Idlewild
Hope Is Important

Hark back to a time when London radio *really was *alternative; when the Spirit of *Independence *wasn’t just a corporate slogan used to patronise those who still give a shit. An independent alternative radio station – it was something people stood up and called out for. That was way back when, though. A lot of time has passed since the spring of *1998 *when this record soundtracked my life. Back then the last major national guitar fad of *Britpop *was thinking about packing it in due to it faltering so. This record seemed so beautiful in its crisp unrefined qualities that I would go on to watch them live more times than any other band.

[2 minutes] My *dad *at the wheel of the car, flickering and switching his gaze from the road to me, clearly wondering what on earth his *son *was doing. I was possessed. It may have seemed as though I was fitting. I was not. The *radio *had ensnared me and I had to dance. It did prove to be a film for the future [2 minutes]

Arguably, it was _this _record you are to blame for enveloping my soul in music. This was the first record that I truly loved and as with all first loves *there will always be a special place for it. It will always be the first out of the collection to be placed in the selection. It will always be the one to comfort me in times of despair and disquiet. This is *the one.