Category Archives: compilations

(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.

Thirty Years On: November/December 1996

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The last few months of 1996 were infinitely better than that of the previous year…but at the same time there were still some massive bumps in the road that desperately needed repaving. The signs had become obvious in November when I’d begged off hanging out with certain friends simply out of exhaustion. I was still getting used to the fifty-mile commute and literally doing a ton of heavy lifting of boxes for the store, and had told them I’d been too tired to go out on the town. That seemed innocuous on its own, but somehow it ended up being one of many issues they’d had with me at the time. Now, mind you, I admitted I wasn’t perfect and still had a lot of growing up to do, but I had no idea how they felt about me primarily because they never told me in the first place. What I had assumed was a relatively decent friendship had somehow deteriorated to the point that they’d rather I not be around.

And to be brutally honest in retrospect, maybe they had a point and I did have my bad moments that I’m not proud of at all, but the fact remained that they said nothing, no context at all, and left me wondering what the hell I might have done wrong. Sure, it’s totally up to them whether or not they wanted to give me an explanation, and I’ve done the same before and since, but at some sign long before it got that bad would have been appreciated.

Anyway, it all came to a head at the start of the year — on my birthday, no less — that two separate phone calls devolved into arguments and finally into a “we’re done here”. And we’ve never crossed paths since.

On my way to work the next day, the local classic rock station chose to play Supertramp’s “Goodbye Stranger”. I found it extremely fitting, really. What could have been a sad ending and a possible spiral now felt like freedom to me. I’d been forced to disconnect with a deeply unhappy past, and now I had no more obstacles.

It was time to move on.

Three months later, I started writing The Phoenix Effect, kickstarting a project that would define my writing and self-publishing career.

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Mixtape, Untitled VII, created November 1996. I’d started this mix a few months earlier while working at my mom’s bank and finished it up at the store. The mix contains several songs from the 1995-96 era from Radiohead, Stabbing Westward, Cake, Ben Folds Five, Seal, Spacehog, The Verve Pipe, a few track from the Beatles’ Anthology volumes, and even the US version of the Sailor Moon theme song. It’s a three-cassette mix and it actually contains a few songs from early 1997 to fill out the back end. It’s an extremely solid mix and it got a lot of play over the next couple of years.

The Presidents of the United States of America, The Presidents of the United States of America II, released 5 November 1996. Their second album didn’t nearly hit the same heights as their bonkers debut, but it was no less silly and fun. I named my car the Mach 5 after this song and not after Speed Racer!

BT, 今 ima, released 5 November 1996. I first heard of BT via the single “Blue Skies” which featured Tori Amos on vocals, which got a lot of play on WFNX at the time. I still wasn’t completely on board with techno yet, but I remember the store playing this one on the speakers quite a bit at the time and selling relatively well. I’d become a fan in another few years and have followed him since.

The Lightning Seeds, Dizzy Heights, released 11 November 1996. If I recall, this was only available on import at first, and my boss Tom was a big fan of Ian Broudie’s work so we carried it. I thought his cover of The Turtles’ “You Showed Me” was absolutely great.

Tricky, Pre-Millennium Tension, released 11 November 1996. I’d heard of Tricky due to his previous album Maxinquaye, but I didn’t really pay much attention until this album came into the back room. I was absolutely floored by how dark and unsettling yet intriguing and creative this album was, and became a huge fan thereafter. It even got a bit of play during my writing sessions!

Belle and Sebastian, If You’re Feeling Sinister, released 18 November 1996. This Glaswegian collective drops a second album a mere five months after their debut, and by this time the American college radio stations were paying attention and playing several tracks off both.

DJ Shadow, Endtroducing…, released 19 November 1996. I remember this being huge at the store as well, because it blew so many minds. It was unlike any electronic album you’d heard before, created out of a basement full of obscure records and seamlessly stitched together to sound original. It’s not quite trip-hop, not quite techno, not quite jazz, but everything in between. Highly recommended.

Bush, Razorblade Suitcase, released 19 November 1996. Their follow-up to the massively popular Sixteen Stone seemed to suffer not from the sophomore slump but because it’s a much darker and angrier record. It’s less grunge and more heavy rock and sounds nothing like their previous hits (well, the single “Swallowed” kinda comes close). It didn’t do so well at the store, but I always really enjoyed it.

Barenaked Ladies, Rock Spectacle, released 19 November 1996. This was their second minor breakthrough, especially with the live version of “Brian Wilson” which got a lot of play on alternative and AOR stations at the time. It’s a great record that proves that they’ve always been a fun and stellar live band.

Enigma, Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!, released 20 November 1996. The new-agey electronic project’s third album did reasonably well with the single “Beyond the Invisible” and it of course got a lot of play during my writing sessions. The track “Why!…” caught my attention whenever it played out on the floor.

The Bloodhound Gang, One Fierce Beer Coaster, released 3 December 1996. The meathead rap-rock band’s second album could have been seen as their one-hit wonder with the goofy “Fire Water Burn”, deadpanning the titular Funkadelic lyrics and silly lines like “I’m not black like Barry White, no I am white like Frank Black is”, it got a lot of play on WFNX and WAAF and became a minor favorite. I remember some drunk guy coming up back looking for this album and I had to gently shoo him back out on the floor with CD in hand.

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…and so ended my first full year back in the hometown. Like I said, a bit of a bumpy road, but in all honesty it was a much-needed respite that allowed me to change for the better. Those disintegrating friendships did hurt, but it ended up clearing the way for me to follow my desires without distraction and perhaps also do a bit of overdue growing up. I chose to continue focusing on my writing, slowly figuring out where I wanted to go with it and moving forward the best way I could.

Coming Up: Yes, I’ve decided that I’m going to continue this series with 1997, mainly because the two years are interconnected in various ways. The start of my writing career, the start-over of my life, and so many great records that served as a soundtrack for it all. See you next week for it!

Thirty Years On: September 1996

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The answer to my job frustrations lay in a newspaper want-ad my mom saw in the Sunday paper in the early half of September. A new record store was opening in the recently opened new mall in Marlborough — out in the middle of nowhere yet perfectly placed where I-280 and Route 495 meet, two major highways in the state. Solomon Pond Mall had been built earlier in the year and was still bringing in new tenants when the HMV chain chose to open one there. They’ve long been a UK institution yet began expanding in the US in the early 90s. I’d gone to the one in Harvard Square in Cambridge a few times during my time in Boston. And their selection was excellent: they weren’t afraid to carry titles that weren’t on the national charts, and many music nerds like me loved that.

Me? Work at a record store? I mean, come on. Have you met me??

Especially since I had both retail and shipping/receiving experience, which they were looking for. I sent in a resume immediately. They responded back quickly with interest, first with a quick phone pre-interview and then a second in-person interview later on with the manager. That would take place in the food court of the mall, and by the end of it I believed I was a shoo-in. They would call about a week later with an offer, which I of course accepted!

And then came the next problem to be solved: how the hell do I get there? That was also answered by my mom who knew a few car dealership owners due to her job and asked around. In short order, so we found a beater for me: a 1992 blue Chevy Cavalier for $2000. Paperwork signed and filed, I was ready to go on my first day, which was 23 September.

How do I know this date without looking it up? Because my first day was actually getting training at the Harvard Square store the day before Sheryl Crow’s self-titled second album came out. That was the first CD I ever processed, tagged and price-stickered for the company. I’d start the very next day at the Solomon Pond Mall store.

The next four years were going to be interesting. And my finances were definitely going to suffer damage if I wasn’t careful with my purchases. Thank heavens for promo copies, then!

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The London Suede, Coming Up, released 2 September 1996. I’d loved their first album but felt the second was a bit too out there for me, but this third album hit the sweet spot: the glam rock of the first album, the quirkiness of the second, and some stellar songwriting. This is fascinating, considering this was the first without their original guitarist Bernard Butler. It’s my second favorite album of theirs right after the first one.

REM, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, released 10 September 1996. This band, on the other hand, had fallen from my obsession radar by the time this album came out. While I did like Out of Time, I thought Automatic for the People was merely okay and Monster was a noisy mess. This album was a head-scratcher for me then, a collection of songs written and recorded during long and grueling tours fraught with health issues and whatnot. It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s patchy and contains a lot of filler. And yet this is the one that a lot of latter-era fans think is one of their best, and critics couldn’t say enough great things about it.

Billy Bragg, William Bloke, released 10 September 1996. Bragg hadn’t had a radio hit in a while and this one suffers from not really having one on it. He was a new dad now and he’d temporarily backed away from his overtly political lyrics in the process, making this one sound rather calm and sedate. It’s got some great deep cuts on it, however, including the lovely “Sugardaddy”.

Kula Shaker, K, released 16 September 1996. I first heard this band when WHMP played the “Tattva” single and I was immediately hooked by their 60s psychedelic pop sound that was less a caricature and more a loving nod to the style. I was also taken by the brilliant album cover created by comic artist Dave Gibbons (known for his work on Watchmen at the time). It’s pure psych-out bliss and one of my favorite albums of the 90s. They’d break up a few years later, but would reunite in the 00s, and their latest (this year’s Wormslayer) is another favorite I often revisit.

Space, Spiders, released 16 September 1996. Yet another one-hit wonder, at least on this side of the Atlantic, with the 60s inspired single “Female of the Species”, which would end up on the soundtrack for the first Austin Powers film. But it’s catchy as hell and worth checking out the rest of the album. It’s good 90s fun.

Tool, Ænima, released 17 September 1996. After three long years, the revered alt-metal band that stormed MTV with its weird-ass Brothers Quay/Jan Svankmajer-inspired videos finally returned with its second record that won over fans (and gained new ones) immediately. I wasn’t the biggest fan but I appreciated them enough to listen to this one now and again while at work. I even had a promo tee-shirt for this album!

Cake, Fashion Nugget, released 17 September 1996. I’d known about this band for a while, but it was the excellent single “The Distance” that got me hooked. [It was also the hilarious one-note guitar solo for their cover of “I Will Survive” that sold me.] I’d borrow the store copy and listen to it up back quite frequently, eventually getting my own copy which I still visit every now and again. It’s a really fun album full of quirky alt-rock melodies that get stuck in your head.

Various Artists, Hang the DJ: Modern Rock 1986, 1987 and 1988, released 17 September 1996. Most compilations revisiting the 80s tended to not be all that daring, staying safe with the same Soft Cell, Thomas Dolby, ABC and Berlin songs you expect. The track list for these three titles, on the other hand, looked like something I would have made back in the day! [In fact, the 1988 volume contains quite a few of the same tracks as my year-end Does Truth Dance? Does Truth Sing? mix.] I found these at the record store and immediately picked up all of them on cassette where they got a lot of play over the next couple of years.

Moby, Animal Rights, released 23 September 1996. Moby took an unexpected left turn far away from his well-known and well-loved electronic music by putting out a hardcore rock album that confused almost every fan of his. He did, however, release a surprisingly decent cover of the classic Mission of Burma song “That’s When I Reach for My Revolver” which got a lot of play on WFNX of course. [Sadly, the MTV version would take all the sting out of the song with the alternate line “that’s when I realize it’s over”, which still makes me wince.]

Fatboy Slim, Better Living Through Chemistry, released 23 September 1996. Before songs like “Praise You” and “Rockafeller Skank” permeated the airwaves and wouldn’t go away, he dropped a more sedate and lighthearted album that laid down the path he’d take on his electronic music career. The Who-sampled single “Going Out of My Head” got a significant amount of radio play at the time.

John Parish & Polly Jean Harvey, Dance Hall at Louse Point, released 23 September 1996. This one took me a while to get used to, as it’s not the sound of PJ Harvey that you’d expect. Parish was a former bandmate of hers, and they’d reconvened to put out what would basically be experimental torch songs, including a cover of the Leiber-Stoller song “Is That All There Is?” It was a critic favorite at the time, and I’ve eventually come around on it.

Weezer, Pinkerton, released 24 September 1996. I remember this one dividing fans and critics alike with its crunchier and heaver sound. Those who were expecting light pop gems like “Buddy Holly” and “Undone” instead got weird things like “El Scorcho” and “Pink Triangle”. I for one loved it, and would remain a fan ever since.

Soundtrack, That Thing You Do! released 24 September 1996. I knew this was going to be a pastiche on 60s pop with expected nods to the Beatles, but Tom Hanks pulls it off by making it a spot-on homage to the scene instead of a comic riff. It’s a really well-made film and one of my favorites of the decade. Even the music was bang on, with Adam Schlesinger’s excellent take on jangle pop as well as solo crooners and even jazz. This was one of the first promo CDs I’d get from the store!

Morcheeba, Who Can You Trust? released 24 September 1996. This band’s first album came out of nowhere and captured the attention of both critics and fans of trip-hop and chillwave electronic music with the great single “Trigger Hippie” that got a lot of play on WFNX at the time. I’d be a fan almost from the start.

Lamb, Lamb, released 30 September 1996. Believe it or not, I missed the boat the first time around on this band, though I’d finally catch on a short time later when my coworker Doug introduced me to the absolutely brilliant single “Gorecki”. [Yes, the character of Christine in the Bridgetown Trilogy is indeed named after this song.] By 1998 I was a big fan and they’d be on my “I’ll buy anything they release” shopping list. They’d also have pride of place on the Official Trilogy Soundtrack. Highly recommended.

The Chemical Brothers, “Setting Sun” single, released 30 September 1996. This duo had become a critic and fan favorite with their debut, 1995’s Exit Planet Dust, but they’d become even bigger with this teaser single that’s an obvious nod to the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” and also such a noisefest that you can’t help but blast it out of your car’s speakers. It would be another eight months before the follow-up record appeared, but at that point they’d become an MTV staple in the late 90s.

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Coming Up: The beginnings of a deeper (and more expensive) immersion

New (untitled) mixtape

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It’s been a while! I basically missed out on making mixtapes last year (other than the year end mix) due to personal stuff going on, but I’ve been wanting to get back into the habit again. It’s part of my wanting to return to things I enjoy doing without turning it into a slog.

You might have also noticed that I have not given this one a title yet. And no, it’s not part of the Untitled series. I wanted to start with a new name and/or theme instead of using the same ones I’ve used for the last (mumble-mumble) years. I’ll come up with something eventually!

Side 1:
1. The Clockworks, “How to Exist”
2. Laibach, “MUSICK”
3. Kula Shaker, “Lucky Number”
4. Brigitte Calls Me Baby, “I Danced with Another Love in My Dream”
5. deary, “Blue Ribbon”
6. Snail Mail, “Butterfly”
7. The Boxer Rebellion, “This House”
8. Lime Garden, “Cross My Heart”
9. Silversun Pickups, “Au Revoir Reservoir”
10. Ladytron, “I Believe in You”
11. Failure, “The Rising Skyline” (feat. Hayley Williams)
12. Foo Fighters, “Child Actor”

Side 2:
1. JOSEPH, “Sleeping with the Light On”
2. Ladytron, “Kingdom Undersea”
3. Art School Girlfriend, “Hope More, Hopeless”
4. The Reds, Pinks & Purples, “New Leaf”
5. The Maine, “Quiet Part Loud”
6. deathcrash, “The Thing You Did”
7. The Clockworks, “Getaway Car”
8. Arkells, “What’s On Your Mind”
9. Kula Shaker, “Wormslayer”
10. JOSEPH, “Bye and Bye”

A year without mixtapes

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Alas, I did not have the time, nor the inclination, to make any mixtapes this year. I’m pretty sure I’ll still do my year-end playlist/mix, but other than that, I just never got around to it. But that’s okay! This isn’t the first time I’ve gone through a musical dry spell. Between 2006 and 2011, I only made eight mixes in total — two of them were for someone else, and the last was when I’d decided to resurrect the year-end mix.

The main reason for not making one? Well, I’d hinted at it late last year when I’d wanted to spend more time listening the albums I downloaded rather than focusing on the discography completism spiral I’d fallen into over the last couple of years. I felt too disconnected from the music in my own library and wanted to change that. So over the course of 2025, I gave my favorites some more repeat listens. Got to know them a bit better. Found a few singles and deep cuts that caught my attention. Not to mention revisited a lot of my favorite albums from recent years, with the occasional deep dive into an oldie but goodie. And I replayed a lot of albums during my writing sessions!

The other reason for not making one is because I just hadn’t had time or the ability to listen to them other than at my desk. There’s also the fact that we’d recently moved and

So, will I be making more of said mixtapes in 2026? We shall see. I’m not going to confirm or deny at this point. If I’m in the mood for it, I’ll do it. If I do, I might try revisiting the style of my oldest mixes by allowing older songs, something I haven’t done in ages. [A lot of my most recent non-writing-soundtrack mixes usually stick to newish releases from the last few months.]

Either way, the point isn’t just to make the mixes, but to enjoy the tunes I put on them. And I think I’m finally on the way back to that point.

Goodbye Goodbye Goodbye

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It occurred to me the other day that it’s been twenty years since I’d moved away from my hometown in Massachusetts. For some people that might be just another life event, but for me it was something pretty big. Until that day in March 2005 (the 6th, to be exact) I’d always lived in MA, five years of them in Boston, then spending just shy of ten years back at the family house getting my affairs, finances and creativity in some semblance of order. All of that changed near the end of 2004 when I started going out with A. in a long distance relationship, then turning that into frequent road trips down to New Jersey (a little over two hundred miles one way) to spend the weekend. It was a three hour drive but it was totally worth it.

All of that changed in early 2005 when we finally made the decision for me to move down there with her and her roommates. We both felt it was something I’d needed to do, and a long time in coming. I was ready for it, and had been looking to moving on for quite some time. The plan was to move down to NJ and eventually find a place somewhere near her workplace, but that ended up going in an altogether different direction later that summer.

It was a year of a lot of major life changes for me, so I allowed my writing to fall by the wayside for a bit. To wit: moving out of my old hometown, moving away from family, moving in with said girlfriend, springing the question and eventually marrying said girlfriend shortly after, visiting another country (that was not Canada, and which included acquiring a passport and flying on a commercial airline for the first time), doing office work instead of warehouse or retail for the Day Job, and eventually moving to the west coast where we’ve been ever since.

I made the above mixtape the night before I left, even though I dated it to the day I got in the car and drove away. I listened to it a few times on the way down to Jersey along with the other mixes I’d made around that time. The themes of the mix were moving out, moving on, escaping, feeling free, and looking toward the future. Little did I know just how much my life would change in just a few months, but I wasn’t going to complain.

Embracing the Hourglass: The Singles 2024

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This was definitely an interesting year for music! We had several ‘comeback’ albums from musicians who hadn’t had a studio release in over a decade — not just the Cure, but The The, The Softies and The Wolfgang Press — and we also had several excellent anniversary reissues popping up as well.

While my listening habits pretty much remained the same, I was super excited by the news that my favorite station, KEXP, would start broadcasting here in the Bay Area! We’ve desperately needed a good alternative rock station for years (I’m sorry, Live 105, but you are not cutting it even despite recently rising from the ashes), and they’ve always had a super strong fanbase here. So far they’ve been quite successful!

Musically I found myself leaning towards electronic and shoegaze once again, but that’s not to say I was firmly entrenched; the local label Slumberland has been consistently putting out some brilliant jangle pop and lo-fi gems and I’ve become a loyal fan. Still, a lot of non-KEXP listening was focused primarily on moods and vibes this year, mainly for a need of soundtrack music while working on Theadia, my first space opera.

So! Without further ado, here’s my official end-of-year playlist/mixtape for your listening enjoyment!

This one’s a long playlist/mixtape collection of 129 songs so I’ll spare you the list here. So instead, on with my favorite releases of the year! This time I’m merely listing them in alphabetical order as I tended to enjoy all of these equally, with the bolded title being my top favorite of the year. As I’ve mentioned quite often, these were albums that got a lot of play here in Spare Oom, whether on days off or during writing sessions.

ALBUMS
Bastille, “&” (Ampersand)
Bibio, Phantom Brickworks (LP II)
Coldplay, Moon Music
Elbow, AUDIO VERTIGO
Four Tet, Three
GIFT, Illuminator
Hooverphonic, Fake Is the New Dope
Kelly Lee Owens, Dreamstate
La Luz, News of the Universe
Linkin Park, From Zero
Ride, Interplay
The Cure, Songs of a Lost World
The Fauns, How Lost
The Reds, Pinks & Purples, Unwishing Well
The Softies, The Bed I Made
The The, Ensoulment
Torres, What an enormous room
Underworld, Strawberry Hotel
Various Artists, Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense
Various Artists, Red Hot Org Presents TRAИƧA

SINGLES
Bad Bad Hats, “My Heart Your Heart”
Corridor, “Jump Cut”
deary, “Selene”
DIIV, “Brown Paper Bag”
Elbow, “Things I’ve Been Telling Myself for Years”
English Teacher, “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab”
GIFT, “Later”
Girl and Girl, “Hello”
Kamasi Washington, “Prologue”
Kelly Lee Owens, “Love You Got”
La Luz, “Strange World”
Orcas, “Under the Milky Way”
Orville Peck & Beck, “Death Valley High”
Ride, “I Came to See the Wreck”
RÜFÜS DU SOL, “Music Is Better”
The Cure, “And Nothing Is Forever”
The Fauns, “Doot Doot”
The National, “Heaven”
Torres, “Collect”

REISSUES
American Football, American Football 25th Anniversary Edition
Cocteau Twins & Harold Budd, The Moon and the Melodies
Cranes, Collected Works Vol 1
Garbage, Bleed Like Me Deluxe Edition
George Harrison, Living in the Material World 50th Anniversary
His Name Is Alive, How Ghosts Affect Relationships 1990-1993
Hugo Largo, Huge, Large and Electric: Hugo Largo 1984-1991
Ivy, Long Distance 25th Anniversary Edition
John Lennon, Mind Games: The Ultimate Collection and Mind Games: Meditation Mixes
Kristin Hersh, Hips and Makers 30th Anniversary Edition
New Order, Brotherhood (Definitive)
REM, We Are Hope Despite the Times
Seal, Seal (1994) Deluxe Edition
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Still Barking (1967-1972)
The Dream Academy, Religion, Revolution and Railways: The Complete Recordings
The Police, Synchronicity Super Deluxe Edition

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So what do we have coming in 2025? Good question. So far I know we have new albums coming from Franz Ferdinand, Ringo Starr, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, Doves (!!), Manic Street Preachers and Mogwai. Stay tuned!

Hope everyone has a great 2025! See you in the next year!

Coming up on year’s end…

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I never got around to creating an end of year mixtape for 2023 — or a best-of list, come to think of it — and to be honest, I had good reason for it. While it was a good year for the most part, there were other personal things going on that took precedence, and it just fell by the wayside. I just didn’t have the spoons for it. It is what it is, though. It’s not the end of the world.

Now that we’re a month and a half away from the end of 2024, I’m pretty sure I’ll have something to go in the last week of December. I caught up on mixtape-making this year by reviving the Re:Defined series that I’d created back in the early 00s for similar reasons: changes in music tastes, changes in personal life, changes in outlook.

And there’s definitely been a lot of good stuff out there this year. I don’t always get to listen to it as frequently as I’d like (and I’d like to change that habit in the new year), but on the other hand there were quite a few albums I’ve been returning to on a consistent basis. Songs that get stuck in my head for days at a time.

We’ll see where this all leads in the coming weeks!