Top 10: A Decade of Music Memories

Since the first decade of the third millennium is all but over, I have decided to not look back in anger, but in loving memory of the decade that was. The decade of my student years, my art school years, my london years, my single years, my moving back to oslo years…. many different kinds of years and many nostalgic moments to remember…

1: The White Heat Years

Around the time I was a student, this London club was run by my friends; the djs, the people at the door, the people flyering and the bookers were all room mates, boyfriends of room mates, room mates of boyfriends of room mates etc. When it first started White Heat was at a club in Old Burlington St, and it’s still going strong but has been at Madame JoJo’s a good many years. The soundtrack of White Heat were things like Simian Mobile Disco, Kate Bush, Radio 4, New Order, The Rapture, Le Tigre, Chicks on Speed etc etc, and it was an amazing place to dress up and go to on a tuesday night. White Heat has seen its fair share of broken hearts, broken glasses and broken skulls, this is also where my boyfriend first tried to kiss me and got a mouth full of hair, and where I first let him kiss me properly…

2: The Roskilde Years

Whilst I was living in London I also made sure I came back to Scandinavia every summer for the Roskilde Festival, which in my mind is the best music festival there is. This is where Dytastic and I first cemented our friendship, in fact I think we bonded over a rather spectacular Black Rebel Motorcycle Club concert, which I still rate as perhaps one of the best ever concert experiences. One year we went to 23 brilliant concerts in 4 days, another year we left a day early because the constant rain was a serious buzzkill. But over the 3 or 4 years we went to Roskilde together we experienced about 90% of the best concerts we will probably every see in our lives, like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Erol Alkan, Chemical Brothers, New Order (good to see, but a bit like watching your dad dance), Iggy Pop, Pet Shop Boys (all the way from our tent), Turboneger (several times), Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster, Interpol, Chicks on Speed, Electric Eel Shock, Metallica, Björk, White Stripes, Gotan Project, TV on the Radio, Mew, Morrissey, Radio 4 and The Raveonettes. But one very serious disappointment was when David Bowie was the main attraction, but he had a heart attack so they replaced him with Slipknot.

3: The Trash Years

Now legendary club night Trash (at The End) on a monday night was my first real clubbing experience that involved serious fashion considerations before leaving the house. This is where I first saw the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, back in 2002 (no really…), when they had just released their first EP, and it must have been one of their very first shows in London. I remember standing right at the front with my friend, and Karen O’s designer/stylist was standing next to us screaming “Do it for New York, baby!”. It was unlike anything we’d ever seen before. At the helm of Trash was Erol Alkan, resident dj, and now super producer. They also had people working/hanging at the door there called things like Swastika Pete, Wade (who had his own festival called Wade Fest) and the infamous Phil. The ladies’ room there was probably the most fashionable place in town.

4: The The Years

Remember when all the bands you were into had the very fashionable three letter prefix “the”? Everyone was in a band, and every band was an indie band. Every member in that band also had long, unkempt hair, converse, skinny jeans and vintage leather jackets. I listened to bands like The Coral, The Strokes, The Libertines, The Music, The Cooper Temple Clause, The Datsuns, The Stills, The Darkness, The Dandy Warhols, The Flaming Lips, The Rogers Sisters, The White Stripes, The Cure, The Smiths… basically anything with “the” in front.

5: The Silent Years

Right about when I moved in with the boyfriend, started working and moved to the suburbs I stopped exploring new music for a few years. Those years were spent in good company with some old favourites like The Smiths, Interpol, Johnny Cash and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, along with some new discoveries via the boyfriend, such as Low and Cat Power.

6: The “I Didn’t Know I Liked That” Years

When you live with a man who has a very serious vinyl record collection, is a music journalist, producer, recording artist and dj, you’re bound to feel like you have made some silly music decisions in the past (and perhaps goes a long way to explaining The Silent Years). For instance, I was convinced that I didn’t care for Duran Duran. I was wrong. I didn’t think I liked Yo La Tengo either. And I didn’t know I would like Neil Young, Vashti Bunyan, the Fairport Convention, Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears, Mercury Rev etc etc. In fact this part of my life is still very much a work in progress. Sometimes it takes some outside intervention to realise that you actually do like that stuff. Sometimes, like in the case of Pink Floyd, I am still unconvinced.

7: The Plingy-Plongy Years

Another aspect of living with someone with a very diverse record collection is the Plingy Plongy music that gets played around the house. Mostly this gets played when I’m away, but every now and again something slips through the net. I have often found myself saying out loud, rather than in my head as planned, “what is this weird shit you’re playing”? That can sometimes sound a bit harsh and judgemental, granted, but it’s hard for an indie girl at heart to get to grips with terms like “noise”, “contemporary”, “grindie”, “dubstep” (though I know that is supposed to be cool), “art metal” etc. Isn’t it all just a bit like white noise? Well, no, as it turns out. Plingy Plongy music that I like include Aphex Twin and Fuck Buttons, just don’t ask me to name any more. I have even been to ATP if that ups my cool points (never seen so many bespectacled anoraked pale boys in my life). Pling it on.

8: The Electronic Years

After spending most of the decade in a indie rock mood, suddenly I could feel myself wanting to D.A.N.C.E. when I was out. Electro was seriously sneaking into my life and all of the sudden I was all about the remixes. 2manydjs started the ball rolling for me, and was soon picked up by Sebastian, Justice, Uffie, Klaxons, The Knife, M.I.A, Santigold, La Roux, Annie, MGMT, Daft Punk, Kraftwerk and LCD Soundsystem etc. I guess this is a bit of an ongoing phase too, because I still want to D.A.N.C.E.!

9: The Oslo Years

The Oslo Years have been intermittent with all the other years, but since moving back here full time I have had some good times. Highlights include 2manydjs and Santigold at Oslo Live, La Roux at Blå (only 200 people in the room – amazing), the Spasibar years (miss it) and some fierce and intensely competitive music quizzes with the girls.

10: The Underworld Years

At the very very start of the decade I was a new metal girl, for my sins. I used to go to a club in Camden called the Underworld and mosh. I was into stuff like Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Blink 182, Muse, Foo Fighters and god knows what else. I went to a Foo Fighters concert with my friend Kasia, and I was so excited to go that I only put one sock on. So with one sockless foot I ended up in the moshpit, getting dragged out by security twice. Awsome! I also got headbutted at a Limp Bizkit concert once. Nice. Glad that phase is over.