Defend Moscow
is a multinational troop: the five members stem from cities like Bergen, Paris and London. Their biggest influences are 20th Century Russian art and the Pet Shop Boys. This leads to shiny, happy disco pop – always containing a melancholic undertone.
It was the song that I had playing on my car stereo as I left school for the last time. I didn’t leave school in 1985 before you ask though; I was just always very into a-ha!
At Hammersmith Apollo. It was just absolutely outstanding; they are the best live band on the planet.
Without a doubt, «World In Motion» by New Order featuring MC John Barnes. «You’ve got to hold and give and do it at the right time…»
This is a difficult one, because I never really listen to anything that genuinely depresses me. Some stuff is depressing in a good way though. The whole of the Sigur Ros album () is depressing in a brilliant way, so I’ll go with that I think.
I remember hearing «If I Ever Feel Better» when I was a teenager and liking it and it wasn’t until years after that, that someone gave me this album for free. It then sat on my shelf for another couple of years before I finally got round to listening to it. Since then it’s become one of my favourite albums and Phoenix one of my favourite bands. It’s fantastic summertime music.
This might sound like a bit of an odd choice but this album just really reminds me of my first love. Even though there’s not one love song on it, I was listening to it a lot at the time and it will always remind me of that year.
I remember me and my brother jumping around our living room listening to this, we thought it was the best song ever written (to be fair, we weren’t far wrong).
I’ve always thought that «Blood On The Motorway» would be a brilliant song to have at a funeral. The sparse lyrics are really apt and introspective and the whole song is a proper musical journey. The beginning of the song is quite morbid and really melancholy but then all of a sudden, this amazingly uplifting beat comes in and you feel like you’ve come out the other side and leaves you feeling like everything will be OK after all.
I remember having loads of my mates over to my place all summer long and just listened to this album on loop while drinking beer in the sun and having endless BBQ’s. We listened to a hell of a lot of reggae that summer – it was the year I discovered Barrington Levy too.
Amazing song, brilliantly sad lyrics and it’s great to sing along to when you’re in your living room on your own with a bottle of Jim Beam all to yourself. If you really, really want to depress yourself though, you don’t have to look too much further than Dashboard Confessional. If Chris Carrabba ever has a relationship that works out, they’re finished as a band!
Simply one of the greatest rock records ever created. That riff, the energy, Zach De La Rocha’s vocal delivery and the usual RATM political overtones make this my ultimate liberation track. It gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.
Surely it’s impossible not to dance when this song comes on, right? Even if you’re sat down on a chair, it’s impossible not to do some seat dancing.
Definitely «It’s A Sin». Apparently, they had this written and recorded in time for their debut album «Please» but they kept it back for the second record. Such was their confidence in the strength of the first album with or without it. Amazing!
I honestly don’t think I can remember what this was. That’s really bad isn’t it? You should always remember what the first ever record you bought was, shouldn’t you? I think it might have been Oasis but I really can’t be sure! I’m going to go with Oasis’ «Some Might Say».
Me and my mates used to go to a club called «The Cellar Bar» every single week and they used to play this song every time without fail and we’d all go mad dancing to it – good times!
It would always remind me of The Simpsons and it’s the song I usually sing when sound checking! Although thinking about it that would probably get annoying really quickly.
They came from Romford, just down the road from where I was brought up and it was just an absolutely massive tune. I still love it after all these years.
This song is absolute filth. If you haven’t heard it before, forget everything you know about U2 and dig it out on iTunes and turn the lights down low…
It has to be something upbeat to get you into the swing of things. Morning music should never be depressing. So I’d go for something like Consolation Prizes.
I just remember seeing this video as a kid with «The Young Ones» in it and thinking it was the most hilarious thing I’d ever seen in my entire life. When I watch it back now I have no idea how anyone could have possibly found it funny.
There are a million songs that I wish I had written. It’s impossible to single one out! I’ll pick the most recent song I wish I wrote though and that’s «Perfect Symmetry». An absolutely amazing song and I reckon that the end section would be a huge amount of fun to sing live, so I’ll go with that.
