1. The Blue NileHats
One of the greatest records ever made. The story is so interesting because it’s such a deep and personal and intimate and soulful record, yet the story of the Blue Nile is that basically they [Linn Products] had some new tech and they asked this local band to try out this tech. That actually has more to do with the production of it, but it’s one of those weird kind of coincidences – they were just looking for a band to try out this gear, it was a cool new synth or something like that. And that’s how they got their big shot. It turned out the band that they asked was actually really good, and Paul Buchanan is one of the great lyricists. This record to me is a total classic – I listen to songs off it every day of my life. It perfectly encapsulates the loneliness of living in a city full of people – that alone with everybody feeling: alone, together? I just like quoting Richard Ashcroft solo records, that’s all…
Anyway, this record is a masterpiece to me. I don’t necessarily remember how I first found it – my friend Zach Cowie is a real record collector, maybe he mentioned Blue Nile. I listened to ‘Let’s Go Out Tonight’, which I think is one of the great, great ballads of all time. Paul Buchanan’s solo record, too, is a masterpiece – it’s called Mid Air. It’s also not something you’re gonna be hearing at a rave but I mean, maybe, if I get my wish.
