"Brian, My record collection"

1 Feb 1997

1st RECORD YOU BOUGHT?

" ‘Thriller’ by Michael Jackson when I was about nine, because of the guitars on "Beat It", which Eddie Van Halen played. We heard it in a cab the other day and it was such a cheese. Here’s to artificial insemination, eh?"

LAST RECORD YOU BOUGHT?

"How about the one I stole? ‘Harmacy’ by Sebadoh, which I stole from my flatmate. It’s an amazing record, but I’ve played it so much on the tour bus that it just jumps all the time now."

FAVE DANCE ALBUM?

"We’ve been playing The Prodigy’s Music For The Jilted Generation before we go onstage. When we were in Germany and not very happy, we used to put porn videos on in the tour bus and turn the sound full up, and then put this techno record by Baby Doc And The Scientist on at full volume as well, and drink half a bottle of whisky before we went onstage. Techno is good for vibing you up."

RECORD YOU’D PUT ON BEFORE A NIGHT ON THE RAZZ?

"Last night, when I was going out to celebrate my birthday. It was ‘Evil Empire’ by Rage Against The Machine. But I don’t have any set record for that."

RECORD YOU’D PUT ON THE MORNING AFTER A NIGHT ON THE RAZZ?

"Probably something by Nick Drake, so I can wallow in self-pity and get really self-indulgent about how bad I feel. And then some ambient soundscapes by the Aphex twin to chill out to."

WHICH RECORD CHANGED YOUR LIFE?

"There’s two. ‘Goo’, the first record I heard by Sonic Youth, around my 16th birthday, and ‘Dry’ by PJ Harvey. Sonic Youth sounded like nothing I’d ever heard and opened up so many sonic possibilities to me. PJ Harvey’s record was so powerful, emotional and raw."

RECORD YOU’D USE TO SEDUCE SOMEONE?

"I remember sitting around people’s flats listening to ‘Let’s Get It On’ by Marvin Gaye, and wondering how anyone could try to get someone into bed with all those ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ in the background. I’ve used Galaxie 500 or Seefeel. They worked, but wasn’t purely to the music. If you could make an automatic pulling record, it would never leave the top of the charts."

MOST EMBARRASSING RECORD IN YOUR COLLECTION?

"I get given loads of rubbish. So, I have two Alanis Morissette records which I hide when anyone with taste calls around."

THREE RECORDS YOU’D GIVE FIVE Ks TO?

" ‘Bakesale’ by Sebadoh, which is unbelievably heart-wrenching. ‘Sister’ by Sonic Youth, which is their ‘Sgt. Pepper’. And PJ Harvey’s ‘Rid Of Me’, which is one of the sassiest, most disturbing, in-your-f***ing-face girl power records ever."

RECORD YOU’D RECOMMEND TO A KERRANG! READER?

"Go beyond metal and buy ‘Dubnobasswithmyheadman’ by Underworld. It’s kinda head dance music, and the way they assemble the words like you’d assemble a beat is really cool."