As Tone Deaf reported yesterday, Aussie singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett recently topped Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the best songs of the year so far with her raucous single ‘Pedestrian At Best’, beating out other artists like Kendrick Lamar and Miguel.
“Courtney Barnett makes it sound so insultingly easy — why aren’t there three or four rock & roll singer-songwriter records this loose and frisky and funny and stout-hearted every year?” the music industry bible wrote of the track. But are the tracks that Barnett herself admires?
Well, thankfully the Melbourne-based songwriter recently sat down with Pitchfork.tv as part of their ongoing Playlist series, in which artists choose a list of favourite tracks and discuss what each one means to them.
Barnett’s selections included classic cuts from the likes of Patti Smith, Total Control, Karen Dalton, and Australian rock legend Rowland S. Howard. Clearly, Barnett values quality songwriting and soulful performances above everything, so it’s not hard to see where she gets her knack for both.
“I think when I started listening to Nick Cave and then started researching all the other bands [in that circle], I really loved the song ‘Shivers’ that The Birthday Party did,” Barnett said while discussing Rowland S. Howard’s ‘Exit Everything’.
“And then I found out that Rowland S Howard wrote it. And then there’s the version of it in Dogs In Space and I think that’s such a great song. And then I bought Pop Crimes and then I bought Teenage Snuff Film, so really I just picked a song.”
“‘Exit Everything’ is a great song, but I really love everything, I love those tow records. It’s just got an amazing bass groove, it’s kind of entrancing.” Barnett even touched on how the legendary Aussie axe man’s style inspired her own approach to the guitar.
“I reckon it inspired my guitar playing a lot,” she said. “Focusing on energy instead of singing really perfectly or playing every note perfectly, [it’s] more about harnessing the essence of the song or the room or whatever. I think it was pretty important for me, for that kind of stuff.”
Barnett also reminisced on hearing Patti Smith for the first time. “When I moved to Melbourne when I was 20, I remember buying Horses on CD. Again, a bit of a musical late bloomer, but it was the first time I listened to her.”
“I started reading [the lyrics] on the walk home and I remember I started crying at the introduction… and then I was in love with Patti Smith.” Readers can check out the full video as well as the playlist below.
Courtney Barnett’s Favourite Songs
Karen Dalton – ‘Something On Your Mind’
Abner Jay – ‘I’m So Depressed’
Rowland S. Howard – ‘Exit Everything’
Patti Smith – ‘Free Money’
Mickey and Sylvia – ‘Love Is Strange’
Total Control – ‘Flesh War’
