I’m still going through the Legacy Soundtrack list and I’ve reached the autumn and winter months of 2001, and I’ve realized a few interesting things. One is that I can definitely confirm that I was working down in the basement on a daily basis by then and doing most likely around 500 to 800 words a night on A Division of Souls. Another is that I’d made the very smooth transition from sating my music fix at HMV to my weekly stops at the Newbury Comics in downtown Amherst. And a third is that I was definitely reading a hell of a lot more than I ever had, even more than my school days. [I was terrible about it then, most likely due to undiagnosed ADD. It wasn’t until probably the late 90s when that changed, mainly due to voracious comic reading which led to oh hey I’m writing science fiction, maybe I should read some as well, which in turn led to very frequent visits to Barnes & Noble and elsewhere.]

To get through everything — focusing on the writing, immersing myself in the genre and the universe I was creating, and dealing with current events — I did what I always did, and that was listening to music. It was a solace I needed at the time, and it was also a perfect anchor when I needed to narrow my focus. The below albums were those that dropped on or around 9/11 and were constantly on rotation at my desk.

Ben Folds, Rockin’ the Suburbs. The title track became my unofficial personal theme song as well as the title for my LiveJournal when I got one a few years later. It’s a rather somber album compared to his earlier works but still quite enjoyable.

Bis, Return to Central. I’d been familiar with their cutesy-punk ‘teen-c power’ sound but this was a more mature synth-pop sound that worked really well for them. I loved this record and played it a ton during the writing of A Division of Souls.

P.O.D., Satellite. A lot of bands released albums right on 9/11 that sadly fell into obscurity due to terrible timing, but this one survived that, actually becoming a huge success (partly thanks to heavy play on MTV). I’d been a fan already but this is a hell of a great record.

Curve, Gift. I’d been a fan of this band since my college days and though this would end up being their final album release, it was a hell of a great way to go. This was perfect music to listen to during my writing sessions.

The Verve Pipe, Underneath. Their last for RCA before their extended hiatus, this album should have been a much bigger hit because it’s got some absolutely lovely songs on it like “Only Words” and “I Want All of You”.

Ian Brown, Music of the Spheres. This one’s much more musical and pop oriented than his oddball solo debut Unfinished Monkey Business, and with that it’s an easier listen. “F.E.A.R.” is a great opening track and one of my favorites of his.

Lamb, What Sound. They were pretty much already an “I will buy anything from them” band by this point and I nabbed this one quickly. It’s a great moody record, and the track “Small” ended up being an influence in Denni’s opening scene for The Persistence of Memories.

Sloan, Pretty Together. This is probably my favorite of their albums because it’s just so lovely and warm and a joy to listen to. Not to mention “I Love a Long Goodbye” being one of my favorite track of theirs! This was a great album to put on if I wanted music but not necessarily one that related to my working on Division.