When you load up Spotify, a great big chunk of the time you can’t think what to play, right? You default back to your old favourites, those albums and songs you played on repeat when you first discovered you could make them yours.
This isn’t about guilty pleasures; it’s about those songs you’ll still be listening to when you’re old and in your rocking chair. So, enter Teenage Kicks – a playlist series that sees bands running through the music they listened to in their formative years.
Next up, Lachlan Ewbank (lead guitar/vocals) from DZ Deathrays.
“My dad didn’t have a musical bone is his body, but that didn’t keep him from singing. Fortunately, what he did have was good taste in music. The first lot of songs (1-4) are just some of the artists I was introduced to. The second bunch (4-8) are bands I discovered with the help of my brother, and the last lot (9-11) are ones I actually discovered on my own.”
I first discovered Frank Zappa through the ‘Strictly Commercial’ best of album. Little did I know just how bizarre his music got. The amount of records he has is absolutely insane. I love how Frank created his own style of playing and had no boundaries when it came to writing music. An amazing guitarist. A great composer.
‘Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!’ is one of the best debut albums I’ve ever heard. I think they’re such an important band. Gut Feeling is one of the stand out tracks for me. Love that guitar line and the build-up.
I think Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea was the first PJ Harvey record I heard. ‘Big Exit’ is the opener from that, and I just love that the first thing you hear are these huge guitars. Every song on this album is brilliant.
A great opening song for their debut album. I love it when Warren Ellis comes in with the hi-hat/maraca hits, and that guitar tone is brutal.
HUGE. DRUMS. BIG. MOOD. I love how raw and in your face this recording sounds. I listened to so much Nirvana growing up, so it definitely has had an impact on the way I play guitar and write music.
I remember listening to ‘OK Computer’ on family road trips.’ Paranoid Android’ stood out because of the film clip; we used to watch Robin growing up. Such a bizarre cartoon. Anyway… This song’s great. The album is timeless, and I bloody love Radiohead.
Crazy to think that Daydream Nation was released in 1988. Sonic Youth were a big influence to me. I love the shift in moods on this song. I was lucky enough to catch their show in Melbourne where they played ‘Daydream Nation’ in its entirety. It was one of the best gigs I’ve ever seen.
Soundgarden introduced me to weird time signatures and guitar tunings I had no idea about. They always had such good recordings, but I was really blown away when I saw them live.
I discovered Muse after they played a festival I went to. I didn’t even see their set. This was the first song of theirs that I heard. How good is that damn bass intro! After that, I had to work back to their debut album. So many hits on their earlier albums. Such a great live band too! (Yes I finally saw them live…)
Another band I discovered after missing them at a festival (I’m sorry, Falco). In a weird turn of events though I ended up playing football with them in a park and ended up seeing their sideshow. Travels With Myself and Another was the first album I’d heard and since then I’ve been a huge fan. They are such an amazing band on record, but the live show is where the magic happens. Stop what you’re doing an go listen to them, see their show. Love them!
I discovered Idles when I saw that they supported Future of the Left. This was the first song I heard of theirs. They have such a huge sound which only got bigger on the second record. I missed their tour, but I hope to see them one day. A great band with a great message.
Taken from the September issue of Upset. DZ Deathrays’ album ‘Positive Rising: Part 1’ is out 30th August.
