Sure, sometimes something would show up in the racks at Howard Brothers or later Wal-Mart, but if it did, with no other input, you couldn't possibly know what you were in for. If you truly craved something new sometimes you had to close your eyes and pick.

That's how I first discovered Earth Sun Moon by Love and Rockets. It mysteriously showed up in the tape rack one day and I was intrigued by the cover and enticed by the titles so I bought it, opened it in my truck in the parking lot, popped it into the deck, and went for a cruise. It was revelatory and became my favorite record over the course of that winter.

That was a weird winter for me -- junior year -- with all the typical ups and downs of high school life. Earth Sun Moon was a salve for the lows and an accomplice during highs with its songs of cautious optimism and optimistic resignation. Not quite everything a guy that didn't quite fit in needed to survive the most awkward time in his life but a good start.

Earth Sun Moon along side Kick by Inxs, Change Today and Revenge by T.S.O.L., and Document by R.E.M. soundtracked my junior year of high school. It was a rough one but I survived, at least in part, due to this record.