Tag Archives: soundtracks

(Almost) Thirty Years On: March 1997

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The mind is elastic, as they say. Sometimes you end up misremembering things, or you’re absolutely certain something happened in this order when it actually happened differently. If you look at the timestamp I wrote on the very first page of The Phoenix Effect, it says 3/7/97, 10:30pm. I almost always timestamped my longhand work, something I’ve done since the early days of the Infamous War Novel back in 1984, so it’s not as if I was making it up. Now, this goes completely against my firm belief that I started writing that novel in the food court at Solomon Pond Mall before my shift started.

Now, maybe I did, and the first attempt is full of scratch-outs and mistakes, and later on that evening I started over. Or maybe I actually did start writing it that evening and then started writing in the food court thereafter. Either way, it’s almost thirty years ago and unless I have any other notes, I’ll have to guess that it’s one of those because it’s all a bit fuzzy now.

ANYWAY! The important thing here is that I started a new novel in March of 1997 after finally deciding to trunk True Faith once and for all, and my aim here was to see if I could pull it off. I hadn’t completed a novel in years, and I was getting frustrated with myself for having all these unfinished and abandoned ideas gathering dust in crates in the boiler room in the basement. I still wanted to write this futuristic sci-fi idea, this spark that had appeared in 1993 and had never gone out. And now I had the time, a clear mind, a steady job and a computer to work on it.

Next thing was to start amassing the soundtrack I’d be listening to while writing it.

U2, Pop, released 3 March 1997. I remember the PolyGram Distribution rep being extremely let down by this album and really not doing much at all to push it to my boss Tom. U2 had become a band where you expected excellence and ever-increasing originality with every album, and that never works with any band at all. Me, however? I loved it! Sure, it’s not as grandiose as Achtung Baby or intriguing as Zooropa, and even the band members themselves admit that it’s a rushed project that should have had more time spent on it (they had to rush as another ridiculously huge tour was on the horizon). Personally I think this is when the “it’s cool to hate U2” really started. Regardless, I played the hell out of my promo copy over several years while writing not only TPE but the entire trilogy. On it’s own it’s full of fascinating sonic experimentation and intense lyricism. It wouldn’t have worked as a grandiose statement, and I think that bothered a lot of people.

Guster, Goldfly, released 4 March 1997. Local boys done good! This Somerville band was a fan favorite in the Boston area with their quirky sound (and their stick-less drummer), and the creepy yet catchy “Airport Song” was an immediate favorite on WFNX and WBCN and other MA stations. This was also their first major release after self-releasing their debut. They’re still going strong to this day.

Collective Soul, Disciplined Breakdown, released 11 March 1997. I’ll admit I’ve always been a fan of this band since hearing “Shine” back in 1993, and while they didn’t quite hit the same heights as their huge-selling self-titled album, they continued to release some really great music that I often came back to. They’re definitely part of that style I like to call ‘commercialternative’ (modern rock that’s easy on the ears and often played on your more adventurous AOR station — and I say this as a positive), but I’ve never gotten sick of them. And they just dropped a new album last week!

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Let’s Face It, released 11 March 1997. This album was a major breakthrough for them, as they fit in quite nicely with the ska-punk wave that was cresting right about this time (see also: Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger, Less Than Jake, and so on). “The Impression That I Get” was written to honor a friend who’d sadly been a victim of an abortion clinic shooting in Boston back in 1995 — I remember that happening as it took place just a few miles away from my apartment — and ended up being a big hit for them. It’s also a great album celebrating the Bay State, with a song about the sketchy-as-f*ck Mayor Curley (“The Rascal King”) and the local interstate (“1-2-8”).

Morphine, Like Swimming, released 11 March 1997. Alas, their last album before singer Mark Sandman passed away. They’re another local favorite that got a ton of play on WFNX and WBCN, and the catchy and amusing “Early to Bed” was a big favorite.

Soundtrack, Grosse Pointe Blank, released 13 March 1997. An oddball dark comedy with John Cusack and featuring a Gen-X friendly soundtrack of 80s college radio faves? It was a major favorite with my generation, and the soundtrack was a big hit that spring. It definitely helped that Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun” was the big classic used multiple times in the film, giving the band a much needed boost. This one of course got a lot of play in the back room of the store.

Ben Folds Five, Whatever and Ever Amen, released 18 March 1997. When your debut album is so quirky yet brilliantly written, you kind of wonder how you can ever top it. Their follow-up does indeed feel a bit jaded in that classic Gen-X way — so much so that “The Battle of Who Could Care Less” perfectly encapsulates it while also being a radio favorite at the time. The unexpected hit from this one, of course, is the heart-rending ballad “Brick”.

Matthew Sweet, Blue Sky On Mars, released 25 March 1997. While his 1995 album 100% Fun got some minor play, it was this follow-up that gave him that extra added boost with a much more stylized and slightly psychedelic sound that made it a favorite on AOR stations.

Soundtrack, The Saint, released 25 March 1997. Val Kilmer’s reboot of the old Roger Moore TV show was surprisingly enjoyable even though it wasn’t the biggest hit. Like most action films of the late 90s, its soundtrack is full of twitchy electronica from Orbital, Underworld, Fluke, Sneaker Pimps and more.

Goldfinger, Hang-Ups, released 26 March 1997. I remember hearing “This Lonely Place” on WFNX quite a bit during my commute home from the store, and I grew to really like this perky and sunny track. They’re still around and released a new album early this year!

Third Eye Blind, Third Eye Blind, released 26 March 1997. Say what you will about this band and album (and those three singles you could not escape from over the next few years), I actually really liked this album because it showed that they weren’t just a one hit wonder. There are a lot of interesting deep cuts here including the opener and minor single “Losing a Whole Year” which I always liked. And now I can consider them a local band, heh.

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Coming up: In which I start listening to pretty much everything that comes through the back room at the record store.

Thirty Years On: April 1996

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I’d like to think that by April 1996 I’d gotten settled enough back at home. I’d come to the conclusion that my plan to move back to Boston might take a lot longer than expected (what with my crippling debt and all) so I chose instead to refocus on what I could change at that point. I’d gotten the frustrations of 1995 out of my system and started looking forward. Eventually I’d get there.

April 1996 was also the first time I actually had a significant tax return! Well, it was $200, but that was big money for someone who formerly had to scrounge for a few weeks to save that much. And I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it: buy myself a PC.

Granted, it was a used PC bought at a chop shop that had Windows 3.1 and came with a monochrome CRT monitor, but that’s all I needed. The only games I’d play on it were Solitaire and FreeCell anyway! No, this was a long-term investment, one I’d be using constantly for my writing from here on in. I set it up on my desk in the bedroom and it stayed there maybe for about two months before I decided in early fall to move it downstairs into the basement. [Part of the decision for the move was that the PC’s fan was rather loud and would keep my family awake if I worked at night, but the main reason for it was the desire to find a writing spot where I wouldn’t be interrupted or have everyone looking over my shoulder. And where else but in the same place my dad had his work area?]

By the end of April I’d transcribed some of those recent exercise story ideas and expanded on a few more just to see where they went. I may have tried working on True Faith a bit more as well. I had no idea that I’d be working down there for nearly nine years more, but that was the beginning of it all. That was where I started taking my writing even more seriously. In another year I’d be starting in on The Phoenix Effect, which would of course be revised and rewritten as the Bridgetown Trilogy.

Cracker, The Golden Age, released 2 April 1996. Even though alternative radio had pretty much latched onto “Low” (from 1993’s Kerosene Hat) as their one hit wonder, David Lowery’s project continued on providing us with catchy yet slightly offbeat tunes such as “I Hate My Generation” which got a decent amount of play on WHMP.

Beastie Boys, The In Sound from Way Out!, released 2 April 1996. After the huge success of 1994’s Ill Communication, the band took an unexpected left turn into…groovy funk? By now we’d known that they weren’t just meathead rappers but proficient instrumentalists, but this album was such an unexpected release that it barely got any notice other than fans and those digging their jazzy side.

Semisonic, Great Divide, released 9 April 1996. Before their huge success with 1998’s Feeling Strangely Fine and “Closing Time”, they dropped their first official album that got just a little bit of play with songs like “FNT” and “Across the Great Divide”. WHMP really liked this record.

Various Artists, Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks, released 9 April 1996. This was a super fun compilation aimed squarely at us Gen X-ers who grew up watching these animated tunes during our Saturday cartoon binge. It’s full of great stuff by Blind Melon (“3 Is a Magic Number”), Better Than Ezra (“Conjunction Junction”), Pavement (“No More Kings”), and my personal favorite which I’ve posted above.

Local H, As Good As Dead, released 16 April 1996. Yet another 90s band that could conceivably be seen as a one hit wonder (this is that “copacetic” song, natch) if it wasn’t for the fact that they’re still around and recording really great noise rock, still as a duo. They’re definitely a band worth checking out.

Rage Against the Machine, Evil Empire, released 16 April 1996. I admit I was not a Rage fan for a good number of years. To me they were merely okay…I appreciated what they were about but it did nothing for me personally. I eventually came around in 1999 with their Battle of Los Angeles album. Meanwhile, you could not escape hearing tracks from this album on WHMP and WFNX like “People of the Sun” and “Bulls on Parade”.

Geggy Tah, Sacred Cow, released 23 April 1996. Now this was definitely a 90s one hit wonder, but it’s so goofy and positive and such an earworm that it’s worth hearing. Who knew that a song about a good driving experience could be such a fun hit?

Spoon, Telephono, released 23 April 1996. Well before their rise to indie fame in the early 00s, this band dropped their first album that became a favorite with their fans and the hip indie crowd. To me they were a band I’d constantly hear about but never actually hear on the radio. I may have heard one or two tracks from this on WHMP or WAMH, but not very often.

Orbital, In Sides, released 29 April 1996. I fell in love with the single “The Box” as soon as I saw its brilliant video (featuring the always amazing Tilda Swinton as a time-traveling alien). I’d dub this album onto cassette in a few months when I started at HMV, and eventually buy it used a short time later. It’s my favorite Orbital album as it hits that sweet spot of electronica that I can chill to. I highly recommend it.

Dave Matthews Band, Crash, released 30 April 1996. Most alternative radio stations absolutely loved 1994’s Under the Table and Dreaming, so when this new album dropped, it was a huge success not just on radio but on MTV as well. It’s got so many of his biggest and most memorable tracks on it like the quirky opener “So Much to Say” (I love singing along to this one!), the lovely “Crash Into Me”, the weird “Too Much” and the memorable deep cut “Tripping Billies”. It’s my favorite DMB album, actually! This is right up there with The Verve Pipe’s Villains and Collective Soul’s self-titled as part of that mid-90s “commercialternative” sound (as I call it) that seamlessly crossed barriers from alt rock to pop/rock radio with records that would become long-standing hits.

Soundtrack, The Craft, released 30 April 1996. I went to see this movie at the Sony in Leominster that I formerly worked at and was pleasantly surprised that they’d actually done their homework in regards to witchcraft. Sure, it’s your classic standard 90s horror flick complete with a hip soundtrack, but it was good fun nonetheless. And like a lot of 90s horror flick soundtracks, it’s full of current bands doing fantastic covers, like Our Lady Peace doing the Beatles, Heather Nova doing Peter Gabriel’s “I Have the Touch” and Love Spit Love doing The Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now” (soon to be appropriated by the similarly witch-themed TV show Charmed). It’s a fun soundtrack worth checking out.

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Coming up: Summer moods and unexpected changes

We are GROOT

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Okay, so my posts are a little off the start of this week due to our visit down to Anahiem to go to Disneyland for the long weekend. It was fun, the weather was much warmer and brighter, and I may have even gotten a bit of a tan out of it! That said, It is kind of strange to be walking around the area known for its cheery, poppy, family-friendly atmosphere and hearing the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy 2 at the same time. A bit of a mental disconnect, but a pleasant one!

So while I get myself back up to speed, here’s some more tunage from that very weird and absolutely hilarious movie.

PS. We did in fact see Groot at California Adventure! 🙂

PSS. Yes, I actually remember these songs when they were new. I am that old. Turning 47 next Monday!