When you load up Spotify, a great big chunk of the time you can’t think what to play, right? You default back to your old favourites, those albums and songs you played on repeat when you first discovered you could make them yours.
This isn’t about guilty pleasures; it’s about those songs you’ll still be listening to when you’re old and in your rocking chair. So, enter Teenage Kicks – a playlist series that sees bands running through the music they listened to in their formative years.
Next up, Phoebe Green.
Firstly, this was so hard to do because I wanted to also add Lady Gaga’s entire ‘Fame Monster’ album, but because I couldn’t choose, I gave up.
Gerard Way – Action Cat
Gerard Way was one of my favourite people ever when I was a teenager, I thought he was so cool, and I wanted to be just like him. I love My Chemical Romance, obviously, I love the theatrics of it, but his solo album ‘Hesitant Alien’ came out when I was sixteen, and it felt so vibrant. It showed a totally different side to his writing that I felt really drawn to; it felt nostalgic but new, and I adored it.
Grimes – Genesis
Grimes made music I really had never heard anything like before. It was so free and exciting. I discovered this song on a playlist on 8tracks; I completely forgot that existed until now!
Lorde – Ribs
‘Ribs’ is one of those songs that brings back so many memories for me; we went on a school trip to New York when I was in year 10; I was listening to it and looking out the window of the coach, wondering if I would still listen to this song as an adult and remember what it was like being a teenager. It’s so funny to think about how far away adulthood seemed then and how close adolescence feels to me now, despite being in my mid-twenties.
Marina And The Diamonds – Teen Idle
Marina and the Diamonds was an artist my best friend Isobel introduced me to. I was so infatuated with the character she created for herself, telling stories through songs that might not have even come from personal experience. It made me realise that you can still feel a full range of emotions when listening to a song, even if you can’t directly relate to it; the listener will always find something to cling to emotionally; the album inspired me to write two of my first ever songs, ‘She Makes You Weak’ (an obviously Marina influenced track), and ‘Maniac’.
Daughter – Youth
This song really does take me back to my angsty mid-teens; what an iconic era. I also discovered this song online – probably on Tumblr – it really was a place for mentally unstable adolescent girls to thrive, and I am still recovering from that period, haha. I love Daughter, though, I listen to the latest album in the car with my girlfriend, and the songs still feel representative of the way I feel all these years later in a bittersweet way.
Wolf Alice – You’re A Germ
Wolf Alice really soundtracked my teen years, especially when I started going to gigs in Manchester after school (mid-way through the school day, they must’ve wondered why I needed to go to the dentist so often) and discovering my music taste. I found them so inspiring as a girl who wanted to make indie music; the scene was pretty male-dominated back then, so the majority of the indie music I consumed was too; the rage paired with the vulnerability in Ellie Rowsell’s voice was so refreshing and empowering for my younger self and always will be.
Arctic Monkeys – Piledriver Waltz
Arctic Monkeys were obviously a staple for me growing up; I loved feeling represented by the northern dialect and was really into the romanticisation of mundane moments. Alex Turner’s songwriting has truly inspired so much of mine, I think I really enjoyed the rowdiness and crudeness of some songs and the intimate, gentle nature of others.
Panic! At The Disco – Northern Downpour
Panic! At the Disco truly takes me back to the chaotic nature of my adolescence; I was so obsessed with their lyricism and how flamboyant they were in their early career. I loved the burlesque imagery; it made me feel so grown up, like I was gaining an insight into what adults did on the weekends. Meanwhile, I was necking Echo Falls and gagging at one puff of a cigarette under the giant disco ball on Blackpool seafront with Isobel. We still watch their ‘Live In Denver’ concert when we really feel like a trip down memory lane; their cover of ‘Karma Police’ was a particular fave.
Taken from the April 2024 issue of Dork. Phoebe Green’s EP ‘Ask Me Now’ is out 24th May.
