Day 25: Music love

Books may have been my first love but music was (and is) a close second.  Whereas books are my comfort and my familiar home, music is what excites and challenges me.

 

Some of my most transcendental moments have been at gigs or festivals.  The first 'proper' writng I ever did was a self-produced Britpop fanzine between 1996 and 1998.  Music has soundtracked my memories, both good and bad.  How, then, can I possible narrow my 'music love' down to a mere five albums?!

 

I wrote a music Q&A recently which talked about some firsts and some favourites (and if anyone would like to volunteer to write their own Q&A guest post, then drop me a line at jbistheinitial@gmail.com).  Here are just a few of the albums that have been important to me over the years.

 

Then...

 

 

The albums I loved passionately and that defined my life at the age of sixteen were probably The Bends, The Holy Bible and Trailer.  But in the intervening years, the albums from that era that I listen to most are Siamese Dream (my all-time number one album), Live Through This, and Come On Feel The Lemonheads.

In the early twenties I went through a phase when I listened to a lot of hip hop, UK garage (don't ask!), Motown and dance music.  I loved Zero 7, Groove Armada, Daft Punk, De La Soul.  I listened to a lot of Tim Westwood.  It was a weird time.  The records which dragged me back to guitar music were Is This It by The Strokes and The Libertines debut album (and a rediscovered obsession with Ben Folds Five).

Now...

In recent years I have listened almost exclusively to American music.  My brother* is my main musical influence now (it's so irritating: I used to tell him what to listen to!) and over the years he has introduced me to the artists that I listen to most often.  Joanna Newsom, Grizzly Bear, The Shins... they were all largely thanks to Richard's recommendations.  Others, like Beach House, Fleet Foxes or Sufjan Stevens, I've come across through my own musical investigations but they're still artists he loves.

* You can read the Music Q&A he wrote for me here.