The first song I remember hearing
Tom Tom Club â âWordy Rappinghoodâ
“I have a memory of being super young sat in my dadâs home office listening to this. I remember the cover art was so colourful and really detailed, I was completely obsessed with all the camp bright rainbow colours. It was kind of a nursery rhyme but also reggae-funk. I listened to it on repeat on vinyl.”
The first album I owned
âMinistry Of Sound: The Annual IIâ
“The first one was mixed by Pete Tong and the second by Boy George. I donât know if it belonged to me but I definitely took ownership of it. Tori Amosâ ‘Professional Widow’, the Armand Van Helden version, was on it and I was just completely obsessed with that disco bassline. I remember thinking, âWow, dance music exists. Itâs incredible and amazing.â I loved also knowing that Boy George who was clearly a man in makeup had mixed one â it was all about the music, I thought it was very cool.”
The first gig I went to
Madonna at Earlâs Court Exhibition Centre, 2001
“I wasnât very ‘giggy’ as a teen but I must have been about 14 and Madonna did the Drowned World Tour. I lined up for tickets in London at 4am. I could have probably phoned but I just wanted to be part of the hustle and bustle. And the gig was amazing â it wasnât the back row but the second to back row, so she was an actual dot in the distance. But it was absolute peak Madonna, when her music was so incredible and she was still the number one global icon. I went with my mum â I was too young to go on my own but apparently old enough to get the tickets at 4am. I remember being very overcome with emotion.”
The song that reminds me of home
Lilâ Kim â âNo Matter What They Sayâ
“When I was in my mid teens I blasted Lilâ Kim all day every day so loudly, because it was so filthy and I was starting to rebel. I just did it to piss my parents off. I was into female rap â Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Iâd blast really explicit female rap music. Iâm sure the neighbours 10 doors down could hear Lil’ Kim talking about oral sex.”
The song I wish I’d written
Justice vs Simian â âWe Are Your Friendsâ
“Itâs an absolute festival anthem. I love it due to its simplicity â there’s just a few lines and the hook is really memorable. You can think of amazing nights out with that song and how big that record is, but itâs like 12 words? You just get the melody and the music around it. The pitching up of the vocal, the production, it just creates such a mood and a moment with very few lyrics, it’s so clever.”
The song I can no longer listen to
Jodie Harsh â âMy Houseâ
“I’ve listened to it so much for such a long time, so when I hear it on the radio, I’m like: âOh, what else is on!â But it doesn’t mean I don’t love it. Music is something you give to other people. I don’t sit at home listening to my music unless it’s to listen out for things that I would change. I hate when I hear my own stuff in a club. Iâm just not one of those people whoâs gonna jump on the dance floor and dance to my own song.”
The song that makes me want to dance
The Chemical Brothers â âHey Boy Hey Girlâ
“I always think it’s amazing how music is an invisible thing, but it brings so much energy. You can’t help but move. I think ‘Hey Boy Hey Girl’ should be released for for the modern age with a gender neutral option as well. Because it’s very binary: âHey boy/Hey girlâ. But I do love that record, I defy anyone to not get up and dance to that.”
The song I want played at my funeral
Daft Punk â âOne More Timeâ
“My funeral is going to be really lit. It’s going to be like a proper rave. I want lasers, I want it to be very happy, I want it to be very colourful. Iâve been to so many funerals and, of course, theyâve always been really sad affairs and so somber. But I just couldn’t think of anything worse than for my funeral to be sad. I want it to be a party, like my life. I strive so much in life to give people a good time, celebration is such a key factor of my life. So this song would play as the coffin goes down.”
Jodie Harsh’s new single, ‘No Sleep’, is out now
The post Soundtrack Of My Life: Jodie Harsh appeared first on NME.
