Forget Facebook challenges, this is how you should be spending your time. Photo: Getty
With half the country isolated and in lockdown, and nothing on TV except news about Covid or Trump, we have taken to social media to try and alleviate the boredom.
My Facebook feed is full of ‘challenges’ – books, photos of the day and the most popular which is to post the covers of ten records you love or were inspired by or whatever.
There is something about music and lists. Popular music was born of the Top 40 hit parade and that natural competition is in the DNA: the Beatles vs the Stones, Oasis vs Blur that kind of thing.
I think we can all agree. That there’s a lot more to a record than just the music.
The resurgence of vinyl is in large part because vinyl looks better – the cover has more impact.
It was common in the mid-70s for music geeks to wander the streets carrying LPs under their arms as signposts; the music that you liked was a pillar of your social identity.
It didn’t do much for them (me) having an impact with girls, but other music nerds could be impressed.
Music is totally part of the expression of your identity. You don’t go to an AC/DC concert in anything other than a black t-shirt. That’s all as it should be. So how do you respond when challenged to post the 10 albums that affected your taste in music? How do you construct that identity?
Of course. You could just post 10 LPs that you like but that’s kinds a boring and no challenge. The ideal list will spark conversation. The more heated the better. So, these are some tips to quirk up your digital identity.
By and large these challenges evoke a trip down memory lane. We revisit the records that were big when you were a teenager and into your early 20s.
There are obvious artists that probably need to be here – the Stones, Beatles, Dylan, the Who, Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, the Clash.
This is the canon and it’s safe to choose about 5 of these. It’s a good idea to go for one or two of the lesser known works say Planet Waves rather than Dylan’s Highway 61.
Stay away from the obvious. Everyone loves Rumours or the Beatles’ White Album so keep clear. You don’t want to admit to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and announce to everyone that you wasted your teens smoking weed.
The quirky childhood mistakes. Something by Rolf Harris perhaps or Roger Miller or perhaps Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. This is a way of announcing one’s coolness by pretending to not care about it. Very important.
This is critical for men. You can’t just have a conga line of phallic guitar bands. You’ve got to get a Joni Mitchell in there or maybe Cat Power or the girl of the moment, Fiona Apple.
Diversify your genres so put in a little Chic or some reggae, some soul or funk so it looks like you can dance if you need to.
It’s a good idea so you don’t seem like you’re ready for the pension to put in something more recent. Something from the 21st century would be really good. It looks like you haven’t moved the dial from Triple J to RN and it’s also a bold call to pick a record that hasn’t been proved over time,
So, this is a draft list in no order:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U3tTHlysiQ
So next time you’re challenged, think about the choices and what they say about you.
Toby Creswell is a music journalist and pop-culture writer, as well as a former editor of Rolling Stone (Australia) and founding editor of Juice.