For your listening pleasure, here’s my latest compilation/mixtape that I created a week or so ago. All the links are to their respective YouTube visuals and will open in a separate window.
On a side note, I’m greatly amused that I’m still using a mixtape name that I created way back in the spring of 1988. I usually used the LiS title for ‘favorite poppy alternative songs’ mixtapes (whereas Walk in Silence was used for ‘favorite moody alternative songs’). There was a stretch there in the early 00s when I used a different title and the mixes were more varied (this would be the Re:Defined mixes). Hey, if the titles still fit, might as well keep using them, right?
If you haven’t seen my recent post over at Welcome to Bridgetown, I’m currently celebrating the platinum anniversary of my starting a novel (The Phoenix Effect) that would end up morphing into my Bridgetown trilogy. All this month I will be posting fun things related to the original as well as the trilogy, and I thought I’d do the same over here.
Twenty years ago I was a few months in on my relatively new job as the lone shipper/receiver at HMV Records. Even though I was one of the oldest hires there (I’m pretty sure I was closer to my manager Tom’s age than the young’uns I worked alongside), I was still feeling my way around.
The biggest change from the years previous was that I had a much closer connection to the music I was listening to. I was listening to a lot of radio at the time but didn’t have that much money to spend on new releases, but this job let me listen to a lot more stuff (and yes, I may have dubbed a number of cds onto blank cassettes while in the back room, heh!).
But the sounds were changing as well. The bright bounciness of Britpop was suffering from hangovers and bloating (see: Oasis’ Be Here Now, a solid but WAY overworked album); the American grunge was kind of losing its way (not to mention some of its lead singers to overdoses), and let’s face it: the college rock I knew of then was essentially the commercial rock of now.
That’s not to say the quality (or quantity) of alternative rock was declining…it was merely evolving with the times. In fact, 1997 featured some fantastic, solid releases from bands both old and new, taking the genre in new and interesting directions.
On a personal level this was a positive and much-needed evolution for me, as I’d been in dire need of a change in my life and outlook. I’d been broke, angry and depressed for about three years straight, gone through some personal issues that were Not Fun At All, and needed a positive change ASAP.
Not only that, this change in mood is reflected in my writing. I’d essentially started a new project resurrected from the ashes of one that I had to close down for personal reasons. And let’s be brutally honest: back then, I’d had a collegiate view of being a writer. I was a special snowflake with the Powers of Story [insert sprinkly *whoosh* sfx here] and I wrote Important Life Allegories™. In reality, however…my writing was crap, I knew it was crap, no one was going to take it seriously, and I was going to need to be a shit ton better than the level I was currently at if was going to get anywhere with it.
So that meant dispensing with the mindset of Writing as Superpower and take it seriously. Making it a daily process instead of a casual one. Relearning the basics of story construction. (This included doing a hell of a lot more reading than before; not just the how-to writing books, but the different genres of fiction and nonfiction I was interested in. This plan kick-started my habit of visiting book stores on the weekends and, thankfully, a love of reading.)
Music has always been a part of my writing process, and this time it was no different. This time out I’d be making mixtapes of tracks that would inspire my writing (the four-volume Songs from the Eden Cycle from 1997-8, the sort-of sequels in the early 2000s, and the recent Eden Cycle Sessions mp3 playlists). Certain albums released during this time would get heavy rotation play on my cd player down in my basement writing nook. And I’d listen to a hell of a lot of stuff on my fifty-mile commute, which was always a perfect time for me to brainstorm.
I’d made a decision to be a writer quite early in my life, but 1997 was when I decided to take that decision seriously.
So I ended up buying the new Golden Earring box set, The Complete Studio Recordings, (at a pretty sweet deal — 28 cds for a little over $100, coming out to about $4 a cd) and I’m quite looking forward to giving it a listen.
They’re a band I’ve always wanted to hear more of, especially since their history reaches way back to the early 60s. Most of you know them from their two US hits “Radar Love” (one of the best 70s bass lines ever) and “Twilight Zone” (one of the most memorable early 80s MTV videos). I owned their Cut album for a long time and absolutely loved it as a kid. I never got around to picking up more of their albums though, as they were often hard to find and were never a big draw in the US.
Still, they’re considered the Netherlands’ biggest rock band and what I have heard of their early stuff I quite enjoy. Including their amazingly ridiculous yet fascinating seventeen-minute prog cover of The Byrds’ “Eight Miles High”.
It’s going to take me a while to sift through this collection, but I’m looking forward to it!
Still working through a head cold right now and I’m not running at optimal speed. I thought I’d share some Love songs instead, considering it’s Valentine’s Day. We could all use some love now and again. 🙂
In the last few years of my run at HMV, I was given the go-ahead to do special orders for customers, as well as order the occasional import. This came in handy when NSYNC released the single “Bye Bye Bye” some time before the No Strings Attached album; I knew it would be a huge seller despite the price, so I had them order a good hundred or so copies. They all sold out within a few days.
Around that time, I’d been reading all the reviews in the British music magazines and catching up on bands that may or may not break here. One of my favorite finds was a five-piece called Ultrasound, whose sound was a fantastic cross between crunchy guitar-led Britpop (very similar to Kaiser Chiefs, predating them by at least a few years) and seventies psychedelia, with a bit of Pink Floydish prog in there as well. They released a handful of singles and one album, Everything Picture, before breaking up. [They would, however, reconvene twelve years later for a second album, Play for Today, and have just released a new mini-album at the end of 2016.]
It’s a sprawling album, twelve long tracks stretching an hour and a half over two cds (most of the tracks are around six or seven minutes long, with the last track featuring a truly epic freakout that lasts a little over 21 minutes plus a two-minute hidden track!). Due to its length and wide scope, many critics found it bloated and meandering, but despite that, it reached to number 23 on the UK Albums chart, and it’s remained a fan favorite. I for one loved that it was a long album; a sort of The Beatles only with fewer and much longer songs. I dubbed it onto cassette and listened to it constantly whenever I drove around New England.
The single “Stay Young” is one of my favorites from this album. It’s a wonderful rock anthem from the loud-soft-loud school, a twenty-first century rewrite of “My Generation” in a way.
The track “Aire & Calder” is another favorite. I love its driving beat and folksy melody that evokes the feeling of riding a caravan through the British wetlands. [Aire and Calder are two rivers that meet up near Goole and Castleford just outside Leeds; both towns are name-dropped within the song as well.]
The album still holds up well nearly eighteen years later. I can see where the critics were frustrated, as it slides all over the place, changing moods and sounds constantly (again, much like the White Album), but taken as a whole, it remains a strong record from start to finish.
As I dive once more into the 80s music nostalgia, one band I plan on checking out is Ultravox. I’ve always heard great things about them (both the John Foxx and the Midge Ure years), and I even owned the greatest hits and Vienna albums, but I never actually sat down to listen to them very closely. Chalk it up to being one of those bands I’d hear on the radio or MTV but could never find their stuff at the mall. [And when I did see them at the various record stores, often I’d be reserving my money for something else I was looking for.]
This past Christmas I finally got their box set The Albums 1980-2012 (aka the Midge Ure era), and during our visit to southern California this past weekend, I stopped in at Amoeba to pick up the John Foxx era box, Island Years. These cover all but two 90s albums (Revelation and Ingenuity, essentially keyboardist Billy Currie with a newer lineup) and only the latter box contains single sides and ephemera, but th0se are easily acquired online if I’m further interested in completing the discography.
I do love the career-spanning box sets, especially the ‘album collection’ ones, as it gives the new listener — or like me, the once-passive fan who wants to hear more — the ability to check out a band’s discography at a relatively decent price. I’ve bought quite a few of these over the years: Roxy Music’s The Complete Studio Recordings, Nilsson’s The RCA Albums Collection, Lloyd Cole & the Commotions’ Collected Recordings 1983-89, and The Boomtown Rats’ Classic Album Selection, to name a few. Not all of them are complete (there’s often a few items missing, like a cover or a live track or a b-side), but they’re complete enough to provide an excellent overview. Sure, they can be expensive, but sometimes you can find a great deal. Some are even available as mp3s, cutting the cost almost in half sometimes.
I’m looking forward to listening to these two Ultravox boxes!
The one downside to listening to new things this early in the year is often that there isn’t anything new out to listen to. So I’m often bouncing around my music collection, throwing on whatever happens to pop into mind at the time.
As usual, I’m writing this just before my evening writing/editing session, and I was in the mood for a bit of Porcupine Tree — a band I’d discovered while at HMV (their 1999 album Stupid Dream had just been released) and one that would often be a go-to for my writing sessions during the early 00’s. In this case, 2002’s In Absentia came to mind, so I popped it on. It’s a lovely album, recorded at the point where they’d decided to morph from dreamlike, guitar-based prog rock to a more prog-metal influenced sound. [Note: lead singer/band leader Steven Wilson would be the first to slap me for labeling them prog, as he quite loathes the term. But I digress.]
I’ve posted numerous times before about some of the key album releases over the years that influenced, or at least gave a soundtrack to, the Bridgetown Trilogy. This album, Dishwalla’s And You Think You Know What Life’s About, Mansun’s Six, Beck’s Sea Change, and so on. They’re all great albums that I’ll still throw on now and again while I’m writing or editing.
Does music distract me from my work? Well, yes, sometimes it does. Especially if I hear a song like Silversun Pickups’ “Panic Switch”, which often sends me across the room to pick up my bass to play along with it. But more often than not, just as it has since I was a scruffy teenager first attempting to write novels, it serves a dual purpose: it’s background noise to help me focus on the task at hand, and it’s also a sound that, if I choose correctly, influences whatever it is I’m working on at that moment. I’ve listened to music for so long, and for such long stretches, that if I don’t have anything playing while I’m working, I kind of feel naked in a way. The silence makes me self-conscious.
But you know, that’s why I have such a large collection as I do, and why it’s 99% digital now. I have a library of sound that helps me through the day, in whatever I’m doing, whether it’s writing, editing, or the Day Job.
And finally, here we are at the last quarter of the year!
Phish, Big Boat, released 7 October. The band is positively perky on this album, full of bounciness and silliness that I haven’t heard since Billy Breathes twenty years ago. It’s also more cohesive and catchier than Fuego, their previous outing. And there’s some amazing harmony going on with this track right here.
Green Day, Revolution Radio, released 7 October. Another excellent album from the boys from the East Bay. While it may not be as radio friendly as American Idiot, it’s just as angry and in your face.
BT, _, released 14 October. BT is a fascinating musician in that you’re never quite sure what his next sound is going to be like. He’s a great remixer and his electronica stretches from glitchy to sublime. And then there’s this album, which is essentially an electronic classical album of sorts. It’s stunning and lovely and rates right up there with the work of my favorite new composer, Mason Bates. And of course this got a ton of play during writing sessions.
Bowling for Soup, Drunk Dynasty, released 14 October. BfS is up to their goofy, punky best as always with this Kickstarter-funded album (you should check out the KS page just to watch the video where they forget they’re trying to sell the album and talk about–you guessed it–drinking beer). It’s a strong and solid album all the way through, and a hell of a lot of fun.
Jagwar Ma, Every Now and Then, released 14 October. This album, interestingly enough, reminded me of Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, in that it’s a flawless mixture of melodic indie rock and blissed out dance grooves. And “O B 1” is definitely my Track of the Year, with its ticking ambient/chunky riff mix and infectious beat. The album itself is up there in my top ten as well.
American Football, American Football, released 21 October. WOO! New American Football! Given that their previous album was 17 years ago, that’s a long wait, but it was quite worth it. These guys were part of the original laid-back, wistful, math rock sound that included Low and early Modest Mouse back in the late 90s, so it’s great to have them back.
Jimmy Eat World, Integrity Blues, released 21 October. Glad to see these guys are still going strong after all these years, and still writing songs that stick in my head for hours. A solid album all the way through.
The Radio Dept, Running Out of Love, released 21 October. Yet another Wait–they have a new album out?? release for 2016, and it’s excellent. Dark and weird and groovy and twitchy all over the place — which is what makes me like them so much. Really dug the production on this one a lot.
Sleigh Bells, Jessica Rabbit, released 11 November. I really love their Wall of Crunchy Guitar sound (it’s great for headphones when you’re on a plane or at the gym), and I love the way they slip around their melodies, making them playful and in your face at the same time.
A Tribe Called Quest, We got it from here…thank you 4 your service, released 11 November. YES! Another ATCQ album finally arrives, and it’s a stunner. It might be their last one they release, but it’s a hell of tight one.
Metallica, Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, released 18 November. Ending on a surprising note, considering I’m not much of a metalhead at all, but this is one hell of a great album, the best they’ve done in the past few years. They still have a few songs here and there reminiscent of the more radio friendly Load/ReLoad era, but they’ve returned (finally) to some the best axe-wielding they’ve put on record in quite a while.
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Coming up next week: The End of Year Lists! Favorite songs, and my year-end mixtape!
Walk In Silence 