1. Can | Vitamin C
When I first heard this song I didn't know who Can were, and just assumed they were a new band. Turns out this track was released in 1973, which pretty much blew my mind. Great drumming, weird melody and sounds like nothing I've ever heard before.
2. ESG | My Love For You
Unashamedly danceable, kind of how Disco should have been before the Bee Gees ruined it. Whenever I hear it I can't help but feel happy. All their early records have an innocence and unpretentiousness about them that I love.
3. Beastie Boys | Intergalactic
The Beastie Boys are ridiculous. They just make me want to get drunk and rowdy, and this track is one of their best I think. They always sound like they're having so much fun, like a gang you really want to be part of.
4. SBTRKT | Wildfire (feat. Little Dragon)
This is sexy, moody and dark. Whenever I do DJ sets this tune gets everybody up; guys pump up their chests, girls get low.
5. The Stooges | No Fun
This tune aside from being cool as fuck reminds me of a great party I was at when I was like 15. This came on and we all started bundling each other next to this massive bonfire we'd made in this field. We had a marquee and everything and everyone was getting off with eachother and riding quad-bikes. I think I peaked too soon.
6. Gang Of Four | He'd Send In The Army
I have been working with these guys recently live and on their upcoming album so I've become really familiar with their back catalogue. So many amazing tunes but this is my favourite. Sprawling and with a weird time signature I think it's lyrically one of their best. First time I heard this I'd just watched a documentary about people coming back from wars and committing suicide because civilian life seemed so mundane in comparison. That isn't too dissimilar to the subject here. It's nice to hear lyrics that mean something, but don't tell you how to live your life. Just a comment on the ridiculousness of things. That's what I'm trying to do with BILLIONAIRE.
7. Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers | Roadrunner (Once)
Got to be the best driving song ever. Me and my girlfriend drove to France in a beaten up convertible and played this a lot through country lanes. Made me want to drive at a hundred miles an hour. I love his voice and the way he phrases words, especially in his solo stuff. I could have picked Hospital or I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar too. All great.
8. Bob Dylan | Boots Of Spanish Leather
Took me ages to get into Bob Dylan, I went through the whole, oh he can't sing, can't tune a guitar or play harmonica very well. Then I heard Martin Simpson (an amazing Folk guitar player) cover this and it all just clicked, and I've got Dylan ever since. I chose this song because the entire lyric is made up of a series of letters sent between him and his girl, that starts off sweetly and ends up in a blazing row. Very similiar to a Chekhov short story, the name of which escapes me. He might have nicked it, wouldn't matter if he did.
9. Black Sabbath | War Pigs
Ozzy getting angry and channeling Masters Of War makes me happy. It's a long song and you really fell like you've been pulled through a hedge and come out the other side dazed and confused. The drums in this make John Bonham sound lightweight, and it's just a constant riffage and solo's fest.
10. John Martyn | You Can Discover
John Martyn is one of my guitar heroes and it sickens me that not only could he play, but he could sing like a devil or an angel, and write some absolute classics. Again, I could have chosen any of his seventies stuff (the sixties stuff was rubbish I think), like Solid Air, Go Down Easy or Big Muff. If I smoked weed, John Martyn would be who I'd smoke it to.
