July is usually a slow-ish month for new releases, so I’ve been catching up with some of the albums that have dropped in the last couple of months, and News of the Universe from La Luz has been getting considerable play here in Spare Oom, specifically the very spacey “Strange World”. It kind of reminds me of Ladytron and Stereolab in a way, with its retro synth sound and psychedelic melodies. And it’s been stuck in my head for at least a couple of weeks!
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.
Coming up: finally, another new album!
So what’s one of my favorite love songs? You’d be surprised. It’s actually not a Beatles song!
The first time I heard Alanis Morissette’s “Head Over Feet” I immediately thought wow, yeah, I would love to have that as a song written about/to/for me. It’s simple and yet so heartfelt and kind. It’s not about sex or having a good time or mind-blowing emotion or anything. It just…is. No strings attached. Just one person saying how awesome their lover — and friend — is.
And to me, that’s one of the best kinds of love songs there is.
Unlike last year, where I was just too preoccupied with Real Life and other things and hadn’t allowed myself to really get to know the new music I was acquiring, I’m making a concerted effort to pay attention to what’s coming out these days, and I’m quite happy to say that I’m finding a lot of really good stuff out there!
These two mixtapes were basically holdovers from late 2023 where I’d started a list of songs but hadn’t gotten around to completing it and arranging the tracklist flow. I’m quite happy with how they came out, however, and I hope you enjoy them as well!
From the Open Skies: In My Blue World 2, created 14 January 2024. No, I have not written the sequel to In My Blue World just yet! I only have a very rough two-page outline of an idea, but I think it’s worth working on as a future project later on in the year! All I’ll say that it involves our heroes facing off a new foe with a much stronger and creepier ability to siphon magic for their own nefarious uses! And what better way to prep for a future novel project than creating a mixtape soundtrack for it? [Note: for those of you playing along, the title here is borrowed from another ELO song, heh.]
Walk in Silence XXVIII, created 30 January 2024. First of all, I can’t believe I’m already up to twenty-eight volumes of this series!! (Then again, I’ve been making them since 1988, so…) This, Listen in Silence and Untitled have pretty much become my own NOW That’s What I Call… compilations that just won’t quit. This one came out surprisingly well and I’m finding myself returning to it more and more.
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!
I still had a long way to go to get my act together, but I’d like to think that I might be getting there, mistakes and all. Already I was having to deal with JA’s influence — sometimes positive and helpful but just as often negative and intrusive — and learning how to set boundaries for myself. Meanwhile, my job at the Coop had changed over the course of just a month or so: I’d started out as a checker and floor help, but moved onto what would end up being one of my frequent fall-backs down the line: assistant shipping and receiving clerk. I was up back in the messy and dusty back room checking in the new deliveries and seeing out the old returns, and also doing a bit of cleaning around both levels of the store. I did most of the heavy lifting for the main receiving guy who I got along with but I think he thought I was a bit simple and treated me as such, when in all honesty I think the roles were flipped here. Nice guy, but definitely full of hubris. [I remember he also had a weirdly strong obsession with Tina Turner, partly due to the biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It having come out a few months previous.]
About the same time I struck up a friendship with a woman a few years older than myself who was a holiday temp. We got along like gangbusters and our talks sometimes ended up turning into flirtation and eventually it became a short fling. In retrospect I’m kind of sad that I let it go on the way it did because I definitely was not in the right frame of mind for a relationship. It didn’t last long and felt guilty for a long time about the way I ended it, severing a friendship in the process.
Mind you, I was about to not follow my own damn advice in short order.
O-Positive, Home Sweet Head, released 1 November 1993. This local band was always a favorite for the indie crowd and especially on WFNX. I never got around to seeing them live but I did own a few of their albums including this one with its radio favorite “Hey Dave”.
Fury in the Slaughterhouse, Mono, released 1 November 1993. This German alt-rock band had a minor alt-rock radio hit with “Every Generation” which WFNX played quite a bit. It’s a dismal heartbreaker of a track but it’s one of their best. A band worth checking out.
Cocteau Twins, Four-Calendar Café, 2 November 1993. As I’d said about the “Evangeline” single, the rest of the album had a very wintry feel, light and ethereal as always but with a bit of cold tension added. I listened to this one quite a bit during my writing sessions.
INXS, Full Moon, Dirty Hearts, 2 November 1993. This one didn’t go over well with the fans and critics as they felt it too noisy and abrasive and trying to jump on the grunge bandwagon, but they were already looking to evolve past their tried-and-true rock style. Cheesy video aside, I loved the single “The Gift” and had it as a cassette single, and I used to listen to it on headphones a lot.
Kate Bush, The Red Shoes, 2 November 1993. This album, which would end up being her last for quite a few years, was based on the story of the same name and may have distanced some fans who didn’t quite get it, like myself. It retrospect I think it’s a pretty good album and very similar to her previous records.
Various Artists, No Alternative, released 9 November 1993. I absolutely loved this compilation (it’s part of the Red Hot Organization tribute album collection) and listened to it frequently. Bob Mould’s “Can’t Fight It” is one of my top favorite tracks of ’93 and I even attempted to learn how to play it myself! It’s a wild alternative mix: Matthew Sweet, Goo Goo Dolls, Pavement, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, and a hidden track by Nirvana. Highly recommended.
Various Artists, Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix, released 9 November 1993. I loved this one as well, even though I sometimes skipped some of the tracks. The Cure’s trippy take on “Purple Haze” fits in with their glossy Mixed Up sound, PM Dawn’s “You Got Me Floatin'” is by far the funkiest Hendrix cover I’ve ever heard, and Seal’s “Manic Depression” is powerful. Also highly recommended.
Paul McCartney, Paul Is Live, 15 November 1993. Paul was a busy guy in the early 90s, not only releasing a new and popular album but also making TV appearances as well as embarking on a tour with a great backing band. He leans pretty heavily on his Beatle past here, so much so that he riffs on the famous Abbey Road cover for this one — as well as its connection to the ‘Paul is dead’ myth.
The Fireman (Paul McCartney & Youth), Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest, 15 November 1993. And that’s not all — he even found the time to work with producer Youth to create a fascinating and experimental take on ambient techno music, taking bits and snippets from his Off the Ground album and reconstructing them into something completely new. While it’s not for everyone, it’s definitely worth checking out.
Us3, Hand On the Torch, 16 November 1993. Like Guru and his Jazzmatazz project, this was similar in that it was steeped in Blue Note grooviness and laid over hip-hop beats. This one on the other hand is more upbeat and lively. “Cantaloop” was such a huge and unexpected hit that you still hear it to this day.
David Bowie, The Singles Collection, 16 November 1993. I was never the biggest Bowie fan but I eventually warmed to him via this two-record collection, which I bought mainly because it contained pretty much all of his most famous tracks in one place — thanks to the then-recent wave of Rykodisc reissues finally gathering his back catalogue under one roof. I’d often listen to this one on the way home from the job, taking the T back to Copley Square.
Ace of Base, The Sign, released 23 November 1993. Often slagged off as ‘the next-gen ABBA’ (after all, they were from Sweden and were a two-man, two-woman band that sang bubblegummy pop), they were surprisingly catchy and consistent with their output of stellar pop songs. I’d own their first two albums on cd and would throw them on every now and again just for fun.
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Coming up: End of the year, end of an era, and the start of…something?
I seem to remember that the New England summer of 2003 was extremely warm and humid, which meant that I’d have the garage door open at night when I worked down in the Belfry. This was well before my parents’ house started seeing more surprising wildlife cutting through the yard, by the way, so there was little expectation of a wildcat or a bear walking its way in to see what was going on.
This was also the time of several weekend road trips! I was still heading into Boston every now and again, spending the day hitting my old book and record store haunts, spending some time in Back Bay and on the Common, then taking the Red Line up to Harvard Square where I’d hang out for a good few hours before heading home again. More locally I was still hitting Toadstool Books up in Keene, and the Newbury Comics/Barnes & Noble run in Leominster. (Sometimes both on the same day!)
Speaking of books, it was around this time that I really started reading more voraciously. Before then, I’d pick up the occasional book I was interested in but stuck with comics for the most part, but I’d finally decided that if I was going to be a writer, maybe I should, y’know, do my homework. I soon had a mountain of books next to my bed with both SF/Fantasy and litfic, ready to be opened.
A lot of money spent on shopping and gas, but it was definitely a fun time!
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Stereophonics, You Gotta Go There to Come Back, released 2 June 2003. I’d been a fan of this band since the HMV days, and still am to this day. This album feels more organic than some of their previous records with some genuinely heartfelt tunes like “Maybe Tomorrow”.
Rob Dougan, Furious Angels, released 3 June 2003. The man who brought us the classic Matrix moment with “Clubbed to Death” released exactly one album, and this was it. Half instrumental and half growly vocals, it doesn’t quite measure up to his signature song (which is included here) but it did work perfectly as writing session soundtrack material. He’s done a lot of production and scoring work, however.
Dave Gahan, Paper Monsters, released 3 June 2003. The other lead singer of Depeche Mode finally released his first solo record this year, and you can kind of tell that his songs are chillier and more visceral than Martin Gore’s whose songs tend to have more heart to them. Still, this one’s an interesting record that proved he could go it alone.
Love and Rockets, Sorted! The Best of Love and Rockets, released 3 June 2003. One of my favorite bands of the late 80s finally dropped a greatest hits to tie in with their expanded rereleases of the last couple of years. It’s a simple selection with not that many deep cuts, but it does prove just how great they were!
Soundtrack, The Animatrix – The Album, released 3 June 2003. The two-fer of Matrix movies was supplemented by a third project, an anthology of American-Japanese animation containing in-canon back stories and side stories, many that actually tied in directly with the three movies, and released as a box set with a dvd and a soundtrack.
Radiohead, Hail to the Thief, released 9 June 2003. After their one-two weirdness of Kid A and Amnesiac, the band didn’t quite return to their previous sound but instead chose to find a middle ground between the two styles. This one’s probably my favorite of their later period and there are a lot of deep cuts on this album that I love.
Duran Duran, The Singles 81-85, released 10 June 2003. Finding singles from this band was always an adventure, considering their first few years were filled with alternate versions, dance remixes and odd b-sides, sometimes only available on import. This box set compiles every one of them up to “A View to a Kill”, and it’s a great mix.
Fountains of Wayne, Welcome Interstate Managers, released 10 June 2003. The third record from this band finally saw them get major airplay thanks to the “Stacy’s Mom” single, but the rest of this record is just as fun and quirky, including the fabulous album cut “All Kinds of Time” which is the best song about football I’ve ever heard.
Ambulance LTD, Ambulance LTD EP, released 17 June 2003. This band from NYC only stuck around for a couple of years before vanishing, but what they put out was a couple of records full of wonderfully understated indie rock. They’re definitely one of those ‘oh, that band! I remember them!’ groups, but they’re well worth checking out.
Michelle Branch, Hotel Paper, released 24 June 2003. I didn’t actually own this album, but I did own its lead single “Are You Happy Now” which I thought was an excellent eff-you pop song that wasn’t sung by Alanis Morissette. Definitely a change from her previous poppier singles.
Liz Phair, Liz Phair, released 24 June 2003. You either loved or hated her, and I think I started with indifference (her 90s single “Supernova” got way overplayed on WFNX), but over the years I’d grown to enjoy her work.
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Coming up next: summer songs and mixtapes
Dang, how are we on volume 27 already? Or more to the point, how are we not at a higher volume, considering I started the series in 1988? Heh.
Either way, I’m happy to return to making mixtapes more consistently again. I’ve made it a point to give my listening habits a bit more breathing room — and paying attention once more to when a song or album catches my attention, and letting my brain latch onto it instead of just flitting onto the next shiny. I know it’s helping that I made that choice on purpose to tie in with my MU4 novel project, but the real point was to reconnect with why I love to listen to music so much. I’d lost track of that for a while.
[Note: One song is missing from this Spotify version of the mix, “Splinter” by Chatham Rise, which sits between Miss Grit and Beck as track 9.]
For your listening enjoyment, here’s my year-end mixtape! As expected, this one’s a bit all over the place and I’m sure I’m missing a few songs I should have put in there, but I think it still came out pretty well.
To be honest, it kind of mirrors my current status in life: all sorts of nonsense going on in the world, most of which is out of my control, but on the other hand I think I’ve managed to control what I can in my life, and that’s what really matters.
The title comes from the Cheekface song “We Need a Bigger Dumpster” which may not have been my top song of the year (that’s Hot Chip’s “Down”, firmly sitting as Track 5 as always), but it fits perfectly considering.
Hope you enjoy!
I’ll admit I didn’t have the time or the inclination to go into super detail with the end-of-year lists this year, so I will at least provide you with my top favorite albums. You can safely assume that nearly all of my favorite songs of 2022 made it to the above playlist, with a few exceptions!
TOP ALBUMS (listed chronologically with top favorite in bold)
Yard Act, The Overload
The Beatles, Get Back: The Rooftop Performance
The Reds, Pinks & Purples: Summer at Land’s End
Spoon, Lucifer on the Sofa
White Lies, As I Try Not to Fall Apart
Beach House, Once Twice Melody
Nilüfer Yanya, PAINLESS
Bob Moses, The Silence in Between
PLOSIVS, PLOSIVS
Wet Leg, Wet Leg
Hatchie, Giving the World Away
Warpaint, Radiate Like This
Dubstar, Two
Porcupine Tree, CLOSURE / CONTINUATION
Röyksopp, Profound Mysteries I, II and III
The Beths, Expert in a Dying Field
Alvvays, Blue Rev
PVA, BLUSH
The Beatles, Revolver Super Deluxe Edition
The Cure, Wish 30th Anniversary Edition
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See you in 2023!
December’s releases were mostly rereleases with a few new albums sprinkled here and there, but those reissues weren’t merely cash-grabs but collections worth picking up and checking out. There were a lot of them this year, weren’t there…? Anyway, this one’s going to be a bit short as well because of that.
Voice of the Beehive, Let It Bee (Remastered & Expanded), released 2 December. One of my favorite albums of 1988, it finally sees a major reissue with several b-sides, single versions and live tracks added. It’s a super fun album full of sassy pop gems. [Music trivia: yes, that’s Woody from Madness on drums! Bedders was also part of the band at one point too!]
Robbie Williams, Life Thru a Lens (25th Anniversary), released 2 December. US listeners might know half these songs better as part of his American compilation The Ego Has Landed, but this is the original UK source album. This was his first peak period with hit singles such as the ubiquitous “Angels”. This too has been reissued with numerous b-sides and live tracks.
Hot Hot Heat, Make Up the Breakdown (Deluxe Remastered), released 2 December. Another reissue of a 2002 album that got heavy play in the Belfry during my writing sessions. “Bandages” was one of my favorites of the year as well, and still pops into my head now and again.
The Reds, Pinks & Purples, Mountain Lake Park, released 2 December. Glenn Donaldson’s output this year has been quite extensive, and with this one — named after a small park here in the Richmond that I’ve walked through many times! — is full of lovely instrumentals recorded around the same time as this year’s Summer at Land’s End (and originally released as a vinyl-only bonus record with that one). And he also dropped a new EP on the 23rd, Dust in the Path of Love.
Paul McCartney, The 7″ Singles box set, released 2 December. A full 159 tracks spanning his entire solo career and containing several rarities such as non-album sides, single edits and international versions. This one’s less about the remixes and all about the original songs.
Leftfield, This Is What We Do, released 2 December. This group sneaks out an album at the end of the year of laid back electropop I love the best: the kind that gets me moving but I can also listen to while chilling out.
The Clockworks, “Blood On the Mind” single 9 December. Yet another single by this great band, this one sounds a bit like early Smiths with its bouncy Johnny Marr-like jangle, but it sounds just as tough as any of their previous singles. I see nothing but success for these lads!
Roger Waters, The Lockdown Sessions, released 9 December. The eternally grumpy Waters released an EP of reworks of his classic songs from both Pink Floyd and solo albums, including an extremely moody reworking of “Comfortably Numb” that gives the original a run for its money.
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…and that’s it for the year! Come back tomorrow for my year-end mixtape and best-of lists!
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