On this day ... 1994 (aged 23)

Scribblings from my diary …

“Talk to Dad on the phone briefly. He couldn’t recall if I’d had chickenpox or not. The sort of thing only mums know.”

Now playing: 'So Runs The World Away' - Josh Ritter (2010)

“That’s the sad thing with life;
People always leaving just as other folks arrive.”

(Number four in my not-quite-weekly series of recommended new releases.)

Let’s chat for a minute about the adorably kooky Mary-Louise Parker. (If you haven’t seen ‘Weeds’, you need to grab yourself the first series on DVD today.) She provides the little sticker quote on the front of this album. “If you love music and have a device on which to play it, you should listen to Josh Ritter.” Just another reason to love her.

Josh Ritter has a certain folky Dylan thing about him which hooked me in a few years back – though he’s been expanding that style with each album. He should always release albums in Spring as his songs seem to suit the season perfectly. Go find a musical device and give this album a listen – if not for me, for the lovely Mary-Louise.

Spotify linky:
Josh Ritter – Folk Bloodbath

'Thru The Flowers' - The Primitives (1987)

“You won’t ever know,
what it took to let you go.”

In the summer holidays of 1988, my cousin Matt and I decided to become writers for My Guy magazine. Yes, that’s right, the one with all the photo stories for young girls. Now obviously there were a few barriers to overcome. We hadn’t written a photo story before. And we didn’t exactly have that much insight into the minds of the target audience. But I’d read a few copies of my sister’s Just Seventeen. And, most importantly, Matt had actually been in a couple of My Guy photo stories. See? Doesn’t sound so stupid now, does it? Oh, alright, it still sounds kinda stupid.

Matt had been instantly typecast by My Guy as the ‘irresistible bad boy indie kid’, which meant he got to wear his Primitives T-shirt and leather jacket in every story. Using his insider knowledge we could surely sell a story of our own. Or perhaps not. A couple of rejection letters later it was time to head back to school and the project was forgotten. Until now. Well, actually, it’s still pretty much forgotten as I can’t recall anything we wrote. I’m quite sure I must have copies of those stories somewhere though – if they turn up, I’ll post some excerpts.

Spotify linky:

The Primitives – Thru' The Flowers

On this day ... 1986 (aged 15)

Scribblings from my diary …

“In Information Technology we use a package called ‘Mail’ and send messages between computers.”

'Godstar' - Psychic TV (1985)

“I wish I was with you now;
I wish I could save you somehow.”

What’s the latest big musical movement? Is there one? The last one I remember is emo from a few years back. It seems to me there’s about two generations coming up behind me who have no shared musical experiences beyond ‘X Factor’. I blame the Internet. This often unifying force has fractured musical tastes by giving everything and focusing on nothing.

In just the decade between 1985 and 1995 (when I was 14 to 24 years old), I got to pick ‘n’ mix from indie, new wave, goth, grebo, blonde, baggy, drone rock, art rock, shoe-gazing, slow-core, ambient, grunge, slacker, the new wave of new wave, Britpop, trip-hop and alt-country. And then there’s all the other flavours that weren’t to my taste (yes, “aciiieeeed” kids, I’m looking at you).

‘Godstar’ was the very first indie single I bought (back when ‘indie’ was an ideal, not just a label). I loved it immediately and love it still. Just listen to that chorus. You’ll immediately put it back on again. I clearly remember standing in a car park in Camberley on a cold February afternoon and carefully extracting everything I could from the gatefold (it was a double single!) sleeve while my mum went to the Pay and Display machine (or ‘Cash and Flash’ as my cousins used to call it). I knew nowt about the band. I didn’t know that they had a singer called Genesis P-Orridge or that they had emerged from Throbbing Gristle. The sleeve told me this was the theme song to a film about the ‘Life and Times of Brian Jones’. But the film was never made (I looked out for it for years after). This somehow makes it even more perfect.

Psychic TV was my first connection with a musical movement that to this day inspires new ideas and founds new friendships. I hope the generations to come have their own ‘Godstar’.

Spotify linky:

Psychic TV – Godstar

'Drive Blind' - Ride (1989)

“Can’t see the lights,
or the blue orange signs.
Can’t see the road,
or the long white lines.”

For six weeks in the autumn of 1989, no cyclist was safe on the roads of Farnborough. This is because my Dad had decided to fund a dozen driving lessons for me. His idea was that I’d be able to help him with some computer deliveries for his company. The problem was that I had zero interest in learning to drive.

It would have helped if there was somewhere I wanted to go. But I could get the train to London and I was happy walking my home streets. It would also have helped if I could concentrate on the road for more than two minutes. But my mind wanders. And the next thing you know, I’ve reversed into someone.

That’s what happened on my test. The date was set for Hallowe’en – hurrah! – my fave day of the year. But it was timed for the school run. Which meant cyclists. Lots and lots of cyclists. It was like the Tour De Farnborough out there. I think I either clipped, cut up or terrified a good half of them. And almost killed one, by reversing without really looking and forcing him to swerve onto the pavement. I made a mental note of some of the good advice the cyclist was screaming at me (which amounted to ‘Look where you’re going’ – once you removed the expletives) and the instructor made some notes of his own in thick red pen.

To this day I still can’t drive (I never took another lesson) and like to annoy people who ask why I don’t try again by quoting Alex Cox’s ‘Repo Man’: ‘The more you drive, the less intelligent you are’.

Spotify linky:
Ride – Drive Blind

On this day ... 1982 (aged 11)

Scribblings from my diary …

“We recapture the Falkland Islands. Have a fight on the playing field.”