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.
Jasmine Rae – Kasey Chambers, ‘The Captain’ (1999)
The Captain
Yes, you were my first, but I’ll be honest, I had full intentions of it being a bit of a ‘group’ exercise. The other albums weren’t in stock. Alas, they were put on order at sanity and YOU were the only one that came home with me that day.
We arrived back at the family kitchen table where they proceeded to stir me up about you over a cup of tea. They completely pulled you apart and questioned your intentions, reading your lyrics aloud and giggling before we could finally go to my room, just us.
I later learned that my family stirred me up about all the good ones. Songs, CDs, lovers, ideas… So this is now a fond memory for me.
You were unusual, maybe that was part of the initial appeal. There was something tired about ‘THE IT thing’ that everyone had already had. There was no mystery. My best friend closed her bank account to buy a 5ive CD.
I breathed a sigh of relief for choosing you.
You had substance, simplicity and swagger and you made all the sense in the world to an 11-year-old. An 11-year-old kitted out with every emotion and a weird obsession with a rhythmic rhyming phrase and her own mortality.
“This flower is my soul, but it’s not half of what I owe”.
“If they’re gonna kiss my ass, then they better do it fast ‘cause we’re all gonna die someday”
After the ARIA awards of 1999, people wanted to talk with me about you. I was happy to share you with them. But it stung when they only mentioned the singles or said that they were “surprised that they liked country music”. I loved country music, but I didn’t like to put you in a box. I loved YOU for YOU.
Two years ago I was captivated by Norfolk Island. I loved waking up to the sound of cows and driving the tiny rent-a-cars. On Norfolk, I had to go back to using a flip phone and didn’t have access to the internet and it reminded me of earlier times. I thought about you often. I learned it’s where you were created. I saw the pines. I learned so much more about you so many years after we first found each other.
It’s amazing how you can do that.
You can carry me away if you want to.
Love you always,
Jasmine
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Jasmine Rae’s new album ‘Lion Side’ is out tomorrow, Friday, July 24. Follow it’s release, Rae will play two, limited seat shows in Brisbane (July 25) and Tamworth (July 29). Details here.
