They Told Me I Was Going To Lose The Fight
March 25th, 2009
I’ve been a little unsure as to how to explain this post. I’ve tried to think of a pithy, succinct catchphrase that could sum it up. But I failed. The closest I’ve come to explaining it, is to say that I’m debunking popular opinion. Or kicking some sacred cows. Or basically admitting that there are some things in music that I just do not get. And I know I’m not alone. I can’t be. Whether we care to admit it, we’ve all been there. Bought a record that reviews rave about and been left cold. Listened to an album that is constantly name dropped as an influence and been left bewildered. Read more
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Under Stormy Night, Tell Nobody
March 7th, 2009
You probably shouldn’t bother reading this. I’m sure you’re already well ahead of me on this one. Because it’s weird, but I have to admit that for a long time I actively ignored Fleet Foxes. I went out of my way to avoid hearing them. Made a point of it. I don’t know why. The closest I could come to offering a sensible explanation, would be to mumble something about them getting such good reviews, that I didn’t think they could live up to the hype. There’s a good chance I’d be shuffling my feet awkwardly while saying it. Like a naughty child, acting innocent but caught red handed. I might throw in a weak justification that I’d had enough of average bands being thrust open me as the next big thing. I’d avoid eye contact as I tried to rationalise the whole thing with an innocent shrug and a resigned sigh that they just happened to be the band that felt my wrath. A weak, pathetic wrath admittedly but a wrath nonetheless. Read more
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Heavy Words Are So Lightly Thrown
March 2nd, 2009
I don’t tend to do many of those ‘things about your life’ lists that flood Facebook and Myspace. You know the ones where you’re asked ridiculous questions that are supposed to offer your friends a profound insight into your psyche. But which invariably just make you seem needy, insecure, unfunny and in need of validation. Well, this is what this is. Although this one is actually not so sad, quite interesting and kind of apt for a blog about music. However I’m using a bit of poetic licence with the description and taking out all the shit about changing your life. They might have done but that sounds a tad wanky.
So the idea is to think of 15 albums that had a profound effect on you. That shaped the music you listen to now. That stopped you in your tracks, sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. 15 albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that, no matter what they were thought of musically, meant something to you. They may not be your favourite albums ever, you may not have listened to them in years, but they’re the albums that were turning points in your musical life.
So here are mine. I pondered over this for a while. Stood in front on my CD racks going through them all. Some were easy to think of. I knew them all ready. I could relate them exactly to moments that still shape the music I listen to know. That turned corners on where my interests lay. Others I had to think harder over. And a few more could easily have been replaced and swapped for others. But this is ultimately the list of albums that fuel this blog. I’ve tried to list them chronologically in order of when I heard them but as my memory is awful and as some were around the same time, it may not be entirely accurate. What I know for sure is that ‘Appetite For Destruction’ was the first proper album I remember listening to. Up til that point, it had been pop compilations and a couple of Madonna albums. But while that may be the record that started it all, I can honestly say that The Smiths ‘Best 1’ is the album that changed everything. I heard it through my brother who had just started university and it affected me in ways I probably can’t even begin to express. As for the rest, well I guess they’re the soundtrack to what got me to the place I am now. The signposts along the way. The ones that made me take detours in what I listened to. There are inevitably some that I’ve had to miss off but all in all, I think it’s a pretty robust list. The question is, what makes up your list?
Guns N Roses – ‘Appetite For Destruction’
The Smiths – ‘Best 1′
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – ‘Henry’s Dream’
Radiohead – ‘Pablo Honey’
Rage Against The Machine – ‘Rage Against The Machine’
Suede – ‘Suede’
Smashing Pumpkins – ‘Siamese Dream’
Oasis – ‘Definitely Maybe’
The Verve – ‘A Northern Soul’
dEUS – ‘Worst Case Scenario’
David Bowie – ‘Ziggy Stardust’
Bob Dylan – ‘Greatest Hits’
Mercury Rev – ‘Deserter’s Songs’
Belle & Sebastian – ‘The Boy With The Arab Strap’
The White Stripes – ‘White Blood Cells’
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