5 Records with IDLES

Talbot: “It was just a very vibrant record that just pierced into the consciousness of writing. I don’t know what it did to this side of the pond but it was like a bomb went off (it was a good bomb not an imperial one).

Subversive violent music is still here, and it’s beautiful. But this is different. This was hip-hop and it was a very specific cultural movement. And at the turn of the millennium, there was a bit of an identity crisis. Out of our rave culture and sound systems and the Windrush generation coming over and building something beautiful in our country, that introduces Bass Culture. Out of that kind of scene came a clash with British Black music that went from jungle and then turned into garage and then garage turned into grime. 

Grime was just incredible to witness as a tourist, but I loved it. I loved it and Boy In Da Corner just kind of turned everyone’s heads. It’s a masterful record. It’s stood the test of time. It’s still one of the best records ever made.

And it’s just a fascinating thing that happened because at the same time, you had the Strokes coming suddenly. I remember I was going out maybe six times a week and it was just like new music coming out of every orifice of our country. And it was a beautiful time to be alive. I just think this record is impeccable. There’s a violence to it. There’s this humor in it. It’s not convoluted. It’s just a really beautiful cultural shift, and I love it as a fragment of time, one of Britain’s brightest moments.”

“There’s these albums in your life, that when they are given to you, it’s kind of like being a kid again. Your synapses start connecting in your brain suddenly and you can see a new color because this record has been introduced to your life. And Colin Stetson was that color.

It just does something to me that only Colin Stetson can do. It’s an incredible record. There’s a singer on it. I’ve forgotten her name. I really wanted her on our new record but there were no gaps for her to be there. I would love her voice to be on another record at some point. But I need to write for the inclusion of voice.

That record is just blindly beautiful and dark and expansive because of the nature of instrumental music. It becomes a very visual journey and one that you paint. I think it’s stunning and I think anyone that hasn’t listened to Colin Stetson should start on this album.

This one, it’s unbelievable. Anyone reading this should check out ‘History of Warfare 2 and 3.’ Just give them both a chance and give yourself the time to just sit through them because they’re fucking stunning.”

“I was the only kid in my school who listened to that album. I don’t know anyone else that had it. And I just felt like this is the secret club that I was only in. Obviously I understood that Busta Rhymes was like a huge MC. But It was just this fucking thing of mine and I loved it so much. It’s such a great album still and it stands up. I think Busta Rhymes is one of those artists that is maybe underestimated in the hip-hop community, and not necessarily in the top ten of all time.

I think he’s an incredible talent. I love his voice. I loved that time. There was a real creative energy around Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott’s school of hip-hop, but Busta Rhymes, he was the best for me. 

I’m starting now to see kids wearing clothes that I wore when I was 14-15 and I’m like, “They looked terrible then.” I don’t know why they’re wearing them. But I love the cycle. I remember my dad laughing at me for wearing ‘80s clothing. But I love the cyclical nature of it. I just like all this kind of playfulness around nostalgic things. And it’s interesting to see what becomes cool again. You can’t pick that, it’s gotta be the new generation that decides. A lot of people are listening to Jamiroquai again now because Tyler, The Creator shouted him out. And it’s so funny to think of all the people around that era that have been hand-picked for the next generation’s fucking records.”

“I think it’s one of my top five records of all time. I love it so much. It’s just a brilliant complex deep, actually pop album, with bits of real darkness. And it’s a real light and I just think it’s a beautiful, and they just don’t make them like that anymore.

They went under the radar in the UK pretty much the whole time. Return to Cookie Mountain was a moment, and Dear Science was a moment as well. But they definitely weren’t appreciated as much as they should have been.

They have many facets within one album. There’s a lot of different kinds of songs, but they’re all very much TV On The Radio that there’s an idiosyncrasy to it.

These are all albums that I’ve been listening to, and gone back to again. What have I gone back to recently that’s been real? And I stand by his albums. I think they are incredible.”

“I’m picking them because they are an incredible band and they’re out there. They’re playing now, they’re great songwriters, and they’re immense live. I don’t want this to be overlooked and I want people to buy their album. And this was released last year. So please listen to it and buy it. They’re heavy rock behemoth type music. There’s violence. And they’re catchy, dancy.”