Life Is Like A Box Of Records: Pip Blom

Today’s ‘Life Is Like A Box Of Records’ is by 20 year old singer-songwriter Pip Blom who’s EP Are We There Yet? released via Toaster Records is out now and available to purchase via iTunes and stream on Spotify.

Here are Pip’s record selection:

Alphabeat – Boyfriend

Alphabeat was the first band I “discovered” myself. My best friend and I used to listen to it all the time when we were 12 years old and we thought it was the best band ever. When we heard the news that they would come to the Netherlands we were over the moon. In the months leading up to the concert I couldn’t stop talking about it. I can still remember the date, because I mentioned it so much (it was the 11th of November). We went to the concert together without supervision. It was a great night. I felt very mature.

Hank Williams – Hey Good Looking

When I was little, my dad used to sing songs for me and my brother at bedtime. We both had to be in our beds and he would grab his guitar and start playing a few songs. One of those songs was “Hey Good Looking” by Hank Williams. We loved it. I don’t think it was really relaxing though because we both wanted to come out of our beds and start dancing to the song.

Micachu And The Shapes – Curly Teeth

I once made a song and someone told me it sounded kind of like Micachu and The Shapes. I’d never heard of them, but when I started listening I was instantly hooked. Especially this song, in this version. I had never heard anything like it. I’ve listened to this song non stop for over a week. No other songs, just “Curly Teeth” and until this day I still think it’s the best song ever made.

Jake Bugg – Trouble Town

I was very shy when I was younger; I played guitar and I sang but I never wanted to play in front of others. One year, when I was in high school, we went to surf camp and they told us that if you could play guitar you had to bring one because there would be lots of campfires. I thought, “this is the moment, I’m going to play a song at the campfire”. The camp lasted six days and every night I was too scared to play until the last night. It took everything I had but I played a song – I was terrified, but my classmates loved it. I was so relieved. The song I played was “Trouble Town” by Jake Bugg.

Kim Deal – The Root

When I started making songs I was searching for the right sound. I had a bit of a hard time finding something I really liked and thought I was able to create myself. Then I stumbled upon this song by Kim Deal – it was exactly what I was searching for. The song sounds so cool and I really love the video too.

Voicst – Everyday I Work On The Road

My music taste was very different to the taste of the other kids in my elementary school. My parents played Arctic Monkeys, Soft Cell, Hank Williams and Blur. Whilst the other kids listened to chart music. During the breaks we were allowed to play songs. The songs I played were never really popular, most kids didn’t like it at all. Until one day, when I played Every Day I Work On The Road by Voicst. It felt so cool to finaly had a song that the other kids liked too.

Teenage Cool Kids – Volvo to a Kiss

Parquet Courts is one of my all time favourite bands. The first time I saw them play I didn’t really know lots of their songs but I heard that they were cool. The gig impressed me a lot and I’ve been listening to them ever since. A few months ago, one of my friends who loves Parquet Courts too, asked if I knew Andrew Savage’s other band, Teenage Cool Kids. I started listening to them and I got exactly the same feeling that I had when I first heard Parquet Courts.

X-Press 2 Feat. David Byrne – Lazy

We used to go on holiday to Formentera when I was little. It was fun, but when you’re little you get bored quite easily. Bored kids are not cool. So my dad used to take me and my brother into my parents bedroom. He played “Lazy” and he put on a spacey screensafer on his laptop. My brother and I loved it and jumped around on their bed. It was so much fun – we did it every day.

Bombay – Bleach

Bombay is one of my favourite Dutch bands. I’ve seen them play numurous times. One of my favourite performances of theirs was last year on Le Mini Who. They were booked to play in this tiny coffee shop and when they arrived and started to bring in their gear, it was very clear that, besides the band, there would be hardly any space for the audience. So there we were, fifteen people and the band. All the others, who couldn’t fit in, were crammed outside the windows. It was a very cool place for a show.

Arctic Monkeys – The View From The Afternoon

I grew up listening to the Arctic Monkeys. My mum loved them so she always played their songs. In 2014, I went to Rock Werchter (a festival in Belgium) and one of the headliners was Arctic Monkeys. Me and my friend decided we wanted to see them and that we wanted to see them properly. We waited for six hours in the front area. It was boiling hot, but we had to wait without drinking anything. A drink could mean you had to go to the toilet, something we couldn’t risk. But when they entered the stage we instantly forgot about the waiting. It was a great show.

Are We There Yet? released via Toaster Records is out now and available to purchase via iTunes and stream on Spotify.

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