more), but she started out as a quirky alt-rock singer, and her second album was a minor favorite thanks to the title track featuring on the Batman & Robin soundtrack. The slower and moodier ‘Reprise’ version of that track would show up on a future Eden Cycle mixtape.

Land of the Loops, Bundle of Joy, released 22 July 1997. This Boston musician was known for his quirky homespun lo-fi electronic music, and the catchy single “Multi-Family Garage Sale” got a lot of play on local radio, partly thanks to the clever use of samples from The Brave Little Toaster but also its use in a Miller Genuine Draft commercial. The album isn’t anything amazing but it’s enjoyable and fun in its own way.

Catherine Wheel, Adam and Eve, released 29 July 1997. Their fourth album tends to be forgotten due to its lack of huge hits, but it’s also their moodiest and most introspective. There’s the slick sounds of “Delicious” but also the lovely “Ma Solituda” that both got a lot of radio play at the time. It’s well worth checking out.

The Dambuilders, Against the Stars, released 29 July 1997. The final album from this Boston band sadly got overlooked partly because of the overwhelming success of Radiohead’s OK Computer, but they were always a fun indie rock band that got a lot of play from WFNX and WBCN. “Burn This Bridge” was a local favorite and quite possibly their most sucessful song.

Soundtrack, Spawn: The Album, released 29 July 1997. This was another movie that could have been great but alas ended up a box office bomb, and yet its soundtrack was a major success. Like 1993’s Judgement Night soundtrack it gathered rock bands and paired them with electronica groups. While some were rather…odd (Moby with Butthole Surfers, Marilyn Manson and Sneaker Pimps), there were also excellent pairings like Filter and The Crystal Method’s “(Can’t You) Trip Like I Do” which got a ton of airplay. It’s definitely a mixed bag like the movie, but it’s worth checking out.

Whiskeytown, Stranger’s Almanac, released 29 July 1997. Despite the band splintering at the seams and singer Ryan Adams being a hot mess both onstage and off, they managed to release a fantastic second album of alt-country goodness full of amazing songs and moods. “Yesterday’s News” was a favorite on WFNX and The River at the time, and my personal favorite was the high-lonesome closer “Not Home Anymore”.

Various Artists, Urbal Beats: The Definitive Guide to Electronic Music, released 29 July 1997. There had been several electronica compilations by this point, but this one was a major success thanks to containing several amazing songs by The Chemical Brothers, Orbital, The Prodigy, The Orb, Portishead, Roni Size, and more. [It also helped that it was released by a major distributor, PolyGram.] Of note was a breathtaking track by Rabbit in the Moon called “Out of Body Experience”, originally a single from 1993 and perfectly reshaping a lengthy Tori Amos sample of “Precious Things” into a torrent of chillwave goodness. [It was renamed the more simple “O.B.E.” here.] This mix sold considerably in our store and became an employee favorite, and it also spawned a sequel in 1998. It eventually became an MU Legacy Soundtrack as well.

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Coming up: In which almost everything I listen to suddenly becomes a writing soundtrack.

(Almost) Thirty Years On: May/June 1997

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This one’s a little longer than usual because May’s releases were kind of quiet. That said, by this point I was doing pretty well with writing The Phoenix Effect. I wasn’t even close to working daily, let alone getting a significant number of words, but that wasn’t my aim at that point. Some days I’d work on my poems and lyrics instead; other days I’d just sit and listen to cassettes on my Walkman. Some days I’d get a few pages’ worth of longhand words, other days I’d get one paragraph.

This whole exercise was simply to keep at it, with no strict rules yet. It was a story idea that sparked my interest, so it was more important for me to find my footing with it. Who were the main characters, and what were their goals? I think the thing that helped was the creation of Caren and Poe, two characters very loosely inspired by Mulder and Scully from The X-Files, assigned to investigate a major near-catastrophic event at the huge tower in the center of the sprawling city. [That in itself was an idea dating all the way back to the original 1993 Vigil outtakes. Its instigator, now known as Nehalé Usarai, was originally a True Faith character reimagined.] They were brand new characters in a story already three years and several versions old, and they were the focal points I needed in order to make this idea work.

Once I had my footing and perhaps a few chapters down, then I’d try spending a little more time on it than ‘when I could find the time’.

Paul McCartney, Flaming Pie, released 5 May 1997. Paul’s first album since the Beatles’ Anthology project has its obvious inspiration, right down to its title that comes from John Lennon’s fanciful description of the band’s origins in a 1961 issue of Mersey Beat. But it’s also a loving dedication to his wife Linda, who was suffering from breast cancer at the time and would pass away within the year. Several fans felt it was a long overdue return to form after his less popular albums of the late 80s and early 90s, and it’s definitely the first of his albums where he fully embraces his own legacy instead of trying to fight against it. It’s one of my top favorites of his and highly recommended.

Soundtrack, The Fifth Element, released 6 May 1997. I remember this movie coming out and the overwhelming response being what the hell did I just watch? Hardcore Luc Besson fans had expected something serious and high-octane like Leon: The Professional and instead got a weird and darkly comic adventure that really didn’t take itself entirely all that seriously. The trailer also framed it as a deeply serious movie when in fact it’s filled to the brim with absurdist humor. [It’s also noted that the hero and the villain never actually cross paths let alone know about each other throughout the entire film, and that’s quite a feat in itself.] It’s since become a cult favorite to the point where it’s still quoted. The soundtrack is quite a lot of fun as well, composed by Besson’s frequent collaborator Eric Serra.

Foo Fighters, The Colour and the Shape, released 20 May 1997. How do you follow up a debut album that was essentially a solo record yet became a huge hit? By solidifying a full backing band and writing some the strongest and darkest and heaviest songs you’ve got swirling inside you. This is my favorite of the early FF records, as it’s full of tension, anger, and maybe a bit of pain as well.

Soundtrack, Batman & Robin, released 27 May 1997. A lot of people will say that 1995’s Batman Forever is terrible (it is, but in a really good and fun way), but this sequel actually is terrible (it is, in a really not so good and embarrassing way). I understood they were trying to channel the Adam West version with its cartoonish silliness, but it’s just bad and pretty much put me off of future Batman films. The soundtrack itself is another one of those “The Album” releases, where only a handful of tracks actually made it into the film, with the rest being “inspired by” it. Of note, however, is the REM rarity “Revolution” and two blazing tracks from The Smashing Pumpkins that got a significant amount of play on the radio.

Mixtape, Songs from the Eden Cycle, Vol 1, created June 1997. By mid-June I figured it was about time I made an ‘official’ mixtape for my current writing project. Almost all of my other projects to date had one, songs that inspired scenes or set the moods for me, and this was the first of many I’d be making for The Phoenix Effect. At this point I was still calling the project “The Eden Cycle” as I’d had vague plans of it being a multi-book universe. The first track of course had to be Poe’s rerecording of her song “Hello”, but it was also the first (of many) appearances of Failure’s epic closer “Daylight” which, even then, I knew would play during the final scenes of the story. This mix got a ton of play over the course of the next several years, including three more volumes made during my years at HMV. And once I started working on self-publishing the Bridgetown Trilogy, even more volumes would be made.

Days of the New, Days of the New, released 3 June 1997. At first I kind of filed this band away with all the other growly grunge bands like Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains, but there was something about this band that made them different. They were swampy like AIC, bluesy like STP, and maybe even a bit inventive like Soundgarden. “Touch, Peel and Stand” and “Shelf in the Room” got a lot of play on WFNX at the time and gave them a significant following.

The Verve, “Bitter Sweet Symphony” single, released 16 June 1997. Yes, that video and song! This one dropped a good couple of months before what would be both their breakthrough and their break-up album, not to mention their hugest selling hit in which they made pretty much nil due to an uncleared sample. And yet it remains an alternative favorite to this day, a late-90s update on the classic GenX my life is shit theme in post-punk and early alternative rock.

Spiritualized, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, released 16 June 1997. Yet another video in which the lead singer is doing nothing but walking, this was the band’s third record and an unexpected hit in the States for them. Unlike the hazy rave sounds of their first two records, this was more of an experiment in soundscapes, going from the gorgeous lullaby of the title track to the epic wall of sound with the single “Come Together”.

Radiohead, OK Computer, released 16 June 1997. Meanwhile, this band was on the verge of self-destruction, not quite knowing how to follow up the massively popular The Bends, while at the same time dearly wishing to escape the chokehold of worldwide fame and high expectations. Instead they went inwards, creating a deeply unsettling and uncomfortable record that dealt with exactly that: the feeling of not being unable to detangle yourself from the restrictive ropes you may or may not have placed upon yourself. The trick was to go against all expectations and write from the heart: the twitchy “Airbag”, the bizarre fever dream of “Paranoid Android”, the disgust of “Karma Police”, even the brittle beauty of “Exit Music (for a Film)” (written for Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet and following its plot line explicitly), it’s miles away from anything they’d done before and in effect allowed them to follow their own experimental paths thereafter. This one got a ton of play over the next several years and is of course an MU Legacy Soundtrack! [Side note: I only recently learned that the highway cloverleaf you see on the cover is actually the highly confusing I-84/I-91 interchange in Hartford CT, the very same one I’d take the following month on my planned roadtrip, and one I’d pass several times years later on my trips down to New Jersey in 2004.]

Summercamp, Pure Juice, released 17 June 1997. This band often gets forgotten in the avalanche of late 90s emo pop, but this album was one of my favorites. It’s bouncy, exciting and full of catchy songs like “Drawer” and “Should I Walk Away”. This one got a lot of play in the back room at the store and also during my writing sessions.

Mansun, Attack of the Grey Lantern (US Edition), released 24 June 1997. The original UK version of this album dropped earlier in the year (17 February) and its US version had much of its track listing shuffled around, but regardless, this was a band that made me stop and think: what the hell am I listening to? They might be seen as a Britpop band, especially with its UK hit “Wide Open Space” (which itself was a single that dropped back in November 1996), but the track is so unlike anything else that was being played at the time that it just stood out that much more. I remember many of my coworkers really liking the record, enough that it got a significant amount of play on the sales floor at the time. I quickly became a fan and listened to this one quite often.

CJ Bolland, The Analogue Theatre (US edition), released 24 June 1997. The squealy-sexy single “Sugar Is Sweeter”, with its vocals courtesy of Lords of Acid’s Jade4U, was another oddball favorite on the dance floor as well as on WFNX, enough that it showed up on the excellent Urbal Beats compilation (see next entry) and multiple soundtracks.

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Coming up: On a long road trip to Ohio and writing a defining moment.

(Almost) Thirty Years On: April 1997

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There’s something to be said about finally finding your groove. So much stress and anxiety finally recedes into the background where you don’t need to constantly worry that it’ll come back to bite you in the ass when you’re not paying attention. HMV was the first job in ages where I wasn’t jumping ship, getting axed or finding it’s a terrible fit after six months, which meant that I could finally focus on what I wanted to focus on and not worry as much about the bills. It meant that I could allow myself a deeper focus on the writing and a calmer approach to life. Hell, I’d even started assisting in the ordering of stock by then, as my boss trusted me and appreciated my input. It was the first time in years where I didn’t feel like I was scrambling and flailing.

And I think one can see the difference in what I wrote at the time. While still a rough draft, it’s so much better than the work I was doing on my previous now-trunked works. I’d stumbled upon a style that resonated with me and I wanted to see how far I could go with it, and now I had the ability to make that happen.

Our Lady Peace, Clumsy, released 2 April 1997. The Canadian band’s second album was a huge hit in their own country but also a surprise hit here in the States with the two major singles, the snaky “Superman’s Dead” and the ballad “Clumsy”. It was a big seller at my store and even made it to the best-of wall at the end of the year. This one got a lot of play during my writing sessions as well.

The Chemical Brothers, Dig Your Own Hole, released 7 April 1997. It took forever, but when the new album dropped it was HUGE. You heard the new single “Block Rockin’ Beats” everywhere, all the time, to the point that maybe it was a little oversaturated, but it was such an amazing record it surpassed Exit Planet Dust in terms of popularity. The duo seemed to have found their niche, cleverly mixing electronic and analog sounds, and occasionally providing guest vocals, and the fans ate it up. It ended up on several year-end lists and still remains one of their most popular albums.

Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out, released 8 April 1997. Their first for the Kill Rock Stars label and the first with drummer Janet Weiss, you can tell that they went all out for this one. Loud, raucous, and full of heartbreak, it was a highly successful release for the college and alternative stations. This was one of my boss’ favorite albums of the year and he’d often play it out on the sales floor.

Depeche Mode, Ultra, released 14 April 1997. After a tumultuous couple of years, the band came back with an album that channeled both their old-school dark-themed style and their newer heavier sound. It’s a perfect fit and the record is one of my all-time favorites of theirs. This is one of the first albums I added to the ‘MU Legacy Soundtrack’ list — albums that I’d frequently come back to throughout my writing of the trilogy and its various versions over the years. It’s still my favorite of the 90s DM albums, even more so than Violator.

Soundtrack, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, released 15 April 1997. I went to this movie thinking that it was either going to be really funny or painfully repetitious and unfunny (as SNL skits tend to be for me), but I was pleasantly surprised by its ability to absolutely nail it as a loving pastiche of mid-60s Mod, yet still be absurdly silly at the same time. The end-credits music video of Austin’s band Ming Tea (Mike Myers, Suzanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet) was a perfect way to cap it all off.

Supergrass, In It for the Money, released 21 April 1997. It took me a while to grow into this album, as I’d only been a passing fan of their debut I Should Coco, but once I did, I was a fan thereafter. I’m pretty sure it was the lovely and Beatlesque “Late in the Day” (and its clever video) that caught my attention in the first place. It has a very autumnal sound, quieter and calmer than their debut and far more adventurous. This was another album that my boss loved and pushed on the sales floor.

Scud Mountain Boys, The Early Year, released 21 April 1997. I knew about this local (Northampton) band from listening to WAMH in the mid 90s, and this was a reissue of their first two albums that dropped in 1995. Their quiet alt-country sound fit in perfectly not only with the indie crowd but seemed to capture the sound of woodsy midwestern Massachusetts as well. Their cover of “Wichita Lineman” is absolutely stunning and is my favorite version of the song. This was another album that got a lot of play in the back room as well as during my writing sessions.

Delerium, Karma, released 22 April 1997. A side project of Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly, this band could have been just another Enigma copycat yet somehow broke through on the chillwave circuit with the gloriously lovely “Silence” single with Sarah McLachlan on vocals. The rest of the album is just as wonderful and ended up on my year-end favorites list; it was also another MU Legacy Soundtrack that got a lot of play over the next several years.

Future Bible Heroes, Memories of Love, released 29 April 1997. I remember first hearing the song “Lonely Days” on The River, an Adult Alternative station out of Andover MA, while driving home from work one night and immediately falling in love with its not-quite-retro sound. One of several side projects of Stephin Merritt (he of The Magnetic Fields among other things) and including vocalist Claudia Gonson and ex-Figures On a Beach musician Chris Ewen, Their indie pop sound manages to capture that early 80s synthpop style with oddball self-conscious lyricism (a Merritt hallmark) and catchy melodies. This would get a lot of play as well, and is of course an MU Legacy Soundtrack.

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Coming Up: In which a new writing project finally gets its own mixtape

(Almost) Thirty Years On: March 1997

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The mind is elastic, as they say. Sometimes you end up misremembering things, or you’re absolutely certain something happened in this order when it actually happened differently. If you look at the timestamp I wrote on the very first page of The Phoenix Effect, it says 3/7/97, 10:30pm. I almost always timestamped my longhand work, something I’ve done since the early days of the Infamous War Novel back in 1984, so it’s not as if I was making it up. Now, this goes completely against my firm belief that I started writing that novel in the food court at Solomon Pond Mall before my shift started.

Now, maybe I did, and the first attempt is full of scratch-outs and mistakes, and later on that evening I started over. Or maybe I actually did start writing it that evening and then started writing in the food court thereafter. Either way, it’s almost thirty years ago and unless I have any other notes, I’ll have to guess that it’s one of those because it’s all a bit fuzzy now.

ANYWAY! The important thing here is that I started a new novel in March of 1997 after finally deciding to trunk True Faith once and for all, and my aim here was to see if I could pull it off. I hadn’t completed a novel in years, and I was getting frustrated with myself for having all these unfinished and abandoned ideas gathering dust in crates in the boiler room in the basement. I still wanted to write this futuristic sci-fi idea, this spark that had appeared in 1993 and had never gone out. And now I had the time, a clear mind, a steady job and a computer to work on it.

Next thing was to start amassing the soundtrack I’d be listening to while writing it.

U2, Pop, released 3 March 1997. I remember the PolyGram Distribution rep being extremely let down by this album and really not doing much at all to push it to my boss Tom. U2 had become a band where you expected excellence and ever-increasing originality with every album, and that never works with any band at all. Me, however? I loved it! Sure, it’s not as grandiose as Achtung Baby or intriguing as Zooropa, and even the band members themselves admit that it’s a rushed project that should have had more time spent on it (they had to rush as another ridiculously huge tour was on the horizon). Personally I think this is when the “it’s cool to hate U2” really started. Regardless, I played the hell out of my promo copy over several years while writing not only TPE but the entire trilogy. On it’s own it’s full of fascinating sonic experimentation and intense lyricism. It wouldn’t have worked as a grandiose statement, and I think that bothered a lot of people.

Guster, Goldfly, released 4 March 1997. Local boys done good! This Somerville band was a fan favorite in the Boston area with their quirky sound (and their stick-less drummer), and the creepy yet catchy “Airport Song” was an immediate favorite on WFNX and WBCN and other MA stations. This was also their first major release after self-releasing their debut. They’re still going strong to this day.

Collective Soul, Disciplined Breakdown, released 11 March 1997. I’ll admit I’ve always been a fan of this band since hearing “Shine” back in 1993, and while they didn’t quite hit the same heights as their huge-selling self-titled album, they continued to release some really great music that I often came back to. They’re definitely part of that style I like to call ‘commercialternative’ (modern rock that’s easy on the ears and often played on your more adventurous AOR station — and I say this as a positive), but I’ve never gotten sick of them. And they just dropped a new album last week!

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Let’s Face It, released 11 March 1997. This album was a major breakthrough for them, as they fit in quite nicely with the ska-punk wave that was cresting right about this time (see also: Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger, Less Than Jake, and so on). “The Impression That I Get” was written to honor a friend who’d sadly been a victim of an abortion clinic shooting in Boston back in 1995 — I remember that happening as it took place just a few miles away from my apartment — and ended up being a big hit for them. It’s also a great album celebrating the Bay State, with a song about the sketchy-as-f*ck Mayor Curley (“The Rascal King”) and the local interstate (“1-2-8”).

Morphine, Like Swimming, released 11 March 1997. Alas, their last album before singer Mark Sandman passed away. They’re another local favorite that got a ton of play on WFNX and WBCN, and the catchy and amusing “Early to Bed” was a big favorite.

Soundtrack, Grosse Pointe Blank, released 13 March 1997. An oddball dark comedy with John Cusack and featuring a Gen-X friendly soundtrack of 80s college radio faves? It was a major favorite with my generation, and the soundtrack was a big hit that spring. It definitely helped that Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun” was the big classic used multiple times in the film, giving the band a much needed boost. This one of course got a lot of play in the back room of the store.

Ben Folds Five, Whatever and Ever Amen, released 18 March 1997. When your debut album is so quirky yet brilliantly written, you kind of wonder how you can ever top it. Their follow-up does indeed feel a bit jaded in that classic Gen-X way — so much so that “The Battle of Who Could Care Less” perfectly encapsulates it while also being a radio favorite at the time. The unexpected hit from this one, of course, is the heart-rending ballad “Brick”.

Matthew Sweet, Blue Sky On Mars, released 25 March 1997. While his 1995 album 100% Fun got some minor play, it was this follow-up that gave him that extra added boost with a much more stylized and slightly psychedelic sound that made it a favorite on AOR stations.

Soundtrack, The Saint, released 25 March 1997. Val Kilmer’s reboot of the old Roger Moore TV show was surprisingly enjoyable even though it wasn’t the biggest hit. Like most action films of the late 90s, its soundtrack is full of twitchy electronica from Orbital, Underworld, Fluke, Sneaker Pimps and more.

Goldfinger, Hang-Ups, released 26 March 1997. I remember hearing “This Lonely Place” on WFNX quite a bit during my commute home from the store, and I grew to really like this perky and sunny track. They’re still around and released a new album early this year!

Third Eye Blind, Third Eye Blind, released 26 March 1997. Say what you will about this band and album (and those three singles you could not escape from over the next few years), I actually really liked this album because it showed that they weren’t just a one hit wonder. There are a lot of interesting deep cuts here including the opener and minor single “Losing a Whole Year” which I always liked. And now I can consider them a local band, heh.

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Coming up: In which I start listening to pretty much everything that comes through the back room at the record store.