Interestingly, this album hardly gets any notice or play on the radio nowadays. Most commercial stations stick with “Love Song” or “Pictures of You” or “Just Like Heaven”, all released during their 80s heights. At the time, however, it was a long-awaited and extremely welcome return for a much-loved alternative band that was now picking up new generations of fans.
The slow-build track “Lost” sets the tone and the sound for the album: somewhat dissonant, a bit uncomfortable, and a lot heavier in sound. Where Robert Smith usually emotes a feeling of detached misery in his older works, this track is more of a primal scream, something he hadn’t really let himself reach since perhaps Pornography (and even then, that album was more a deliberate loss of sanity than the fear of losing it).
A few tracks later with the single “The End of the World”, he embraces that alterna-poppy catchiness the band perfected with 1992’s Wish. While the track seems upbeat and fun, there’s a darker edge to it, both sonically and lyrically. Even the video for it is of two minds: fanciful and nightmarish. This track got considerable play in the summer of 2004 on alternative radio.
The next track, “Anniversary”, is my favorite from this album, and it’s a perfect example of The Darker Cure Sound: a nightmarish crawling through Smith’s gloomier lyrics, driven not by a slow build but by the irritation it causes. You want to know where it leads, whether there will be a major lift in the song, yet it never quite gets there, on purpose.
The next single, “alt.end”, is similar to “The End of the World” in that it’s catchy as hell…and just as dark. It too sounds like something off of Wish, working that light/dark dichotomy as far as it can go.
Oh, and remember that Dragon Hunters song I mentioned in the previous entry? Here’s the original song it was based off of, released in the UK as the alternate to the “alt.end” single. While it’s not nearly as catchy, it’s a solid track that works well.
All told, the album is one of their strongest, and also one of their most unique sounding, considering that they’d chosen Ross Robinson as a co-producer — he’s more known for producing alt-metal bands like Korn, Slipknot and At the Drive In. While the band is no stranger to heaviness (Pornography) or widescreen theatrics (Disintegration), this is the only one that sounds so bare-bones and yet so sonically intense.
They promoted this album via a massive touring festival called Curiosa, a multi-stage, multi-band day long experience that included several other bands influenced by (or were favorites of) The Cure: Mogwai, Interpol, The Rapture, Muse, The Cooper Temple Clause, and more. I got to see their stop at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield MA (still known as Great Woods back then), with a perfect seat just in front of the lawn area. I loved pretty much every single band I saw that day, even ones like Cooper Temple Clause who I’d never heard of (and bought their CD right after their performance). I of course didn’t quite stay for the entirety of the Cure performance as it was getting late and getting out of their parking lot is a nightmare (not to mention it’s an hour-plus drive back to central MA), but by then I was exhausted yet extremely pleased.
While Bloodflowers was a great album, it wasn’t my favorite of their latter years. I think part of it was that it came out at a time when my time at the record store was coming to a close, but it was also that it simply just didn’t resonate with me as deeply as some past albums had. Still, this sparked off a slow but steady stream of increased visibility. They were constantly on tour at the start of the decade, and followed it up with a number of collections and appearances.
The band released the Greatest Hits collection in late 2001 as a contractual obligation to the Fiction label. It features many of their best known tracks, chosen by Robert Smith himself, and also two new tracks: the poppy “Cut Here” (the title an anagram of the band name) and the perky “Just Say Yes” featuring Saffron from Republica. It’s by no means a must-have collection, but it’s a good place to start, and also a good mix for those not interested in a discography deep dive. The expanded version features a second album’s worth of the same songs, this time recorded acoustically.
Smith kept himself busy by appearing on a few albums, many of which are definitely worth checking out. He provided vocals on the great track “Perfect Blue Sky” on Junkie XL’s Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin — an expansive two-cd collection of upbeat radio-friendly electronic tracks and expanded house instrumentals. This album is one of my favorites of 2003 and also features vocals from Saffron, Dave Gahan, Gary Numan, Chuck D, Terry Hall, and more. It also features the groovy reimagining of Elvis’ “A Little Less Conversation” which had showed up in 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven. It’s a record worth picking up.
Also in 2003, he featured on…a Blink-182 album?? Sure, why not? The punk pop trio called The Cure one of their influences, and he features on the track “All of This”.
Then in spring of 2004, he featured on the second album by tweaker, drummer Chris Vrenna’s collective project. The album 2am wakeup call is about Vrenna’s wife’s insomnia so much of the record is dark and moody…but not necessarily gloomy. I listened to this album incessantly for most of that year, not just in the Belfry during my writing sessions (I was writing The Balance of Light at the time) but during my commutes to work. I highly recommend checking this record out.
Backing up a few months, The Cure also released the box set Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities 1978-2001. It’s a four-disc collection that proves that these oddities weren’t just throwaways or one-offs. Their b-sides, like “Just One Kiss”, “Breathe” and “The Big Hand”, could be just as amazing and memorable as their album tracks and singles, and even their soundtrack and compilation offerings like “Burn” (from The Crow soundtrack) and the cover of Depeche Mode’s “World in My Eyes” (from For the Masses) are great. It’s worth checking these out.
But wait! There’s one more thing! One that often gets overlooked!
They also did the theme song for the French animated series Dragon Hunters by taking their track “Taking Off” (which would show up soon on their next record) and repurposing it into this fun and boppy theme. This one doesn’t show up on any greatest hits, reissues or box sets (at least not yet anyway), but it’s easy to find online.
I stopped listening to The Cure so much probably about the time 1996’s Wild Mood Swings came out, and for a few reasons: one, I’d long grown out of my penchant for sinking into a depressive spiral with Pornography and Disintegration as its soundtrack, and two, WMS was just not a Cure album I could sink my teeth into no matter how much I tried. [In hindsight, I think it was a mix of it being too long and it feeling a bit too overproduced.]
So when 2000’s Bloodflowers was announced — and billed as a spiritual link to those two classic dark and gloomy albums I just mentioned — I looked forward to hearing it. It was released in my final year working at HMV, so as you can well imagine, it got a lot of play in the back office where I worked, as well as in the Belfry where I was just about to embark on writing the Bridgetown Trilogy. To me, Bloodflowers was a long-awaited return to form that I’d missed.
It’s an album that was purposely written to be listened to as a full album, and there were no official singles released from it, although the meandering “Out of This World” and the catchy “Maybe Someday” were both provided with promotional edits for radio play. The latter got significant play on WFNX at the time.
And thankfully, the rest of the album features some absolutely lovely deep cuts that became favorites, like the song “There Is No If…” which Robert Smith had written during his late teens but never tried recording, fearing that it was too cheesy, until he delivered a devastatingly desperate version here.
There’s also the other rarity here: Smith singing about getting older. “39” was written about him slowly approaching his forties. Would he continue down this road of writing his patented doom and gloom, or write something uplifting and trite? There’s also a little bit of concern here: he’s honestly surprised he’s lasted this long, given his drug and alcohol infused past.
I remember the critical response to this album being mixed: some were absolutely thrilled that they’d returned somewhat to form, while some felt a bit like they’d heard this many times before. I can definitely feel its similarity to Disintegration — minus the reverb-drenched echoes on everything — in that it felt like something coming to a close. Whether it was youth, bacchanalia, or goth gloom, it definitely felt like closure.
It would be another four years before their next album, although they would spend most of that time going on extended tours and releasing a greatest hits album with two new songs and a box set of b-sides and rarities.
Wait, it’s already the end of February? It’s been a busy month at work and I’ve also been working hard with finishing off the latest go-round with Queen Ophelia’s War (and prepping myself for the new version of Theadia), so it’s a miracle that I’ve also been able to keep up with the new releases dropping lately! But I’ve been making an effort to connect with these new releases (and occasionally revisit some old ones). This month has given us some surprises!
Billy Joel, “Turn the Lights Back On” single, 1 February. His first new song in forever, and he hasn’t lost his musical touch at all. A stirring ballad of wondering whether or not you’ve been away from the spotlight for too long, what you’ve missed, and what you remember with older and more mature eyes and heart. A lovely surprise.
Paul McCartney & Wings, Band On the Run Underdubbed Mixes, 2 February. These were the rough mixes created before the orchestra and final overdubs had been added, and it’s a fascinating listen. Some tracks (like “Jet”) reveal only minimal differences, while album closer “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” really spotlight Paul’s masterful piano playing and the sheer oddness of the track.
Kula Shaker, Natural Magick, 2 February. After the wild psych-folk (and the welcome return) of their previous album, the band chooses to return to what they’ve always done extremely well: a hybrid of British pop influenced by India grooves. It’s a fun album that doesn’t set out to prove anything other than to have fun and occasionally say what might be on their minds.
Ducks Ltd, Harm’s Way, 9 February. This band follows in the path of twee pop like Belle and Sebastian with a little bit of early Cure as a secondary influence, which makes them sound unique and a little bit unsettled, but it’s a super fun listen.
Brittany Howard, What Now, 9 February. The Alabama Shakes singer has always been fearless in her loud, funky and bluesy style, and this new solo record is full of all of that. Definitely worth checking out.
Omni, Souvenir, 16 February. I mentioned this trio just recently, and yes, I do love that they’ve fully embraced that Wire-influenced ‘angular’ post-punk sound, and they pull it off really well without sounding like copycats. Even their songs embrace that tight late 70s/early 80s style, right down to the lengths, most of which are under three minutes. An intriguing listen.
IDLES, TANGK, 16 February. I’ve been a fan of this punk band for quite a few years now, and I love that they are not afraid to try out different styles, even when they veer perilously towards pop. Nor are they afraid to touch on different subjects and say what’s on their mind. Always a fun band to listen to loud.
Geographer, Got It Wrong, 23 February. We saw this local singer at Outside Lands once and I’ve been a fan ever since. His music tends to be calming and warm, but it can often go in really interesting directions, sometimes dark and sometimes light.
Real Estate, Daniel, 23 February. This Jersey indie band has been around for ages but I’ve only recently gotten around to paying attention to them, and I’m sold on this new one. It reminds me of the meandering laid back college rock I used to listen to back in the day!
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Coming soon in March: new tunes by Yard Act, Liam Gallagher & John Squire, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Elbow, and Ride!
Okay, I’m going to return to this theme for a bit to see if it sticks. I’ve been doing a lot more connecting with the music I’ve been acquiring, and so far it’s been working well. I’ve been listening to a lot of stuff from the latter half of 2023 and what’s new this past month, and there’s a lot of good stuff out there. So without further ado…
SPRINTS, Letter to Self, 5 January. I’m digging the old-school punk sound of this band — they remind me a lot of IDLES, another all-caps punk band I love. You don’t always need to play fast to play messy and gritty.
Lemongrass, Mirror of Life, 5 January. This one-man project has been around since the mid-90s playing essentially low-key ambient electronic music, and I stumbled upon them a few years back and find them fascinating. He’s constantly putting out albums (he’ll do like three or four a year like Guided By Voices) and they’re always a pleasure to listen to.
The Fauns, How Lost, 19 January. Echoey downtempo shoegaze? Yes please! This kind of stuff has always been my jam so I’m down with this album big time. It’s the perfect writing session music for me.
Green Day, Saviors, 19 January. Their first work with producer Rob Cavallo in ages, it really does feel like they’ve returned back to their Dookie roots, via the long route of maturity and better songwriting, heh. It’s an album where they’re once again doing what they’ve always done best: short and sharp punk.
The Umbrellas, Fairweather Friend, 26 January. This super-local band (like the Reds, Pinks and Purples, they live in my neighborhood!) once again shows they loves them some Beat Happening with summery poppy grooves and awkward-yet-perfect low-pitched vocals. The critics are eating this one up, and it’s definitely worth all the attention it’s been getting.
Future Islands, People Who Aren’t There Anymore, 26 January. I love how this band can feel both cheerful and downbeat at the same time, often within the same song. This album feels a bit quieter and more bedroom-pop than their previous work, but that’s not a minus here.
Ty Segall, Three Bells, 26 January. He’s definitely one of those musical weirdos that you either love or hate, and KEXP definitely got me hooked on him. This one actually has a lot of songs that make him sound downright normal, to be honest!
The Smile, Wall of Eyes, 26 January. The latest Thom Yorke/Jonny Greenwood/Tom Skinner release feels a bit more like a quiet Radiohead album here, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I particularly like the moodiness of this album, which fits right in with my usual writing session soundtracks.
Torres, What an enormous room, 26 January. This one’s my favorite of the month! She’s a sort of mix between synthwave and 90s alt-rock but definitely new and unique. “Collect” is one of those songs that’s sort of like Phantogram meets Metric and it gets into your head and stays there for ages.
Okay, so the brand-new ‘last’ Beatles song just dropped early this morning:
Did I sleep terrible last night in anticipation of this release at 7am PT this morning? Yes, yes I did.
I’ve only heard it twice as of this post — both times on KEXP’s morning show with John Richards, of course — so I’m still trying to process it all. I’d been familiar with the grainy bootleg version for a few years now, and I had a feeling this was the song the Threetles had been working on and abandoned back in 1995.
It was one thing to be blown away by two all-new songs back then, especially with the dreamlike “Free As a Bird”, but it’s still pretty wild to be able to witness a third new song from the band that inspired and influenced me for decades, a band that had broken up a year before I was born.
So, thoughts so far: — I am now dearly hoping they play around with “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love” to make John’s voice clearer on those as well, especially the latter. I love both tracks, but the vocals on that one are extremely warbly and muddy. — Dare I say, the ending of this track sounds a bit…Radiohead-ish? I mean, it’s a very Beatle-ish ending with a melody that’s a variation of the theme but still very different. Still, those darker chords give the song, and the band, an unexpected freshness. It’s like ‘hey, we might be a 60s band, but we still mean something in the 20s.’ — Did I immediately buy the single off Amazon? Of course I did! I’ll have to give it a few further listens, as well as its b-side — a brand new stereo mix of their first official single, “Love Me Do”. –Did I also pre-order the new 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 CDs that are dropping next week? Of course I did! And yes, I will definitely do a post on those releases here when I have a moment.
…and on that note, I’m back to the writing mines. See you sometime soon!
As I’ve mentioned before, I allowed myself a month to stew in anger and frustration. I was pissed off that all my plans to stay in Boston had crashed and burned in epic fashion, and that I had to completely start over. On the other hand, living at home would allow me a bit of leniency by chipping in on the family bills and errands instead of a large monthly rent-sized chunk coming out of my paycheck, which would definitely help me get out of debt. And while I might have been emotionally in a much better place than my immediate post-college years, mentally I still had a long way to go. This was the era of reading New Age books as a way to force myself to think in alternative ways, and the era of giving my creativity a bold rethink. I was obviously getting nowhere there, and it was time to send it in a different direction.
For now, though, it was time to give my head and heart a bit of a long overdue reprieve. At least for a little while. I borrowed my mom’s car and went on a lot of drives around the area, the start of a very long-standing habit of weekend roadtrips on the backroads of central Massachusetts and frequent visits to used record stores and book stores. It was time to find myself, outside of the rat race I’d fallen into.
And to figure out what my next steps would be creatively.
The Jesus and Mary Chain, Hate Rock ‘n’ Roll, released 1 September 1995. A third compilation of b-sides, standalone singles and rarities gets some minor play on WHMP, the Northampton station I’d latch onto now that I was out of range of WFNX and WBCN. The title track would get a bit of play now and again.
Seven Mary Three, American Standard, released 5 September 1995. “Cumbersome” was everywhere when it dropped; they were sort of an American countrified Nickelback in a way (no offense meant, really) with a lot of radio-ready alternative bar-band rock. This ended up a one-hit wonder for them but one that still gets play now and again.
Various Artists, Help: A Charity Project for the Children of Bosnia, released 9 September 1995. I picked this one up maybe a few days after it dropped, which is an amazing turnaround considering the songs had been recorded only four days previous! While some charity albums can be a bit of a disconnected mismatch of hits and filler, this one is solid from start to finish. Trivia: this is the first appearance of Radiohead’s “Lucky” which would show up two years later on OK Computer. I played this one a lot at the time.
Blur, The Great Escape, released 11 September 1995. I may have recently mentioned that I felt this album was a bit weak compared to their earlier work, but that’s not to say it’s not bad…just a bit light on the energy. Although there are several great songs on it like the lovely and peculiar “The Universal”.
Lenny Kravitz, Circus, released 12 September 1995. In between the ridiculously overplayed “Are You Gonna Go My Way” from the same-titled album in 1993 and the overplayed “Fly Away” from 1998’s 5 album, there was this high charting but largely forgotten fourth album with the killer single “Rock and Roll Is Dead”. It’s a bit of an angry album for him but it’s worth checking out.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, One Hot Minute, released 12 September 1995. This was also a largely forgotten album stuck in between two huge successes (1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik and 1999’s Californication) and during a highly unstable era for the band (musically and personally). This is the one with the light and airy “Aeroplane” and cheerful “My Friends” but it’s also got the whirling tempest of album opener “Warped”. The album is a bit of a mess but it’s still enjoyable.
Eve’s Plum, Cherry Alive, released 19 September 1995. The second and last album from this bouncy power pop band featuring Colleen Fitzpatrick (aka Vitamin C), it’s a super fun record worth checking out, just like their previous release. WHMP would play “Jesus Loves You (Not As Much As I Do)” and the title track quite often.
Son Volt, Trace, released 19 September 1995. The other half of Uncle Tupelo that didn’t join Wilco became this band that continued the excllent alt-country sound they’d perfected in their previous band. “Drown” was a hit on alternative radio and the rest of the album is just as good.
Skunk Anansie, Paranoid and Sunburnt, released 21 September 1995. I’d find out about this band via the movie Strange Days which would be released quite soon (they make a major appearance near the end of the film) and I fell in love with their chaotic and angry energy, an outlet that was sorely lacking at the time for me. Sadly they never got any airplay Stateside, but I’ve always recommended them to anyone who likes kickass hard rock and alt-metal.
David Bowie, Outside, released 26 September 1995. Bowie has always been the one to reinvent himself with pretty much every new project, and this one was definitely an unexpected turn from the classy and clean Black Tie White Noise and the curious Buddha of Suburbia soundtrack. This one’s a tense and dense futuristic concept album that caused quite a lot of headscratching, but still managed a minor hit with “The Hearts Filthy Lesson” (which at the time reminded me a lot of Wire at their most adventurous).
Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories, Tails, released 26 September 1995. Meanwhile, the ubiquitous “Stay (I Missed You)” which appeared on the Reality Bites soundtrack appears on Lisa’s first major label record here, and it’s a huge hit on both alternative and commercial radio, and still gets play to this day.
Sonic Youth, Washing Machine, released 26 September 1995. This album was a bit of a headscratcher as well, as it’s much longer and more meandering than their blistering earlier sound or their early-90s compactness. It feels a lot like they’re a jam band here, which they always were to some degree. Interestingly enough the twenty-minute closer “The Diamond Sea” was the song chosen as a single, chopped down to a much quicker five.
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Next up: More changes to come, whether I’m ready or not.
I’ve told this story before: I started the summer with the best of intentions, and I even had a solid plan that I was putting into place: when Z moved out, one of my friends from college (who’d been looking to move back to Boston) would take his place as roommate. I was even thinking maybe I could find some freelance writing work somewhere, even if I started at the bottom. (Hell, I even tried my hand at writing a short story to see if I could sell it.)
Unfortunately, it all completely unraveled at once in the latter half of the month: the short story was a terrible mess, the freelance work was thin on the ground, I was getting even deeper in debt and our phone got cut off, and to top it off, my potential roommate had a falling out with Z when they crossed paths and he ragequit the idea all too quickly.
That’s pretty much the point where I finally gave up. I said fuck it, you’ve defeated me. I’m done. I made alternate plans: I talked to my boss at the theater and had him put in a good word at another one closer to my hometown so I’d at least have a job waiting for me. I started packing things up, throwing things out, and making plans to head home.
I don’t think I was as emotionally in the crapper as I was a few years previous when I left college, but my self-confidence definitely took a deep hit. I was more pissed off than depressed, to be honest. I made another plan with best intentions: I’d live at home for maybe six months or a year, and turn it around.
I had to start over. Again.
Whale, We Care, released 1 August 1995. This oddball Swedish band was hard to pin down; were they techno? Were they alternative? Were they just a mashup of bizarre noises and lyrics? Their one hit, the infectious and noisy “Hobo Humpin Slobo Babe” made no sense at all, but it’s definitely a 90s classic.
Letters to Cleo, Wholesale Meats and Fish, released 1 August 1995. This Boston band’s second album was an unexpected turn in a harder and punkier direction may have surprised some fans, but its raw energy made it a super fun album to listen to on a hot summer day, especially with the catchy “Awake” single.
Ben Folds Five, Ben Folds Five, released 8 August 1995. I wouldn’t hear of this band for maybe another month or so, but I was absolutely sold by the single “Underground” which was an absolutely hilarious pisstake on all things indie in the 90s. Once I bought the cd — from Folds himself when a friend and I saw him live in Northampton in January 1996 — it became one of my frequent go-to albums for several months afterwards.
Blur, “Country House” single and Oasis, “Roll with It” single, released 15 August 1995. These are bound together by fate and music history as the singles that turned the tide of Britpop…mainly due to all the UK music papers pitting the two against each other as the Ultimate Showdown. Which would hit number one on the charts first, the light and goofy Blur track with the Benny Hill pastiche video, or the bluesy and rocking Oasis song? Personally I thought the Oasis song was better (and I think (What’s the Story) Morning Glory is a better album than The Great Escape), but the Blur track was clearly the winner on the charts.
Garbage, Garbage, released 15 August 1995. The debut album is released and it blows almost everyone’s minds with its brilliance. Butch Vig has always been a great producer having helmed Nirvana’s Nevermind, but this band was his deliberate about-face: he wanted to take what he’d known in the early 90s and push it in a completely new direction. The result is dark, foreboding, sexy, humorous, and absolutely epic in sound and scope. It’s a hell of a great start for a band that’s been going strong ever since. Highly recommended.
Blind Melon, Soup, released 15 August 1995. The band’s last album, dropped mere months before lead singer Shannon Hoon’s death, doesn’t quite hit the same heights as their self-titled debut, but it does something unexpected: it leans heavily on the funk grooves and the exciting melodies that made that same first album so wonderful past their ubiquitious “No Rain” single.
Rancid, …And Out Come the Wolves, released 17 August 1995. One of the several East Bay punk bands of the 90s (its members were once part of the influential Operation Ivy), this particular group helped reintroduce the classic punk style to alternative radio in that decade, influencing even more punk revival bands in the process. Their third album was a surprise success with three big singles, including the skank-heavy “Time Bomb”, which still gets play to this day.
The Great Transcription Project was coming along quite nicely, because part of it was to get me used to sitting down in front of that computer and getting something done. That was the important part. Some days I’d do my older poetry, some days I’d do parts of the IWN or Belief in Fate or one of my other ancient projects that never got all that far. And this would inspire me to sit down and actually work on writing True Faith, even if it was a few paragraphs or a short scene.
Then I heard about the state film bureau’s screenplay contest! I’d known about this in the past via one of my siblings, but I figured, why the hell not? If anything would help me invest a considerable amount of time in this writing career I wanted, this would. And it would also give me a strict deadline: I had to get it done before July 31st. Which meant that I had exactly one month to write an entire screenplay. It just so happened that in all my juvenilia I was transcribing, I did in fact have one finished that I could revive and revise! It was One Step Closer to You, a John Hughes-esque enemies-to-lovers romp I’d written in 1987 right after finishing the IWN. And considering that I’d just gotten a college degree in this sort of thing, I dove in and worked on it every moment I wasn’t at the day job. And I got it done under deadline with three days to go! I spent that last weekend at my sister’s house, printed it out, and mailed it in that weekend.
Mind you, the end result isn’t exactly perfect and it definitely did not win any prizes, but it did prove a few things: a) I can definitely work under pressure with a deadline if I put my mind to it, b) I can definitely write every single day because it was something I love doing, and c) this proved that it wasn’t that I was a terrible student, it really was that unless I could hyperfocus on something I truly enjoyed, my patience and interest would wane considerably. [And as a side note, one of the revised scenes in the story had the main male character working at a local radio station, which I’d based on my time at WCAT…which I’d be returning to soon enough, though I obviously didn’t know that at the time.]
Yeah, this writing racket was definitely something I could see myself doing long term…
Foo Fighters, Foo Fighters, released 4 July 1995. When it was announced that the former Nirvana drummer was starting a band, most people weren’t expecting to hear wonderfully crafted and ridiculously catchy tunes that had only a distant passing similarity to the former group. Dave Grohl’s first record hit all the right buttons for several people and he’s been nailing it ever since.
Shaggy, Boombastic, released 11 July 1995. Proving that he wasn’t just a one hit wonder with “Oh Carolina”, he returned with one of his most popular songs that still gets play to this day. [Side note: when A and I went to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Globe in London, Puck happened to burst into this song, causing Oberon to burst into laughter. It was a perfectly hilarious moment.]
Buffalo Tom, Sleepy Eyed, released 11 July 1995. The beloved Boston band returned with yet another great album. While it wasn’t as huge as Let Me Come Over or Red Letter Day (partly because they wanted to return to their more stripped-down roots), it’s nonetheless a fun album, and singles “Summer” and “Tangerine” were both radio favorites.
Ramones, ¡Adios Amigos!, released 18 July 1995. The kings of American punk — the band that inspired several UK punk bands — came to an end with this final album, and it was a hell of a great way to go as it’s one of their strongest later albums. They went on one final tour after this and I’m glad to say I was able to see them for it at Avalon in Boston. [And yes, every single song they performed started with the classic Ramone ‘1-2-3-4’ count-in.]
311, 311, released 25 July 1995. After two excellent albums that just couldn’t break through to the charts or even significant radio play, this third album smashed all expectations by being their best yet, with several songs getting major play on radio and on MTV. It’s still one of their biggest sellers, and it’s worth checking out.
The Presidents of the United States of America, The Presidents of the United States of America, released 25 July 1995. Meanwhile, these goofballs (who, by the way, opened up for Ramones on that show I just mentioned!) instantly reminded me of the Boston band Morphine: a trio of a drummer and two guys who played unconventional guitars. Only these three had their tongue firmly in cheek singing about Lumps, Peaches, Kitties, and Dune Buggies (and a nutty cover of the MC5 to top it off!) and giving themselves the most improbable name in alternative rock. It’s a bonkers debut full of silly humor and insanely catchy earworms. Definitely worth a listen.
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Up next: when all good (and not so good) things come to an end
The summer movie season begins at the Somerville Sony Theatre, which means a constantly packed building, which means a mountain of dropped popcorn and forgotten drink cups to clean up quickly after each show. [Hint: Use an electric leaf blower at the back row and it all tumbles down to the front, making it quicker and easier to sweep and toss.] It also means me staying after shift several nights a week to watch all the exciting new films dropping, sometimes multiple viewings. Because why the hell not? D was back home and I had nothing better to do.
I did a lot of walking that summer as well. There were a few evenings where I’d missed the last Orange Line T into town and would have to walk back to Allston. That was intriguing in itself, because I’d never been a long distance walker before, and my apartment was about three miles away. I did it, though, and multiple times.
But what I did most that time was start the Great Transcription Project. I’ve mentioned this many times before, and this was where it all began for me as a writer using a PC. I’d always written longhand in the past, and having uninterrupted use of one for an entire summer was an enticement I could not pass up. But where to start…? I decided that perhaps I should start from the beginning? Or a beginning, at any rate. I’d transcribed my poems and lyrics a few years earlier on typewriter, but this was where I went one further and started transcribing my juvenilia: the Infamous War Novel, Belief in Fate, the several abandoned ideas, and what the hell, a cleaner version of the poems again! I had a ton of time when I wasn’t at work, so I got some 3″ floppies from my sister and set about working. [And yes, even then I had a PC distraction: I taught myself how to properly play solitaire, and played several hands before, during and after writing sessions.]
I also played around with Bridgetown a bit more. Even though True Faith took place in a different city named NewCanta (which is mentioned in passing several times in the Bridgetown Trilogy), I knew I wanted to return to this other city as well. Whether it would be in this novel or elsewhere was unknown at this point. One summer afternoon I expanded on a map of the city I’d drawn back in the Shoebox for Vigil, and I’d often refer to that one while writing outtakes and ideas.
Mixtape, Untitled VI, created June 1995. This by far is one of my favorite mixtapes I’d made during the Boston Years, and it got a hell of a lot of play on my Walkman. It’s mostly a mix of recent songs in my collection and stuff taped off the radio, and all of them songs I knew would fit perfectly on a summer mix. I also love the fact that each side ends with bizarre short songs. [When I first got a CDW drive for my own PC during the Belfry years, this was the first mix I remade onto CD, adding several extra tracks from the same era.]
U2, “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” single, released 5 June 1995. I remember hearing this for the first time on WBCN, as the band was close friends with the DJ Carter Alan who’d championed them way back in the early 80s, and had given him the track as a world premiere. It’s a fascinating and wild track that contains the noisy style of Achtung Baby but with a more experimental sound, something they’d expand on a short while later on their Passengers side project.
Soundtrack, Batman Forever, released 6 June 1995. The U2 song was of course from this soundtrack…which also contained what would become Seal’s biggest ever hit, “Kiss from a Rose”. I have to admit this was my favorite of the 90s Batman movies because it chose not to take itself seriously at all, yet avoids the corniness of the 60s show. I must have seen this movie at least four or five times that summer.
Catherine Wheel, Happy Days, released 6 June 1995. This band’s third album may not have hit the heights that Ferment and Chrome did with their classic singles, but it’s mostly because they’d moved away from the trippy dreampop of those albums and focused more on harder alt-rock. The single “Waydown” is wild and weird, but it’s the lovely “Judy Staring at the Sun” which features Tanya Donelly that got them major radio play.
Soul Asylum, Let Your Dim Light Shine, released 6 June 1995. While not as popular as Grave Dancers Union from a few years previous, this did contain the single “Misery” which got quite a lot of play that summer. This was a band that was heading the same direction as Goo Goo Dolls, becoming less punk and more AOR.
Jennifer Trynin, Cockamamie, released 13 June 1995. A local guitarist and a burgeoning desktop publisher, she had a minor hit with the quirky and fun “Better Than Nothing” on WFNX and WBCN. She had a very short but interesting solo career but has popped up over the years as a session musician. Well worth checking out.
Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill, released 13 June 1995. I remember hearing “You Oughta Know” on WFNX while taking the T home one afternoon and thinking damn, this is the kind of pissed off attitude that’s missing in alternative rock these days. [I mean, it was there, it was just that it had become solely owned by the alt-metal bands starting to come out.] I signed onto this one pretty quickly and constantly listened to this album that summer.
Jill Sobule, Jill Sobule, released 13 June 1995. I was already familiar with her music by this time, having seen her opening up for Joe Jackson back in 1991 for her Things Here Are Different album, but this was the breakthrough she had with the classic and funny “I Kissed a Girl”.
Bjork, Post, released 13 June 1995. I was a bit late in buying this one, getting it from Columbia House a few months later, but I loved it once I had it. It’s probably my favorite of her solo records, not quite as quirky as Debut and not as weird as her later work. “Hyperballad” has also become my favorite of her songs.
The Verve, A Northern Soul, released 20 June 1995. A few years before their ubiquitous single “Bittersweet Symphony”, this was a minor hit on alternative radio, showcasing their more swirly Stones-y Britpop sound. “This Is Music” got a bit of play here and there at the time.
Ben Lee, Grandpaw Would, released 22 June 1995. So how do you react to a sixteen year old who writes damn catchy indie pop…for a solo career after breaking up his previous band? Aside from oh god I’m old, I mean, heh. “Pop Queen” got a bit of minor play.
The Chemical Brothers, Exit Planet Dust, released 26 June 1995. This duo’s first album was so groundbreaking it blew away so many other electronic bands at the time. It’s a perfect blend of blissed-out rave, creative sampling, and surprisingly catchy melodies. Like Fatboy Slim soon after, this was a band made for the dance floor that also work just fine coming out of your speakers at home. Highly recommended.
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Next up: A strict deadline, just to see if I can do it. [Spoilers: I do! With time to spare!]
Walk In Silence 