Q+A – THE FIVE RECORDS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT with Vanessa Thornton of Jebediah

Shane | 27 October 2021 | Reply

THE FIVE RECORDS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT with Vanessa Thornton of Jebediah

The must-see Australian 90’s indie festival SPRING LOADED is currently travelling around Australia with a colossal lineup including Grinspoon, You Am I, Regurgitator, Jebediah, Magic Dirt, Frenzal Rhomb, Custard, The Fauves, The Meanies, Tumbleweed, Screamfeeder, Caligula and MC Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ McDougall.

Jebediah bassist Ness Thornton digs deep into her collection to share the five records she can’t live without.

Catch SPRING LOADED’s rescheduled Perth date at Red Hill Auditorium on 14th May, 2022

1. Morphine – Cure For Pain

I saw this band live at Planet nightclub in 1996. I didn’t know much about them except for a couple of songs I had heard, and I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to go to the show, so I went by myself.

That show is always one of the first I think of whenever I am asked about the best gig I’ve ever been to. They absolutely blew me away and I have been hooked on Morphine ever since. I went and bought this album the next day and 25 years later I’m still listening to it regularly.

2. Archers of Loaf – All The Nations Airports

I definitely couldn’t live without an Archers of Loaf album and up until a few years ago I would have picked ‘Vee Vee’ but there’s something about the feel of this record that has recently made it my favourite of all their albums.

This is one of those bands that when you listen to all the different parts it seems like each instrument is totally on its own trip, yet somehow it all fits together to make these incredible songs that fill your body and make you feel like your brain and your heart are going to burst.

3. The Fall – Bend Sinister

This is the first of many Fall albums I ever bought. A friend lent this to me in the early 90’s and I fell in love with this band instantly. It was unlike anything else I was listening to at the time – and I still listen to them all the time. Still such an exciting band, even after a million listens!

How cool is Brix Smith? I love that her and Mark both sing and that they’re both quite different but equally distinctive. I can hear the influence of The Fall in several bands that came after them and quite often I’m excited by that as well!

4. Ween – White Pepper

Of all their absolutely brilliant albums, this is the record that feels so joyous and celebratory that I couldn’t possibly leave it off the list. It is one of the most feelgood albums I’ve ever heard.

This album makes me feel like I’m on holiday in a tropical paradise. I love all their records and how each is so stylistically different from the last. Ween is a chameleon!

5. Urge Overkill – Saturation

I have listened to this record so many times before I’ve had to play a gig or if I was going out to a gig. It’s always been the album to get me going, and vibed up for a big night. It’s also a great album to listen to if I have lots of housework that needs doing. It’s one of the few albums I listen to really loud.

PS… just so you know, I had real trouble not including Magic Dirt – Young And Full Of The Devil, and Palace Music – Viva Last Blues. It was only my knowledge of how to count that stopped me from breaking the rules!