So anyway. There I was thinking about the different phases or genres of music I enjoyed growing up, how one led to the other and how they formed a little map of my life, when I thought it would be a great wheeze to form a chain of albums to represent these different phases.
Why? Nostalgia, I suppose.
First, you have to decide on your different phases – as many or as few as you like. They could be ‘Thrash, Death, Doom, Nu-Metal, Grime’. Or ‘ZTT, PWL, R&B, TSB’. Mine are:
Post-Punk, Goth, Indie-pop, Baggy, Hip Hop, House/Techno.
What I’ve picked (based on my mood today rather than some kind of definitive best-of) is in the comments below. I’d love for you to have a go, too, but will fully understand if you think it’s a pointless confusing faff.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/strontiumdawg/image002.gif
Post-Punk
PiL – Metal Box (1979)
I know. Obvious, right? But I recently bought the deluxe edition in the flash Amazon sale, so that’s my excuse.
Goth
Various Artists – Batcave – Young Limbs and Numb Hymns (1983)
It feels like cheating to include a compilation, not to mention somewhat heretical in light of such strong competition from the Sisters, Bauhaus, Siouxsie etc., but this is the album that introduced me to the likes of Alien Sex Fiend and Specimen, and I copied out the Bat Cave logo onto my school bag.
Indie-pop
The Heart Throbs – Jubilee Twist (1992)
I should probably have plumped for C86 or George Best and been done with it, but needing a female voice I opted for a late-period offering from this lot, whose Rose and Rachel were sisters of Echo and the Bunnymen’s Pete De Freitas. Was ever a band so fascinated by genitalia as The Heart Throbs? Answers to Nicholas Currie, Paisley, Scotland…
Baggy
New Fast Automatic Daffodils – Body Exit Mind (1992)
Shouldering aside Bummed and Screamadelica comes this, from Manchester’s most underrated band ever. Blessed of both a lithe funkiness and apocalyptic vocals, New FADs made music that was at once important and danceable, and I miss them so much. ‘You’ll soon be dust, your deeds already are-ah! No monster me, sadly no saint either-ah!’
Hip Hop
De La Soul – Buhloone Mindstate (1993)
De La Soul’s somewhat forgotten album was the last they recorded with Prince Paul, and is also – really, really, honestly, I’m not joking about this – their best. I’ve cheated by putting it in here, because in actual fact I came to it later on in life, having mistakenly thought they fell off with De La Soul is Dead. My bad.
House/Techno
Spooky – Gargantuan (1993)
This left field offering isn’t from Leftfield, Underworld, Orbital or The Chemical Brothers, or anything from the more headz-friendly likes of UR, Richie Hawtin at al. No, I’ve delved into the file marked ‘early 1990s UK Progressive House’ and come up with Spooky, whose Gargantuan, from the dubbed-up ambience Aqualung to the epic, skyscraping bass of Little Bullet and the feral funk of Land Of Oz, represented the best in UK dance music at the time. A year later Little Bullet appeared on Sasha & Digweed’s first Renaissance Mix collection, the sacred text of UK prog house, and the circle was complete.
New Wave (as distinct from post-punk)
Parallel Lines – the perfect fusion of the energy of punk with the tunes of power-pop. One of the first albums I bought, and also a perfect example of how much more commercial New Wave as a genre was to the majors.
Post-Punk
I’ll see your Metal Box, great though it is, and raise you the Au Pairs first album Playing With A Different Sex: scratchy dubby funk (like Metal Box), the quintessential post-punk sound, but with added gender politics, Northern Ireland, domestic violence as well as a 2 men/2 women line up.
Goth
Hard to look beyond the Sisters 12″ – also cheating in the run up to the first album. Everything that is goth taken to the Nth degree.
I’ll think on about eighties genres later.
Britpop
Suede-Suede
Simultaneously the future and the past. The britpop template of 3 musicians fronted by charismatic frontman (see the Au Pairs for different approach). Big singles straight to TOTP, T-shirt artwork, fluid gender identities, the whole Britpop deal, swinging Camden, (the interesting bit as opposed to the first sightings of Indie Landfill).
The Au Pairs is a great shout, and since I plan to do this tomorrow as well I may choose that. Oh! Or maybe The Raincoats?
An idiosyncratic list of my crazes and phases and when. Not necessarily emblematic of the genre except within my filter of memory and interpretation.
Very Early 70s – Prog: Pictures at an Exhibition/ELP (Yeah, I know, the eternal question, but to me its progressive rather than underground)
Early Mid 70s – Folk Rock: Genesis Hall/Fairport (OK, could have gone for a trad-arr but this was where I got hooked, the b side of Si Tu Does Partir)
Slightly later early mid 70s – Country Rock: Hickory Wind/Byrds (Corny and obvious now, but a blast into my twangin’ heart then, possibly my 1st taste of steel.)
Mid 70s – Punk: Baby Baby/Vibrators (Wasn’t even really punk, but the song that stands out in my memory banks from imagining me back then)
Mid to late 70s – Noo Wave/Watch Your Step: E.C. (I did like a skinny tie, me!)
80s – Folk- Glanglass/Wolfstone (The sudden realisation that celtic airs could have me effortlessly weeping)
90s – Americana – Nevada,California/Jayhawks (Immersed myself next in plaid shirts and raggedy
vocals
Early 00s – Jazz – Let’s Get Lost/Chet Baker (Yup, decades late to the game I finally got trumpet. And that voice)
Mid 00s – Techno – Born Slippy/Underworld (Too flaming obvious, but still stonking)
Late 00s – Reggae – Hey Joe/Black Uhuru (Sorry to illustrate with a cover, but what a cover!!!!!!)
Now – I still don’t know what to call it, modern classical, ambient, all that – Sanvean/Lisa Gerrard, solo version rather than Dead Can Dance (Astonishing)
Of course I don’t even mention huge swathes of enthusiasms that have co-existed alongside. I just love music.