I remember making this one at the tail end of my years at HMV, and I’ve come back to it recently when I’ve been working through the Mendaihu Universe Legacy Soundtrack list. It was made in early August 2000 when it was clear that I wasn’t long for that store. My quality of work hadn’t changed, at least not in my view, but that was my then-boss’ issue: I apparently was too set in my ways and couldn’t (and wouldn’t) bend to his will. You’ve all heard the story of our frequent arguments leading up to a final “you need to quit or else I’ll fire you” confrontation.

Still, I’d hoped I’d last longer at the store because it was one of my favorite jobs I’d ever had. [To this day I still have the occasional dream about it, twenty-six years on.] Because of this, there seems to be a slight feeling of melancholy in this mix. Not one of spiraling gloom like the mixes I’d made back in my teen years, but one of things coming to an end. The energy here is muted for the most part, with only a few songs reaching any high octane.

I remember listening to this one a lot in my car during my weekend road trips, but also when I started heading down to the Pioneer Valley more often, considering I’d be starting a new job down there soon enough. After several years of heading east towards the metro Boston area, I’d be returning west to my old haunts of central Massachusetts; quieter, calmer, and definitely a shorter distance. I had to remind myself that this wasn’t going to be about attempting to relive my late 80s past but creating something new.

So while I was sad that I was leaving HMV, I was looking forward to starting a new chapter. One that meant a new day job, but also meant a much-needed revitalization of this science fiction trilogy that I’d been hammering away at for a few years already.

SIDE A:
1. Richard Ashcroft, “A Song for the Lovers”
2. Doves, “Sea Song”
3. The Dandy Warhols, “Godless”
4. BT, “Satellite”
5. Stone Temple Pilots, “Sour Girl”
6. Porcupine Tree, “Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled”
7. Belle and Sebastian, “Don’t Leave the Light On Baby”
8. Moby, “Porcelain”
9. Black Box Recorder, “The Facts of Life”
SIDE B
1. The (International) Noise Conspiracy, “Smash It Up”
2. Longpigs, “Blue Skies” (not available on Spotify)
3. Lit, “Over My Head”
4. BT, “Never Gonna Come Back Down”
5. Eve 6, “Promise”
6. Everclear, “Wonderful”
7. The Dandy Warhols, “Nietzsche”
8. Catherine Wheel, “Sparks Are Gonna Fly”
9. Badly Drawn Boy, “Another Pearl”
10. The Urge, “It’s My Turn to Fly”
11. Cypress Hill, “(Rock) Superstar”