Urban Hat€monger ?

Part 2

XTC- Senses Working Overtime
When I was really young I had a Sunday ritual.Have my tea , listen to the charts on the radio & then go to bed early ready for school in the morning.One week my Dad bought our first Hi-Fi rather than the sideboard sized old radio we did have.And he gave me a box of tapes & told me they were mine to fill up as I pleased.So from then on the charts were recorded on a Sunday night.Then I`d wake up really early during weekday mornings , Put the tape in & play it really quietly as not to wake anybody up sitting there with the speaker turned sideways with me resting my head against it.And I would listen to the charts all over again before I had to go to school.This song is always the one I remember from those days. I loved it so much I made sure I never recorded it & was still listening to it years later.
This song reminds me of - School

Public Enemy - Don`t Beleive The Hype
New York Dolls - Personality Crisis
When I was in my last year at school we were given a common room to hang out , complete with drumkit , arcade game & stereo.These two songs always remind me of the fights that used to break out over what was played, On one hand you had the rock kids , led by a stoner glam rocker called Jason who would guard the stereo and always got to it first (due to the fact he never went to any lessons)and he would always be in their first with his New York Dolls album.On the rare occasions that anything else made it onto the stereo it was usually the rap kids who got to it & the only 2 bands I can ever remember being played on that stereo were the New York Dolls & Public Enemy.
This song reminds me of - Musical Differences

Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot
This , as far as I can remember was my first taste of 'Indie'.I remember hearing it on some late night radio show sometime around 89/90 thinking to myself 'ooh this is good'.Of course at that time I hardly had any money and getting independantly released albums was virtually impossible on a small island but I persevered & eventually managed to get hold of a copy.So from that moment on whenever someone would ask me my favouite band i`d tell them & usually get a reply of 'who?' folled by a blank look.
This song reminds me of - Musical Snobbery

Blur - Popscene
Around the time this came out & was listening to a lot of metal & some indie , usually at the grungier end of the scale and mostly American.Then I heard this & it was like a breath of fresh air.At the time British music was awful , full of greebo bands, showgazer bands & dull oh so ironic indie bands that I hated like The Wonderstuff , Carter USM , Neds Atomic Dustbin , Kingmaker & The Wedding Present .Just those names make me shudder even now.This was fast , loud , heavy & exciting and sounded so fresh.It was music for jumping around the room and it was British pop !!!!!!!Just like i`d listened to as a small child.
It was like I had returned to my musical roots.
This song reminds me of - Jumping

The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
I saw the Cult supporting Guns n Roses at the first big gig i`d been to in the UK.The Cult were great.They made Guns n Roses look like a band who were tired , old , boring & up their own asses.I`ll never forget standing in a field with 60,000 people suddenly turn the place into a lunatic asylum when they came out onstage & opened with this song.A while after this I spent 6 weeks travelling around the east coast of the USA & Canada.I took a couple of tapes with me on the journey.This song was track one side one on tape one.This was always the first song I heard on my journey to the next new place to visit.
This song reminds me of - Travelling

UNKLE - Rabbit In Your Headlights
I met this girl once after a bad break up.She was over here visiting a friend and that friend had a party of which I was invited to.She came over to me and I didn`t think much of it & started talking to me.I had this odd sense that she could read my thoughts & she started telling me things about me that I didn`t think anybody would ever know about me.I spent the couple of days she had left here with her & then she went home back to the lake district where I lived.As time went on I began to feel worse & worse & found that phoning her & emailing her really helped me.A month or so before my birthday I was talking to her and she told me I needed to get away from everything & to come & stay with her for a couple of weeks.So I went up there & she`d talk to me make me feel better about myself.We`d go for walks , we go out for drinks, we`d have sex , we`d listen to music & just before I`d went up there i`d bought this album,so my memory of this song is laying on her sofa telling her my hopes , dreams , fears , insecurities & wishes for the future.And she`d listen to me tell me her own experiences (She almost died of cancer in her teens).When I got back I felt totally refreshed & eventually we lost touch.Then about a year later I got an email from her saying sorry she`d not seen much of me as she was trying to set up an art buisness in New York.I replied to her & wished her well for the future somehow knowing that I wouldn`t hear from her again & that was the last time I ever spoke to her.
This song reminds me of - Hope

Black Sabbath - Supernaut
When I was a kid my next door neighbour was this guy called Alan. Alan was this big fat hairy biker with a handlebar moustache & a huge perm , but he was one of the nicest guys i`ve ever met.I`d usually go around his place to spend time with his daughters but Alan was more fun to be around.He`d play me lots of music , usually metal from the 70s & let me play on his guitar & i`d talk to him and ask him stupid questions while he fixed his bike. I remember over my 10th birthday the school had arranged a half term trip to London , so my mother said I could go.We were only allowed 20 quid each for spending money that had to be given to a teacher , a fiver for each day there.As Alans daughters were also going both families piled into his van & he took us up to the airport.Just as I was about to board the plane Alan pulled me over to one side , shoved a 20 pound note in my hand , gave me a wink & said 'make sure you celebrate your birthday in style'.A few years later i`m sitting in the garden one summer listening to this song on my newly bought Black Sabbath compilation.Alan pops his head over the fence gave me a wink & said 'I see all that time you spent with me hasn`t been wasted' pointing to the stereo.A short time later him & his wife were divorced & he moved out. I saw him a few months back.The big perm is now shaved & he`s a little older and still has that moustache & I made sure I said hi to him.
This song reminds me of - Alan

David Bowie - Always Crashing The Same Car
The main love of my life was never really into music & she hated most of the bands I liked , occasionally she did but more often than not she hated it.At the time I was listening to a lot of Bowie , plus as she knew him & didn`t really mind him I was allowed to listen to him in her presence.This was always my favourite Bowie song & I listened to it a lot in that relationship,which is ironic really because the whole relationship turned into a car crash , oh well.
This song reminds me of - Love

Primal Scream - Loaded / Higher Than The Sun
Bobby Gillespie is my musical hero.I have always been able to relate to his love of music.He`s nowhere near the best singer in the world , he`s not that great a musician but his love and enthusiasm of music , of any genre shines through.There are just so many influences in Primal Screams music and thats what I love about it.Take all the best bits you`ve ever heard , turn it into something else and make it your own.And I think Primal Scream do that better than any other band. I have got into so many great bands just listening to Bobby talk about music and hearing what he puts out.Ignoring fashions & fads & here today gone tomorrow bands that struggle to make one good album. Just good music that stands the test of time & sounds timeless.Thats what I aim for when I listen to something.Forget what it`s labelled as , don`t care what others think , judge it on it`s own merits.And I hope thats what I do
These songs remind me of - My love of music

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