Life Is Like a Box of Records today is from alternative rockers Tanners Pool, whose debut EP Out Of Line is out now via Alt/Logic.
Beats International – Dub Be Good to Me (Let Them Eat Bingo)
Matt: My parents loved music and played a lot of vinyl. As soon as I was old enough to put records on the turntable (no doubt without permission) this is what I’d play. This is pretty much all the 5-year old me would play, actually. Oh, and Michael Jackon’s Bad. Yep, this is what I danced around to with a wooden spoon in my hand.
The Moody Blues – Nights In White Satin (Days of Future Passed)
Jess: When I was little my mum used to own a static caravan on the coast. She loved the moody blues and we always used to listen to them in the car on the way there. I can still see us now, zipping across the North York Moors in her little red MG midget. This one is probably the first song I developed a real love for, and it was one of the first I learned on the guitar as a teenager.
Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nevermind)
Matt: As soon as I heard this at around 10 I knew that I had to beg/borrow/steal a guitar and use it to play this tune. It was the first riff I ever learnt, as I’m sure countless guitarists will say. Of course it sounded terrible, but playing this through a tinny practice amp with the gain maxed out was the most addictive experience of my childhood. I still get shivers from the sheer depth of angst conveyed by this track and all the rest on the album.
Britney Spears – Oops!… I did it again (Oops!… I did it again)
Jess: There will always be a place in my heart for Britney! She was the first artist I liked as an independent person, and this album was the first one I bought. This track is singalong gold and I loved it. Plus, there’s a Rolling Stones cover on that album – it was my first introduction to them as a band.
Silverchair – Anthem for the Year 2000 (Neon Ballroom)
Matt: I forged many childhood friendships with Silverchair playing in the background. When chatting/fighting with my mates, this is what we had playing on repeat. The awesome sub-bass intro when I heard it for the first time on huge speakers blew me away and the dark power of the song gets me every time. I’d try and listen to this when doing my homework too, not that I got any done with this playing.
Muse – Micro Cuts (Origin of Symmetry)
Jess: Muse soundtracked my time at uni and I loved them. They introduced me to rock, and in their music I heard a sort of grit and power that I hadn’t experienced before. I used to crank the volume really loud through decent speakers so I could properly hear the bass, and the lecturer who lived above me used to complain a lot, the miserable woman. This track was one of my favourites – that slow build up to a crashing chorus. Awesome.
Rage Against The Machine – Bombtrack (Rage Against The Machine)
Matt: Just awesome riff after awesome riff. I listened to this on repeat in my late teens, when the world was obviously against me. When life’s crap, I still turn to this and the other tracks on the album to listen to Zack spit about things that put my trivial stuff in perspective.
Guns n Roses – Sweet Child o’ Mine (Appetite for Destruction)
Jess: This song is one of the main reasons I play electric guitar. That epic solo towards the end – it’s like a solid minute of impenetrable emotional glory and I remember thinking, I have no idea how the hell you do that but I’m going to try. That opening riff is the first thing I learned on electric guitar and I haven’t looked back.
Led Zeppelin – When the Levee breaks (IV)
Matt: Man it’s difficult to pick one album let alone just one track from the Led Zep catalogue. Bonham’s drums on When the Levee Breaks clinch it for me though. That intro is like sinking into a deep bath of sonic awesome. In this track and throughout the album, the creativity and power in Zep’s tunes along with their incredible musicianship set the bar for me as a musician. I pick up something new every time I listen to them.
Deap Vally – Baby I Call Hell (Sistrionix)
Jess: I loved this song from the first time I heard it. It’s not very often you see women in rock music, and those confident piercing vocals really stood out for me. When this song came out a few years ago I was just starting to write my own stuff and it was great to hear another woman in the same field.
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