Radio LBB: Generations of Felt

Even as cut-throat and down-right ruthless as I thought I was being - sacrificing cherished musical memories left, right and centre – it was inevitable that my ‘Generations of Felt’ playlist would still rack up a fair few tracks. Bloated, perhaps, with the arrogance befitting a music supervisor. In this case, I’ll just have to ask you to forgive me because all of these songs were (and remain) extremely meaningful. I swear it…

It’s only on reflection that I realise this playlist paints a pretty accurate picture of my teenage years and the burning passion I had for music then. A passion which has formed the basis of my entire musical taste now. That said, there is a nod of gratitude to my parents and to the Reggae, Funk and Soul cuts I was raised on. In my house, we could seriously bicker, but Bob Marley was something we could all agree on, so I wanted to make special mention of him here. ‘Stir It Up’ is not only my Mum’s favourite track of all time, it’s also the first record I bought on vinyl, just down the road from the Felt offices at the Music & Video Exchange all those years ago.

I’ve had various phases of Pop, Punk-Rock, Hip-Hop and a brief foray into Nu-Metal (though it was actually only the other day that I found myself defending Linkin Park with a fervour that surprised even myself), but it wasn’t long before I fell head-over-heels for the music of the late 60s. There was even a period where, if it wasn’t Psychedelic Rock recorded between 1967 and 1973, then I really couldn’t care less. I still dearly love Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Santana and the Doors but the unbridled experimentation of these artists also served as a gateway for so many other incredible artists. After that, I developed a life-long love of the outer limits and needless to say, ‘weirdness’ ensued.

Everything experimental was fair game. The deliriously avant-garde Hip-Hop of cLOUDDEAD, the prankster Techno of Aphex Twin, the bring-you-to-tears Post-Rock of Sigur Rós, the all-guns-blazing hedonism of the Velvet Underground, the (for me) total artistry of Björk. The list is endless. My desire for new music is as voracious today as it ever was, but it started in those formative teen years.

These days, I’m finding myself listening to a lot of long-form Ambient music which I’ve briefly gestured towards at this end of this playlist. I used to think the primary use of music was entertainment but I guess I’m now appreciating its therapeutic dimension more than ever. With revelations like this still happening I can’t see how my already extensive playlist won’t keep growing! Apologies in advance for the triple box-set compilation coming next year…