More about: You Me At Six
From Nirvana to Frank Ocean
Record Store Day part III. It's this Satuday (24 October) and it's the conclusion to a very strange way of doing things. In some ways, it's been better: shops have been less busy and we've been able to look forward to (and save up for) a different batch of purchases each time.
There are a bunch of amazing drops this weekend to add to your collection, but it also got us to thinking: which are the core records from our favourite artists' collection? You Me At Six guitarist Max Helyer tells us his top seven. Consider picking one or two up from your local record store along with your RSD finds...
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Nirvana - Nevermind
It might be an obvious one but this record really set me off on my musical journey, it's the reason why I play guitar and maybe the way I do too. Kurt Cobain had a very simple but effective way of writing music that spoke to the masses. With iconic songs like 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'In Bloom' and 'Come As You Are', it also had really unique sounds and ways of playing the guitar that spoke to me and made me interested in learning the guitar. Without this record, I don't think I would have ever wanted to play the guitar, and that makes me think: what would I be doing now if that was the case?
Radiohead - In Rainbows
I wasn't the biggest Radiohead fan in the world beforehand, and it took a few years after this record came out that it all clicked with me...I was a fan of some of the singles before hand but never really listened to a full record front to back. One day I was really hungover and it was raining, and knew our manager at the time was a massive fan of this record, so I decided to put it on and just listened to it. I don't know why it took me that long but after the first full listen of this album I was hooked instantly. There are so many textures and dynamics that happened across this record I felt absorbed by it which I had not had with a record for a very long time. It still is now one of the most important records I own, and I go back to it constantly when I'm not sure what to put on. It's a great listen in any time or place, and I think it's some of the best songwriting to date in my opinion.
Arctic Monkeys - AM
This is a record that I personally think was the best record to come out from the last decade, it blended rock and hip-hop in a way that had never happened before and took really simple songwriting to a new place by bringing in grooves from a different genre of music. This record means a lot to us as a band and is one that we can always put on all together and just enjoy listening to, and also take a lot of inspiration from for our own music that we create. I don't think our generation has had a Beatles-esque type band, but I do believe that this record and band did that: everyone you knew was a fan of this record and that's so hard to come by these days.
Frank Ocean - Blonde
I remember when Blonde came out and I didn't like it as much as I wanted to at first, being a big fan of Channel Orange I was a bit underwhelmed, but then after a few more listens I realised how wrong I was! It feels like a great story and a headphone journey from start to finish on this record, I always have this on if I'm on planes or travelling, as I feel like I go into my own world when it's on. The songwriting feels like it comes from a place of vulnerability, and exposes himself in a light that not many can express themselves in. The textures of the record using lots of synths and drum machines and electric guitars was also inspiring for myself as a musician, seeing how he managed to blend all of this together.
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon
It's an obvious choice again, but one I couldn't not add to the list. For me it reminds me of growing up around the house and my dad always blasting this record to me. Maybe it's the reason why I listen to the style of music I do and how I look at music in general. It's experimental and adventurous, it takes risks, and challenges the listener in ways I never thought could be done.
Jay Z & Kanye West - Watch the Throne
When you think of the two biggest hip-hop artists in the world and then you throw them together to make a record what do you get? In my opinion, it's one of the greatest pieces of work to have ever been done in the world of hip-hop. I think the flows and musicianship on this record actually paved the way for how artists now collaborate with each other and work together now these days. It was such a statement from start to finish in terms of how they are talking about their lives throughout the record, and what it has taken them to get there. The only thing I wish was that I actually got to see this live in a venue, and felt the energy that this brought to the masses.
John Mayer - Continuum
A record I could put on any day of the week: personally this is my favourite John Mayer record of all time. Being known for how good of a guitarist he is, I actually think it's some of the understated guitar playing on this record that does it for me, it's technically not super hard to play, but the way he does it he makes it look simple and easy - which it isn't! Especially on the song 'Stop This Train', which has his nails slap the strings, and creates a chugging sound like a train which is super unique and relevant to the song.
SUCKAPUNCH by You Me At Six arrives 15 January 2021 via Underdog Records/AWAL.
More about: You Me At Six
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