Check out Joe Goddard’s Teenage Kicks playlist, feat. Beastie Boys, Pavement, House Of Pain and more

When you load up Spotify, a great big chunk of the time you can’t think what to play, right? You default back to your old favourites, those albums and songs you played on repeat when you first discovered you could make them yours. 

This isn’t about guilty pleasures; it’s about those songs you’ll still be listening to when you’re old and in your rocking chair. So, enter Teenage Kicks – a playlist series that sees bands running through the music they listened to in their formative years.

Next up, Joe Goddard.

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Nirvana – Nevermind

I bought a tape of the Nirvana album from a shop called Our Price in Putney one day after school. A few of my friends with older siblings already knew about Nirvana, and I felt like I was late to the party. I distinctly remember putting the tape in my walkman as my mum was hoovering around our flat and being totally entranced by the music. It felt like music I was born to listen to. I was a big fan of The Beatles because my parents had bought me some tapes by them when I was younger, and I think Nirvana made sense to me because of that – I think there is a similarity between those two groups. 

Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang

I had an older friend named Samir who was a total hip-hop obsessive. He bought every new release on vinyl and then made tapes of those albums for me. I would listen to this record on my Walkman on the way to school, and I became totally obsessed with it. The way that RZA created a world for the listener was incredibly creative and imaginative. The emcees are diverse, unique and charismatic. The grimy 12-bit sound of the record made it initially seem difficult to penetrate but that same grit later made the record even more magical and real. 

Bad Company – The Pulse

Bad Company were one of the most popular drum and bass groups in the mid-90s. They had a lot of big records and various super-talented members. This single is particularly funky and would often be played at house parties and in the clubs that we went to. I still have a great fondness for it and try to get the feel of it into the music that I make to this day. We went out into central London after school on the bus to visit clubs like Movement at Bar Rumba on Shaftesbury Avenue or Metalheadz at the Blue Note on Hoxton Sq, close to where I have a studio now.

House of Pain – Jump Around

I can rap along to every word of this song, and I actually made a very tender, gentle-sounding cover version of it, which has never been released. I remember pogoing around my living room with my friends to this when we had sleepovers, and I think the way it urges hip-hop fans to dance like punks is a clever idea which definitely increased its appeal to us. House of Pain are considered a kind of novelty act in some ways but they were one of my favourite hip-hop groups in the early 90s, along with the other Soul Assassins, Cypress Hill and Funkdoobiest.

The Velvet Underground – Pale Blue Eyes

My dad introduced me to the Velvets when I was young; they are his favourite group of all time. I love them very much and think all of their albums are masterpieces but this song resonates with me particularly. Hot Chip and our friends Yo La Tengo covered this song at a festival in Paris just after Lou Reed passed away, it was nice to celebrate his memory properly. 

Squarepusher – A Journey to Reedham (7am mix)

To me, this song sounds like Herbie Hancock’s ‘Headhunters’ album – it’s sonically quite different, but somehow Squarepusher manages to make the track feel like a funk track and simultaneously an insane IDM record. It has an exuberant kind of production aesthetic; like all of Tom Jenkinson’s ideas are spilling out of his brain too quickly. It makes you feel energised. His live shows at the time were really frenetic and fun; we used to go and see him whenever possible. 

Pavement – Grounded

This song, from their album ‘Wowee Zowee’, is one of their most delicate and beautiful. They played it first when I saw them at Brixton Academy a few years ago, and I think it showcases Steve Malkmus’s songwriting ability really well. It has great instrumental passages and his trademark mysterious but poetic lyricism. I went to see Pavement every chance I got, and they are maybe my favourite ever band.

The Beastie Boys – Shake Your Rump

The Beastie Boys were a massively important group for me during my teenage years. They introduced me to many things through their sampling, their lyrics and their magazine, Grand Royal. Musically, the way they developed led my taste to change and caused me to understand how an indie band could forge a path for itself outside of the mainstream. Their gigs were always riotously fun and sweaty; they put a ton of energy into what they did, and that energy was so infectious. ■ 

Taken from the August 2024 issue of Dork. Joe Goddard’s solo album ‘Harmonics’ is out now.