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 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.
Here are their love letters to records that forever changed their lives.
Simon Ridley, DZ Deathrays: The Offspring – ‘Smash’
Dear Smash,
I hope this letter finds you well.
Whilst you may not remember me, I can still clearly recall the first day I met you. We were introduced by my older cousin when I was still very young (maybe too young, but I’m not complaining). I took you back to my house and put you in my shitty $5 Walkman I found at a garage sale and in return, you stirred my interest in music like nothing else had before.
You were my first full album, my first non-pirated cassette and my first real taste of punk rock. We would hang out at every opportunity and you would blast my eardrums with the fiercest palm muted guitars and punishing drums I had ever heard. You introduced me to the intricacies of concepts I had no idea even existed such as genocide, self-esteem and the fact that sometimes people who drive can just be downright ‘goddamn dogshit motherfuckers’. It is with a sigh of relief that I can’t help but think about how they certainly were good ol’ simpler times back then my old friend…
Whilst I don’t remember how or when our relationship started to deteriorate, I know it wasn’t out of spite or anything negative, we simply just grew apart for one reason or another. Over the years I’ve heard you every now and then at parties or have seen you out at the odd record store and it’s these little brief moments that have filled me with the kind of warmth only something so nostalgically important to me could ever possibly do.
However, while I sit here reflecting on all the good prepubescent times in my life that you were the soundtrack for, it’s brought me to the realisation there is no better time than right now for us to bask in each other’s company once more.
Perhaps now as we are older, this time it could be over a few beers whilst enjoying reminiscent thoughts about life, the ’90s and whatever happened to that TV show the ABC had called Vidiot?
Simon
DZ Deathray’s new album ‘Bloody Lovely’ is due out this Friday, 2nd February. Grab it here.
