Another week, another brave Indiependent contributor steps up to the task of condensing their musical education into five songs. Today that duty falls to Catherine Walters, who has annoyingly good music taste, with no embarrassing Westlife jams to be seen!
Mr Brightside // The Killers
Released in 2003, I’ve known this song for as long as I can remember, and the Killers were the first band that I really took an interest in. This was also the first song that a few of my friends liked too, and we used dance manically around the house with the volume turned up way too far and singing as loud as our little lungs would let us.
The Killers have been on my list of people to see live since I heard Mr Brightside, so you can imagine my joy when my dad announced he had just bought tickets to their O2 arena show, and then the disappointment when I was told I wasn’t allowed to go. To make matters worse, their supporting band was Kings of Leon. What? Of course I’m not still bitter about it!
New England // Billy Bragg
This was, and still is, the soundtrack to many, many long car journeys with my family, all of us singing the chorus at the top of our voices. A friend of the family, Billy Bragg is always being played in our house, and the line ‘I wished on them but they were only satellites, is it wrong to wish on space hardware?’ had 7 year old me in stitches.
In the Morning // Razorlight
My primary school Christmas disco, 2006. I was year 3, and the boy I was sure was the love of my life, was year 6. When the DJ played this song, I was sure that he was about to come over and tell me he was in love with me too, or at least say hello. Alas, neither of these situations happened. Nevertheless, the next day I dashed to the nearest HMV with my pocket money to buy their album, Razorlight. It had what were to be two of the most played songs of my childhood; America and In the Morning, the lyrics to which felt very relevant on a cold December night in a school hall; staying out too late and being a little bit reckless.
Naïve // The Kooks
The Kooks were a major part of my transition from the crap world of the chart show and constantly making sure I knew all the words to the latest Ke$ha song to a world with much better music. Their album Inside In/Inside Out still remains to be one of my all-time favourites, and when I heard their new album was coming out last year, I could hardly contain my joy. I was lucky enough to see them pay live last year, and when Luke Pritchard and co. played the first chords of Naïve, the noise of the crowd let me know Iwas not alone in thinking this is one of the very best songs by the band.
Here, There and Everywhere // The Beatles
If there wasn’t a Beatles song on this list, it wouldn’t be accurate. The band has been a huge presence throughout my life, and being forced to listen to them probably prompted me to explore new music andhave various ‘phases’. However, I always have, and I’m sure always will still adore the Beatles and theirmusic. This song in particular is so beautiful, and it’s a tough choice, but would definitely be in my top 3of the band’s songs. In his biography Many Years From Now, Paul McCartney himself has said it’s oneof his favourites, so I’m in good company
Which songs would define your life? Tell us@indie_pendent_