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.