In My Collection The Carpenters Sit Next To Carcass!
They don’t write ‘em like this any more! OR SO I THOUGHT.
“I’ve just been to a record shop and bought 21 CDs,” declares The Vaccines singer Justin Young down the phone from Aberdeen, where they have been on tour.
He is trying to dispel the suggestion, raised by their raucously infectious 84-second debut single Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra), that they are obsessed with The Ramones.
21 CDs! The man loves his music. Let’s hear what he bought.
“Let me start from the top,” Young says. “I bought The Legendary Sun Records Story, a Replacements record, Primal Scream’s Sonic Flower Groove, Neutral Milk Hotel, Abba’s Greatest Hits, Thee Headcoats…”
“…and from the NEXT page of the Mojo article I bought…” But wait!
Hang on a minute. Rewind a bit.
Yes! Rewind a bit! Sonic Flower Groove? You’ve been done, mate.
Abba?
Ahhh. One of these critically acclaimed touchstones of the rock era is not like the other ones.
“They’re an incredible pop band, yeah,” Young replies coolly.
HE HAS NERVELESSLY BATTED AWAY YOUR KILLER QUESTION.
“I don’t feel guilty about liking anything. I just love good music. And while some people probably find Abba nauseating, I love the songwriting.
Fearless stuff from the young star. A great song is a great song.
“Then I got The Cars, Elvis Costello, Scott 4, the Scott Walker record. I would say that’s pretty diverse.”
Phew! You’re telling us - that ABBA record had women on it for a start!
The Vaccines are built on a tangle of unlikely contrasts and connections. They are an old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll band who sound fresh in 2011, which is rare enough for a start.
Sounds great! How do they sound fresh?
They write songs that sound like The Ramones
Ah.
but like listening to Abba.
THAT’S OK THEN! There is plenty more to chew on in this piece - I do recommend reading about the singer’s past as a “tortured acoustic troubadour” - but let’s fast forward to the end where the Vaccines state some pretty lofty goals.
“I don’t like pop without any depth or integrity,” he says. “Hopefully people will see that there’s slightly more to a Vaccines lyric than a Fratellis lyric or something like that.
“I’d like to think there’s slightly more depth to us than that.”
And so the pop bar is raised once again. 2011, you’re in safe hands.
