Sat in the sunshine at my local station this morning, listening to my ‘new favourite band’, Washed Out, I got to thinking about how I got into music. I still remember, as I’m sure many of you who read this post will, what my first album was. Now, I’m going to hit you straight – no lies to retrospectively cool-up myself, no altering of history. Boss Drum by The Shamen.
It was on tape, bought from the Longton branch of Woolworths. I was 10. I was a pretty naive ten year old too, for I’d wanted the album due to the amazing performance they’d given of Ebeneezer Goode on Top of the Pops featuring a crazy man in a cape – a band miming to a track about ecstasy. My parents did not approve, my mum tried several times to change my mind, and I wasn’t allowed to listen to it in the car home. I’d only got my own tape player the Christmas before, along with a copy of Now 23. Boy did that tape get hammered.
I remember taking in each track of the album, being utterly bewildered by the last track – an eight minute spoken word epic about, well, I’m still not entirely sure. I was also confused by the long sleigh bell infested intro to Ebeneezer Goode – it didn’t sound like the version on telly – or the version I’ve now got on CD (wikipedia suggests it’s a different mix). I listened to it over and over again; bounced around to Phorever People and Comin’ On. I was slightly bemused when my older cousin told me about the meaning of Ebeneezer Goode one day, and even now I relate the track to odd men dancing round in top hats rather than drug culture – maybe I’m still naive.
Whether or not this was a great bearing on my future musical tastes is easy – no. Although I remained partial to mainstream dance until it became intolerable (or I grew up) in about 2000, it never became my thing entirely – Britpop and the indie boys were but two years away. I do however still pull Boss Drum out from time to time, watch the awful videos to later Shamen singles (Check out Destination Eschaton for a prime example) on Youtube. I still like it. Allmusic certainly do; they give 4.5/5!
With today’s music consumption less about the ‘album’ and more about tracks I wonder if this piece of memory will still apply in ten, fifteen year’s time – it’d be a shame if not. It’s a memory that so many of us share in our own way, like your first kiss or favourite t-shirt as a kid. Or maybe it doesn’t matter, another rose tinted nostalgia trip, designed in one’s mind to escape the present and reinvent the past.
So readers, share yours – embarassing or cool.
The Shamen – Phorever People (mp3)
