Kitten Kast # 196 (right click, save as)
Here's a selection of songs I used to listen to when I was in school. I started really getting into music when I was about 10. Music and professional wrestling. I've tried to be honest in compiling this. I haven't left anything out because it's too embarrassing and I haven't included anything because it's cool. This is all stuff I was into up to the age of 16. I got into all kinds of other music when I went to 6th form college and met new people. I might do another Kast with tunes from that era at some point. Ladies and Gentlemen, my awkward early teens:
Nirvana - Blew
The first time I heard Nirvana I was hooked. I didn't know what type of music it was but I knew I liked it. It was lazy and slap dash, but also kind of aggressive and angry. Heavier than punk, but not as silly as metal. Perfect. Also Bleach was the first thing I heard that made me think maybe I could be in a band.
Pink Floyd - Lucifer Sam
My parents had a copy of The Wall on vinyl (which I still have) and I was amazed by it. I sought out everything I could get by them and became obsessed with Syd Barrett. Piper At The Gates Of Dawn took me a long time to understand. This song was a firm favourite.
Dead Kennedys - When Ya Get Drafted
I remember playing this in the car with my mum and her really not understanding why I'd want to listen to this noise. Needless to say that only served to make me like it even more.
The Smiths - Sweet And Tender Hooligan
A friend of my Dad's once told me that The Smiths were the most depressing band ever. So naturally I sought them out. I loved the lyrics of this song. I always found The Smiths funny.
The Chartists - Frost, Williams And Jones
My Mum and Dad used to go to Ynysddu Folk Club in the 70s and were friends with the guys who went on to form this band. This is taken from a concept album about the Chartist uprising in South Wales. Listening to this album genuinely helped me pass my history GCSE. These guys can really play as well.
Johnny Cash - Ballad Of A Teenage Queen
I bought a Johnny Cash cassette while I was in France with my Grandparents. I'd never heard of him, but they wouldn't let me play my Nirvana tapes in the car and I figured they might be into this. This song reminds me of driving through France (in an M reg Orion estate) in 40 degree heat passing by endless fields of sunflowers.
Little Richard - Tutti Frutti
I once sang this song, accompanied by a teacher on the piano, in a show in junior school. My first gig.
The Crocketts - Stunner
I saw The Crocketts at Blackwood Miner's Institute when I was in year 11. I thought I was so cool back then. I was smoking weed and my girlfriend was older and in college. This song reminds me of that time. Chain smoking Lambert & Butler and getting drunk on anything we could find.
Blur - Mr Robinson's Quango
I remember buying this album when it came out. Blur was my first big gig (my actual first gig was Rocket From The Crypt and Cowboy Killers) and I remember feeling like I was a part of something that older, cooler people were into. I always thought this song was funny.
Oasis - Champagne Supernova
Much as I loathe this band now, I bought this album when it came out. I remember this song being on the first time I got really stoned. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for it ever since.
NOFX - Kids Of The K Hole
The first time I heard this was in Diverse Music in Newport when it was on Lower Dock Street. I was never a NOFX fan, but I bought this album after hearing it and it became the soundtrack to a lot of shenanigans.
Nine Inch Nails - Something I Can Never Have
This was the soundtrack to my first ever break up. I'd never really felt anything quite as horrible as that before and it had a profound effect on me. This song sounded exactly how I felt for most of early teens. I was not a happy child.
Marilyn Manson - Misery Machine
My Mum took me to Virgin Megastore in Cardiff to buy 2 CDs when I was about 14. I picked up Manson's Portrait Of An American Family and NIN's Pretty Hate Machine without knowing anything about either band. I remember listening to this song on the way home in the car. I saw MM in 1997 in Newport. He only played a third of his set and then refused to come back out. He'd just done his stilts thing (which I thought was fucking amazing at the time) and gone off stage. They brought his podium on and the sound effects tape was playing like he was gonna come on and do his Nuremberg thing, but after 10 minutes the house lights came up and the music stopped. Dude owes me £12.50 as far as I'm concerned.
Queen - Innuendo
I was a huge Queen fan in my early teens. I was in the fan club and my Grandad used to take me to see tribute bands whenever they played nearby. I amassed a pretty substantial collection of vinyl and rarities. I was pretty much obsessed. They were the perfect band. I loved how pompous it all was. I used to sit in my room at age 11 or 12 listening to this song over and over with the lights off. It's so theatrical but it still rocks, y'know?
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Song Of Joy
I rented this CD from Blackwood Library. I had no idea what it was but the title, Murder Ballads, sounded cool. I put it on when I got home and was blown away. I'd never heard anything like it. I remember trying (and failing) to read Paradise Lost because of this song.
Machine Head - Struck A Nerve
I saw Machine Head when they played in Newport in 1996, I think. I wasn't really into them but all my cool new friends were going, so I tagged along. I met one of my best friends to this day at that gig. Plus this song is awesome.
Stone Temple Pilots - Creep
It's all about the unplugged version of this. I loved STP. I totally modelled my whole schtick at the time on Weiland. This reminds me of sitting my room at my parents' house smoking soapbar through a home made bong.
Alice In Chains - Frogs
I taught myself to sing by listening to AIC Unplugged. I heard it first when I was 13 and I fell profoundly in love with the harmonies. To this day all my vocal parts are totally influenced by this album. I remember listening to the bit in the middle where Layne sings "next week, I turn 28" and thinking about how old that was. Lolz.
Leonard Cohen - Avalanche
This still one of my favourite songs of all time. There's nothing like it. Everything about it is amazing. The lyrics, the guitar and the strings. It creates an atmosphere. I've always wanted all my music to create an atmosphere in the same way. Just listen to it, it's brilliant.
Sex Pistols - My Way
I bought a Pistols compilation CD while on a caravan holiday with my Grandparents. I remember being really disappointed with it. I didn't know what punk was, but I was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to sound as nice and well played as Anarchy In The UK. Years later I heard Flipper and realised that was what I thought Punk was going to sound like. I loved this track the first time I heard it though. My Grandad is a big Rat Pack fan and he hated this. I played it whenever I could throughout that holiday. They were very patient.
Eagles - Wasted Time
My parents had Hotel California on vinyl (I've still got it) and I really liked the title track especially. My Mum used to play a cassette she'd dubbed from record in the car a lot. I can still remember exactly where the the skips were on that recording. I always thought this song was beautiful and very evocative. I was probably 11 or 12 when I got into this. The rest of the kids in school were into whatever was in the charts at the time. I was an only child and a bit of a loner , and so music was a huge part of my life. I just didn't understand that other people didn't care as much about music as I did. It still baffles me. My whole life revolved around music, still does, and I didn't understand why you'd let some TV programme or radio show tell you what to listen to when you could actively search out stuff. I was a precocious little fucker.
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