Tag Archives: The Boston Years

The Boston Years Continued: Slacker Central, Part XXXII

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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.

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Next up: One life over, another one beginning.

The Boston Years Continued: Slacker Central, Part XXXI

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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 Boston Years Continued: Slacker Central, Part XXX

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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!]

The Boston Years Continued: Slacker Central, Part XXIX

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May was the month of Best Laid Plans, I suppose. With D moving back home for the summer, we agreed that it would be a great idea if I held onto her PC until she came back in autumn. That would give me the impetus to work on True Faith when I had time off from work. That wouldn’t happen until the end of the month, however. In the meantime, I’d moved my pallet bed from the window across the room and put my desk up next to it, just like I had in college, and made it a point to work there as much as possible. I think it was also about this time that Z had started making plans to move out at the end of the summer to San Francisco. This meant that I would either need to find a new roommate or make alternate plans once again, and it wasn’t something I wanted to think of right now.

In the meantime, life went on at the theater and at home. I’d started a collection of movie posters that I’d snag after the run was over and put up on my own wall. I also decided that maybe I should thin out my music collection a bit and see if I can get some extra money from it. Alas, that went about how you’d expect — far less cash than I’d hoped — but every little bit helped.

But damn it all, I did not want to move back home. I wanted to stay in Boston. I needed to stay in Boston, one way or another.

The Apples in Stereo, Fun Trick Noisemaker, released 2 May 1995. I think it was about this time I’d heard about the Elephant 6 Recording Company — a lose collective of several bands including this one with a love for 60 bubblegum pop — and they’d amassed a cult following with this album and others.

Soundtrack, Rob Roy, released 2 May 1995. One of many movies out this year focused on British history (real and otherwise) that were all quite enjoyable. I really liked the soundtrack for this one and would eventually get it on cassette.

Tracy Bonham, The Liverpool Sessions EP, released 7 May 1995. An Oregonian taking up residence in the Boston area thanks to Brett Milano from The Boston Phoenix, she had a sizeable following in the area and WFNX had her on constant rotation with “Dandelion” and an early version of “The One”. This EP would help her get signed to a major the following year.

Filter, Short Bus, released 8 May 1995. a Nine Inch Nails-adjacent band (singer-guitarist Richard Patrick was NIN’s touring guitarist for a few years), they may not have been as desperately dark as them but they certainly were just as loud and aggressive. The single “Hey Man, Nice Shot” was a huge hit despite its creepy inspiration, and continued to have a measure of success for years afterwards.

Supergrass, I Should Coco, released 15 May 1995. On a much lighter note, we had these three goofballs recording irresistibly fun and very British pop and had a major hit with their single “Alright”, which still gets a lot of play to this day. It’s a super fun album, and the rest of their discography is just as amazing.

Pulp, “Common People” single, released 22 May 1995. A teaser single for this band’s upcoming album, it became their most famous song and in my opinion one of the best “fuck rich people” songs ever written. The band has created a brilliant song with a super catchy and upbeat sound counterpointing Jarvis Cocker’s snide lyrics. One of the best songs of the 90s.

Soundtrack, Braveheart, released 23 May 1995. Another movie steeped in British history (real and otherwise), it gave Mel Gibson a much needed career boost, even if the story played fast and loose with actual facts. The soundtrack was highly acclaimed and still gets the occasional play on classical stations!

Low, Long Division, released 23 May 1995. One of their best early albums, although it took me a few years to catch up to that fact! This may not have gotten all that much airplay on stations like WFNX, but the college stations loved it.

Moonpools and Caterpillars, Lucky Dumpling, released 23 May 1995. I always got the song “Hear” mixed up with Letters to Cleo, and perhaps that’s why this band didn’t quite get the levels of success that LtC did, but it’s a fun album full of bubblegummy alternapop worth checking out.

Everclear, Sparkle and Fade, released 23 May 1995. This breakthrough for the band, their first on a major label, contained some of their best and well known songs like “Santa Monica” (which still gets radio play these days). Art Alexakis’ ‘therapy on public display’ lyric style might be a bit much for some, but it’s a great album despite that.

Soundtrack, Johnny Mnemonic, released 26 May 1995. Believe it or not, this movie was a huge influence on my writing True Faith. Sort of based on a William Gibson short story, directed by visual artist Robert Longo and cast with several unexpected names like Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren, Ice-T, Henry Rollins and Takeshi Kitano, it’s a glorious mess but it’s also a hell of a lot of fun and is surprisingly creative in its own way. It’s a really great soundtrack as well.

God Lives Underwater, God Lives Underwater EP, released 31 May 1995. This band’s single “No More Love” played at the end credits of the above movie, which definitely helped get their name out there. This band was a fascinating industrial/synth/alt-metal band that sounded more like KMFDM than Ministry and while they were only around for a few years, their discography is full of great and impressively creative sounds.

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Next up: In which the Great Transcription Project begins, and Bridgetown gets a major upgrade.

The Boston Years Continued: Slacker Central, Part XXVIII

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By this time I was spending a lot of down time at work — that is, staying after my shift to watch the new films coming out. D was finishing up her own semester as Emerson and making plans to head back home for the summer, so we hung out when and where we could, whether it was at her dorm room (the last time I’d visit Charlesgate at that) or at my apartment. We talked a lot about what we wanted True Faith to be — sometimes argued about it as well — and worked on it when and where we could. The clock was ticking down and once again I’d be on my own.

This time, I wasn’t about to spiral into yet another one of my moods if I could help it.

Guided By Voices, Alien Lanes, released 4 April 1995. This was a band I’d always hear about but rarely ever hear on the radio except for the occasional rare play of a single or a deep cut. “Motor Away” caught on here and there, however, and this album ended up on many critics’ best-of lists.

KMFDM, Nihil, released 4 April 1995. This was one of the first bands I’d heard that revived that industrial techno sound that did so well in Europe, turned up the volume and the speed, and made it the soundtrack to several movies based on video games. “Juke Joint Jezebel” was featured on the wonderfully terrible Mortal Kombat.

The Dandy Warhols, Dandys Rule OK, released 6 April 1995. The first Dandys album is definitely grittier than their follow-up albums that would get more attention and airplay. Their pop sensibilities are already to the fore here, however.

White Zombie, Astro Creep: 2000, released 11 April 1995. Whenever “More Human Than Human” came on WFNX, I’d turn it up loud because it demands it. It’s such a badass song and its constant play helped give singer Rob Zombie the attention to go solo soon after.

Hum, You’d Prefer an Astronaut, released 11 April 1995. Another track worth turning up loud, “Stars” was such a great tune for the summer. This band took the sound of grunge and turned it into something palatable to cross-genre radio, and the album ended up a cult favorite of many. Well worth checking out.

Oasis, “Some Might Say” single, released 24 April 1995. A teaser single for the new album, this one sounded heavier and less glam than their previous singles. There was a buzz going on that this next album would be one of their best, and I couldn’t wait.

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Next up: Alone again and finding inspiration…and looking back

The Boston Years Continued: Slacker Central, Part XXVII

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Life continued apace at the Brighton Ave apartment, though I’m pretty sure the connection between Z and I would get strained at times. Between him practicing his keyboard at all hours of the night (he was also an extremely loud foot-tapper when he played, so there was also that thunk thunk thunk when he really got into the groove), and my barely making enough money to pay for a lot of the bills and the occasional actual food cooked in the apartment, we’d irritate each other quite often. Not enough for any loud arguments, because I’d do my usual hide-in-the-bedroom when things got stressful.

I mean, at the time I’d like to think I wasn’t feeling depressed or desperate like I had at the Shoebox apartment, and I was in a slightly better mood with a steady job and a girlfriend, but to be honest things could have been a lot better. I knew they could, I was just too damn broke and in debt to achieve it.

Which is pretty much why around this time I started hyperfocusing on my writing. Not on the daily just yet, but getting there. The first thing I had to do was remain focused on whatever project I was working on instead of sliding all over the place at whim.

Plus, March provided me with one hell of a great soundtrack.

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Annie Lennox, Medusa, released 6 March 1995. Annie’s second solo album is one of covers, and this too ended up a big hit for her, especially with the lovely version of Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” which also ended up playing during the closing credits of the Sandra Bullock film The Net — one of many computer-themed movies that would come out that summer, many of which would partly inspire the AI subplot of True Faith.

Radiohead, The Bends, released 13 March 1995. The last thing this band wanted to do was record another “Creep” so they headed in an all new direction with this stellar record that really is worth all the accolades it’s received over the years. It’s full of tension, irritation, delicacy and tenderness, an album with equal parts anger and love. Highly recommended. I got this one via Columbia House at some point and played the hell out of it for several years afterwards, it becoming a major mainstay in the Belfry writing sessions.

Matthew Sweet, 100% Fun, released 14 March 1995. After the dense and odd Altered Beast, Sweet returned with a sunshiney pop album that’s full of fun and addictive melodies. “Sick of Myself” was the big radio hit at the time.

Goo Goo Dolls, A Boy Named Goo, released 14 March 1995. A few years before their major breakthrough “Iris”, this album gave them the ability to open that door and head on through. It’s a great album that carries a hint of their former punkish roots but also hints at the stellar songwriting they’d be known for in the future.

Mad Season, Above, released 14 March 1995. A sort-of supergroup with Layne Staley from Alice in Chains and Mike McCready from Pearl Jam, their one album could have been a by the numbers PNW grunge album but instead they took the tenderest and most introspective parts of their own bands and created a lovely record worth owning. Highly recommended.

Collective Soul, Collective Soul, released 14 March 1995. Hardly anyone expected this band’s second album to hit the heights that it did, considering their first album was good but not entirely memorable. This album, on the other hand, just kept on kicking out one hit single after the next, with “December”, “Gel”, “Smashing Young Man”, “Where the River Flows” and “The World I Know”. This too would end up getting major Belfry writing session play in the early years. It’s well worth checking out.

Moby, Everything Is Wrong, released 14 March 1995. Moby had been known in the electronic genre a bit of an oddball who made shockingly lush music that could easily be used as movie scores, and this was the record that captured many people’s attention.

Garbage, “Vow” single, released 20 March 1995. I of course knew who Butch Vig was due to his several high-status album productions like Nevermind, and I’d expected his own band to be just as great, and I was not let down. This single introduced many people to their unique sound — not quite grunge, not quite commercial alternative, but just as heavy and hella sexy.

Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, brainbloodvolume, released 21 March 1995. This band’s final album is often overlooked and forgotten as their previous album Are You Normal hadn’t done all that well either, but this became one of my favorite albums of that summer when I’d found a promo copy on cassette. It’s an album worth listening to at top volume, as it’s absolutely overflowing with energy and spirit. Every time I heard “All I Ask of Myself Is That I Hold Together” on WFNX I’d crank it up. Well worth a listen.

Our Lady Peace, Naveed, released 21 March 1995. This band, like fellow Canadians Moist, wouldn’t get that much attention around this time, but this one’s a great opening salvo for the group. Their own brand of alternative rock was twitchy yet introspective at the same time.

Joan Osborne, Relish, released 21 March 1995. Joan’s debut owes a lot to the Laurel Canyon folk and rock of the 70s, but she manages to update that sound into something fresh and fun, inserting an element of Bonnie Raitt-like blues into the mix. You’ll still hear “One of Us” on the radio, but the lovely “St. Theresa” and the sexy “Right Hand Man” is also worth checking out.

Morphine, Yes, released 21 March 1995. This band drops another album full of their unique sound of sparse and bassy blues rock, and it was a big hit on the Boston stations, especially with the single “Honey White”.

Elastica, Elastica, released 24 March 1995. Yes, I’m still annoyed all these years later that they shamelessly stole from Wire’s “Three Girl Rhumba” for their biggest hit. Primarily because “Connection” got so much airplay and the first several times I heard it my reaction was ‘wow, they’re playing an obscure Wire tra–oh, wait.” That said, this is a surprisingly catchy and fun album that actually was worth all the attention it got.

Silverchair, Frogstomp, released 27 March 1995. I believe this was first band that gave me the feeling that I’d waited far too long to start a music career, heh. For a teenage trio, this album is frighteningly intense and superbly crafted from start to finish. They of course ended up on my ‘will buy anything from them’ list.

Soundtrack, Tank Girl, released 28 March 1995. I was excited about this movie, considering I was quite aware of Jamie Hewlett’s bonkers comic book about a trigger-happy punk girl living in the outback and hanging with mutant kangaroos. It was ‘what if the apocalypse was bizarre and hilarious instead of all doom and gloom?’ Sadly the movie didn’t quite capture it, having been severely watered down to be palatable to the normies, but it was a lot of fun and I sat through it several times after work. The soundtrack is amazing, however, featuring fantastic tracks from Bjork, Bush, Portishead, Belly, and a goofy cover of “Let’s Do it (Let’s Fall in Love)” with Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg.

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Coming up: Coming to a close, making some decisions.

The Boston Years Continued: Slacker Central, Part XXVI

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In classic Gen Xer fashion, my life went into a comfortable if financially strapped stasis for the time being. In other words, this will do until something better comes along, which usually meant staying in that mode until further notice because a) employment choices weren’t all that great then, and b) being given that bit of a mental and emotional reprieve was better than being in constant desperation. When I wasn’t with D and I wasn’t working, I was at the apartment on Brighton Ave, listening to WFNX and WBCN and keeping myself entertained one way or another, renting videos from Tower Records now and again, and playing around with story ideas. Two Thousand would resurface now and again, and so would the Infamous War Novel, but they wouldn’t stay for long.

I also continued on my reading kick, something I hadn’t done in ages. It was about this time that I picked up a three-in-one reprint of the first three Robotech novels, which I enjoyed. I read a few more Stephen King novels, and maybe a few things that I’d take out of the Boston Public Library.

But mostly I remember staying after my shift to watch movies. Some of them were super enjoyable, some were absolutely terrible, but it kept me occupied and I got free food out of it!

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PJ Harvey, “Down By the Water” single, released 6 February 1995. This teaser single was such a massive hit when it dropped that it still gets played on alt-rock radio to this day. I remember the theater I worked at — which had acquired the Sony brand at this point — played this a lot in between movies on its Sony-branded music feed.

Slowdive, Pygmalion, released 6 February 1995. This one came and went super quick, and it’s not your typical shoegaze record from this band. It’s more ambient electronica than anything else, but it’s a fascinating album on its own.

Extreme, Waiting for the Punchline, released 7 February 1995. Being that they were pretty much a local Boston band, I’d hear “Hip Today” on WBCN quite a bit, even though it’s not one of their big hits. This was their last album for a good number of years, while guitarist Nuno Bettencourt went solo and Gary Cherone hung out with Van Halen.

Fury in the Slaughterhouse, The Hearing and the Sense of Balance, released 13 February 1995. This German band may not have gotten a lot of notice aside from a few of their alt-rock radio hits like this track (which got a lot of WFNX play), but they’re still around and rocking strong. One of my favorite tracks of the year.

The Tragically Hip, Day for Night, released 14 February 1995. This is the one with one of their biggest hits, the simple yet gorgeous “Grace, Too”, which I remember MuchMusic playing quite a bit. It took a few years before I’d finally get this one during my HMV years, but it remains one of my favorite tracks of theirs.

The The, Hanky Panky, released 14 February 1995. Matt Johnson’s album of Hank Williams covers might have been a head-scratcher for many fans — including me — but it’s a surprisingly solid record, showing just how deep Johnson’s influences went.

Belly, King, released 14 February 1995. The second and then-last Belly album saw Tanya Donelly continuing her wave of shimmering and poppy alt-rock, though this one feels a bit darker, as if she’d chosen to include just a dash of her Throwing Muses chops in there for good measure. “Super-Connected’ was one of my favorite tracks of the year.

Tricky, Maxinquaye, released 20 February 1995. I wouldn’t hear this one all that much on the radio unless I was listening to one of WFNX’s specialty shows, but I’d hear “Overcome” soon on the Strange Days soundtrack, which would become one of my favorites later in the year. I remember it getting a lot of critical accolades at the time. Not bad for a debut!

Radiohead, “High and Dry” single, released 27 February 1995. After the oddness of their My Iron Lung EP from late 1994, this second teaser single for their upcoming album was a lot more radio friendly, and became a long-standing alt-rock staple. They made two videos for this one: a more straightforward one that I’d posted here, and a surprisingly MTV-friendly one full of saturated colors and a weird plot-line involving a car bomb.

PJ Harvey, To Bring You My Love, released 27 February 1995. This was essentially her breakthrough record after a few great but uncommercial records. She never got rid of or towned down the aura of weirdness that she’d been known for, but in writing more radio-ready tracks, her fanbase expanded considerably.

Mike Watt, Ball-Hog or Tugboat?, released 28 February 1995. After the breakup of fIREHOSE, Watt chose to continue working on several side projects, including this solo debut filled with cameos from Evan Dando, Eddie Vedder, Frank Blank, Mark Lanegan,Dave Pirner, and more. It’s a wild and often hilarious album worth checking out.

Better Than Ezra, Deluxe, released 28 February 1995. This was an amazing debut for this band, showcasing their stellar songwriting and ability to create catchy and hooky alt-rock tunes. “In the Blood” is a great driving track, and “Good” is the singalong that still gets played ot this day. Highly recommended.

Jewel, Pieces of You, released 28 February 1995. A busker from Alaska? Sure, why not? She came out of nowhere with the lovely and delicate “Who Will Save Your Soul” that first got play on alternative radio but soon spread everywhere, becoming one of the biggest selling albums of the 90s.

Del Amitri, Twisted, released 28 February 1995. Another breakthrough, albeit somewhat minor, was this band’s fourth album with the insanely catchy “Roll to Me” single that became one of their biggest hits, even with the ridiculously terrible video that the band themselves have always hated. It’s a great record and worth checking out.

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Up next: Springtime comes and so do the classic albums

The Boston Years Continued: Slacker Central, Part XXV

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A new year, a new focus: one way or another, I was going to get my shit together and make it work.

As it happened, those blurred months of job-hopping came to an end with not one but two offers: a part-time job working the media programming at the New England Aquarium, or a full-time job working at the Loew’s Theater in Somerville. Both were tempting, both paid about the same, and both had all but hired me by the middle of January…but out of financial desperation, I had to turn down the aquarium job and take the theater job instead. And the last thing I wanted was to hold down two different jobs to make ends meet, thus killing any writing time I might have.

It ended up being the best decision, actually. While I still remained relatively broke and in debt, there was a lot more job security, the commute wasn’t all that bad…and yeah, there was the fact that I could cop a free daily lunch or dinner out of it. I ate a hell of a lot of hot dogs, popcorn, soda and candy those months that I was there. Not exactly healthy…but it was better than skipping dinners and going hungry, right? And there was an added bonus: all the new release movies I could possibly watch, for free! I made it a point to see as many of the releases that I could on the pretense that I could tell our indecisive customers whether they’d like it or not, but primarily to get some heavy hands-on learning of visual and aural storytelling, the kind that I desperately needed if I was going to get my writing off the ground.

Meanwhile, I was still focusing on my writing True Faith. At this point I’d write some of it longhand and transcribe it later on when I had use of D’s computer whenever we got together. That gave me the impetus to not only write more, but to write consistently. Not just every once in a while, but as often as I possibly could. And I came up with a writing motto:

Just fucking DO it. Just shut the fuck up and WRITE.

If anyone could kick me in the arse and get me writing and get out of my habit of indecisiveness and distraction, it was going to have to be myself. I wrote this on two index cards, taped one of them above my desk, and taped the other one next to my bed. The two places I’d see them most.

Various Artists, This Is Fort Apache, released 3 January 1995. A compilation of bands that have recorded at the famed studio in Cambridge. This would include local favorites Cold Water Flat, The Lemonheads, Buffalo Tom, and Juliana Hatfield, as well as international favorites like Billy Bragg and Radiohead. You’ll still see this one floating around in the discount bins, but it really is a great mix worth owning.

Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Rapture, released 14 January 1995. The band’s last album before breaking up was even more poppy and cheerful than 1991’s Superstition, but it’s definitely a positive way to close out a long and incredible career.

Morrissey, “Boxers” single, released 16 January 1995. His standalone singles by this point were becoming more infrequent and a bit less exciting, and while this one was a fan favorite, it failed to capture the interest of the US fans.

Silverchair, “Pure Massacre” single, released 16 January 1995. After their shockingly catchy and spirited debut single “Tomorrow” released late in 1994, this band of teenagers (singer Daniel Johns was 16 when this single dropped) surprised everyone by following through with yet another strong single that could equal all the other heavy alternative bands like Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains.

Throwing Muses, University, released 16 January 1995. The newest Muses album may have been their last on Sire/Reprise in the States, but it’s one of their strongest and most consistent albums to that date. Despite high placement in the alternative charts, however, it would be their last on a major label.

The Wolfgang Press, Funky Little Demons, released 23 January 1995. Sadly, this 4AD band was also seeing the end of a label signing, as well as the end of their run. Granted, they’d been a band for over a decade and felt the need to go their separate ways. This album doesn’t quite hit the high points that the excellent Queer did in 1992/93, but it does reflect the same kind of quirky grooviness they’d evolved towards.

The The, “I Saw the Light” single, released 23 January 1995. Matt Johnson’s newest record since 1993’s moody Dusk was quite unexpected: an album of Hank Williams covers…? Sure, why not? The teaser single was a great rocking cover of “I Saw the Light” with an equally great and vertiginous video.

Leftfield, Leftism, released 30 January 1995. I first heard “Original” on WFNX on the T Orange Line up to Sullivan Square while heading up to the theater at the start of my new job. I was fascinated by the techno aspect of it, but I was really drawn to Toni Halliday’s voice, who I hadn’t heard since her Curve days. An album worth checking out.

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Coming Up: Slowly getting my act together

The Boston Years Continued: Slacker Central, Part XXIV

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As I’d said earlier, these months tended to blur one into the other, between job hunting, floating from one temp position to another, saving money when and where I could yet still being deep in debt, avoiding JA at this point (Z had met him once by this time and thought he was a bit of an a**hole), and thinking about my writing. I think I’d put Two Thousand on the back burner by this time while playing around with True Faith. D was just about finishing up her semester and would be spending the winter break back home with her family, leaving me up here in Boston. What did I do for New Year’s Eve? I probably went up to my sister’s place just to be out and about and not hiding away like a moody bastard.

Something had to change, and I was hoping it would happen soon.

The Stone Roses, Second Coming, released 5 December 1994. It took five incredibly long years for this band to follow up on their insanely popular debut album, and by all means everyone expected far too much from them. They wanted something as brilliant and as exciting and joyful, but this one was different. It was moody, intense, bluesy, and incredibly loose. Any hints of 60s jangle was well hidden. That said, however, it was in fact a good album on its own, and the blistering single “Beggin’ You” remains one of my favorites of the band.

Bush, Sixteen Stone, released 6 December 1994. This could have been one of those bands you love to hate, what with its pretty-boy lead singer Gavin Rossdale doing the grunge growl over a much poppier hard rock that got way overplayed on alternative and rock stations, not to mention heavy rotation on MTV, but they just kept on proving everyone wrong by dropping one great single after another. It’s one of my favorite albums of this particular era and still holds up beautifully. They’re still on my ‘will buy anything they release’ list. Highly recommended.

Pearl Jam, Vitalogy, released 6 December 1994. This is a bit of a weird album for them, moving away from their previous two incredibly popular albums. They were still getting major airplay, even this one with “Corduroy”, the itchy “Not for You”, the lovely “Betterman” and the punky “Spin the Black Circle”. But it also had weird tracks like the wonky “Bugs” and goofball “Hey Foxymophandlemama, That’s Me” closer. I listened to this one a lot on my Walkman during my work commutes.

Throwing Muses, “Bright Yellow Gun” single, released 12 December 1994. A teaser single for the new album coming in the next month, this was a surprisingly catchy and punky single that got the attention of several radio stations. WFNX had this one on heavy rotation for a good couple of months.

Oasis, “Whatever” single, released 18 December 1994. A filler standalone single between the last album and the next one that was currently in the works, this might not be one of the band’s best songs but it had its fanbase. In retrospect it does kind of feel like a throwaway tune, considering what would come out later the following year.

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Coming up: A new year, a new job, a new plan, and a new motto.

The Boston Years Continued: Slacker Central, Part XXIII

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One thing that will stick with me about November 1994 was how flipping COLD it was on Thanksgiving. A cold snap had hit, bringing high winds and high humidity. There wasn’t any rain or snow, but it felt like something was going to hit sooner or later. It didn’t help that the heat in the building had gone kaput a day or so earlier and the landlord was slow in getting it fixed. I’d decided to stay in the city as I couldn’t afford to take time off from work and D had no plans either, so we both chose to have our T-Day turkey at the apartment. Even Z had chosen to spend the day with friends elsewhere where it was warmer.

That night, after watching some movies and holing up in my room, we realized that windows in my room were drafty as f*ck to the point that it felt like I’d left them open. I called the landlord to ask what could be done, and he said to talk to the building manager…who’d also chosen to spend the day rather than freeze. After much aggravating back and forth, he brought over his dinky little space heater and called it done, and I stapled one of my bedsheets over the window. The damn thing billowed like a sail the entire night. We burrowed under multiple blankets and hoped we wouldn’t a) freeze from the cold or b) burn from the space heater being on all night. Thankfully neither happened.

Suffice it to say, he fixed the windows two weeks later (on a much warmer day, of course). I don’t think that landlord liked me after that, but that was a perfect example of when I will definitely make a noise if certain lines are crossed. Oh well!

The Black Crowes, Amorica, released 1 November 1994. After the one-two punch of their first two great albums, they dropped this third one which was…not a big hit. It’s great, but it’s kind of weird and drug-influenced. I’d hear “A Conspiracy” on the radio every now and again, but it disappeared from the rotations soon after.

Sparks, Gratuitious Sax & Senseless Violins, released 1 November 1994. I’d always been a passive Sparks fan — they were fascinating but I never got around to buying any of their albums — but I do remember hearing “When Do I Get to Sing ‘My Way'” during the short time I had cable, as they’d play it on MuchMusic quite a bit.

Nirvana, MTV Unplugged in New York, released 1 November 1994. By the end of the year, fans and industry alike were still coming to terms with the suicide of Kurt Cobain. This was a recording of their performance from the previous November, revealing that for a loud grunge band, they could play soft and still nail it. Their cover of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” is purely haunting and breathtaking.

Tom Petty, Wildflowers, released 1 November 1994. Petty’s second solo album was not quite as popular as Full Moon Fever but was just as great. “You Wreck Me” and “You Don’t Know How It Feels” were hit singles that got quite a lot of play on both alternative and commercial rock radio.

Eagles, Hell Freezes Over, released 8 November 1994. So named after Don Henley’s response to whether the band would reunite, their surprise actual reunion was a wonderful mix of live acoustic renditions of their hits and four completely new songs.

Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, No Quarter, released 8 November 1994. Another surprise reunion was the two Led Zeppelin leads doing the same: live acoustic renditions of many of their personal favorites, both covers and originals.

Letters to Cleo, Aurora Gory Alice, released 15 November 1994. Boston bands pretty much had their own renaissance in the early to mid 90s, slightly overshadowed by the PNW but strong nonetheless. This band was a huge hit from the get go with singles “Here and Now” and “I See”.

TLC, CrazySexyCool, released 15 November 1994. Another pop album you could not escape, this one has so many great singles and radio hits on it that it’s considered one of their finest. You still hear “Waterfalls” every now and again on pop radio.

Moist, Silver, released 15 November 1994. I discovered this band — with this video, actually — via MuchMusic, a Canadian alternative group that wasn’t as angry or edgy as grunge but could easily fit into the genre. A band worth checking out.

The Beatles, Live at the BBC, released 30 November 1994. In a way, you could conceivably see this collection as the revival of the Apple Records label, which had kind of been in stasis for years, especially since the cd releases of their catalog in 1987-88 had been considered the final statement in their discography. This was the first official Beatles compilation to be released since 1988’s Past Masters volumes, and as is typical of the band, it wasn’t a gathering of already-released tracks, but a treasure trove of BBC sessions (of which there are many). [You could possibly also see it as a dry run for the Anthology project that would drop the following year; by this point they’d recorded “Free As a Bird” and were working on wrapping up the miniseries.]

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Next up: The end-of-year wrap-up and vague future plans