Many of us can link a certain album to pivotal moments in our lives. Whether it’s the first record you bought with your own money, the chord you first learnt to play on guitar, the song that soundtracked your first kiss, the album that got you those awkward and painful pubescent years or the one that set off light bulbs in your brain and inspired you to take a big leap of faith into the unknown – music is often the catalyst for change in our lives and can even help shape who we become.
In this Love Letter To A Record series, Music Feeds asks artists to reflect on their relationship with music and share with us stories about the effect music has had on their lives.
Black Rabbit George – The Smashing Pumpkins, ‘Siamese Dream’ (1993)
My love for this album has everything to do with a month in hospital.
Music wasn’t my first choice. Hard to believe it now, but Rugby League was my first. I was playing a local team when twins, at least a foot taller than me, managed to lift me up and somehow collapse my body on my knees. The result being around a month in a hospital bed. I had a Sony Walkman and a few tapes, the only one of which worked happened to be Siamese Dream. By the time my hospital days were up, I’d given up on any interest in sport and decided to buy as many black T-shirts and grunge look cardigans as I could get my hands on.
The ups and downs of Billy Corgan’s songwriting was exactly what the chemicals and exploding neuro-pathways in my 13-year-old brain needed. From sweet guitar riffs and whiny vocals to massive angsty distortion. The guitar solo tone on this album is one of the one of the all-time greatest. Why he didn’t repeat it I’ll never know.
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Gold Coast-based Black Rabbit George is the new solo project from Tijuana Cartel’s guitarist/singer-songwriter, Paul George. He’s just revealed the release date for his new album ‘Warren’ (due August 28) and his new single ‘Fingers Radio’ – produced and mixed by the artist himself at his home studio.
‘Fingers Radio’ is a dreamy melting pot of psychedelia, folk and indie-rock and you can take it for a spin below.
