­
­
­

2003-2008

By Gem - 23:32:00

A little twitter chat on Monday night with Eloise and Claire sparked loads of faded memories of bands I loved, college friends and my time at university. I never really had a live journal or blog before this but if I did all my teenage ramblings would have been about bands not dresses. I'm not as eloquent as other bloggers so I'm just going to share some photos of what the college and university years of my life (2003-8) meant to me.

Here are some of the tragic photos of me from my teenage years, try not to laugh too much.

2003-2005

Old myspace photo // after the student media awards // summer ball at the end of my final year // me on 6Music with the Queens of Noize // at karaoke in Soho // night out at an indie disco with friends //  my 18th birthday

It was all about the big fringe, I think I thought I was a mix of Karen O an Kate Jackson.

The tweets that ended with me emptying all my crates of records and CDs on the floor and digging out all my old mix tapes.

twitter screenshot

I don't think my generation ever had its defining moment or movement. My older cousins had Brit Pop and my mum grew up with Motown and miners strikes. I clung on to all those post-punk bands in the early to mid 00s like The Strokes, The White Stripes, Maximo Park and Interpol. I thought Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out was the best song I had ever heard and went on my first trip without my parents to London to see them play three nights in a row at Brixton. I read The Master and Margarita because bands referenced it and poured over the NME every week and stuck cuttings of my idols all over my bedroom wall. I worked behind the bar in a rugby club and spent all my wages on CDs and gig tickets, I wish I had that disposable income now.

Most of my favourite bands were from up North but a few exceptions creeped in like The Maccabees and I even listened to a bit of Brand New (South Wales had a rather unfortunate scene where people loved a bit of Brand New and Taking Back Sunday)

2005-8 uk music indie

I think Morrissey sums it up very well:

"Unfortunately nothing else ever in your life will affect you like music did in your early teens, and it puts you on a certain course. It’s like a love affair. It widens your taste and it broadens your view on everything"

  • Share:

You Might Also Like

15 comments

  1. This post sums up my teenage years so, so well. Makes me wince when I realise how much money I spent on gigs and CDs over the years. I saw Bloc Party on Tuesday night, how 2005. The difference between now and then is that this time I got straight on a bus home. In 2005 I waited around outside in the cold until I met Russell! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I also waited around in the cold after seeing Bloc Party in 2005! They didn't appear though...

      Seriously though, I have so much love for the 2005ish indie scene. Went to so many gigs in Cardiff as a student, think that's where my whole student overdraft went. So worth it though!

      Gem did you used to go to Fun Facctory/Welsh Clwb/Metros? Xx

      Delete
    2. haha I met Russell at my summer ball in uni where he did a DJ set. Think I scared him, was a tad over enthusiastic... Used to swoon over him and his swooshy hair.

      Delete
    3. yes! I went to all of those. Fun Factory on a Monday, Metros on a Wed and Barfly on Sat and as many gigs as I could cram in too :) x

      Delete
  2. I completely agree with that Morrissey quote, I don't seek out or get obsessed with new bands anymore but the ones I loved when I was a teenager I STILL love! I was a bit of a retro teenager and fell in love with bands before my time, like The Cure, The Smiths, The Manics, Suede, etc. I also loved Patrick Wolf and lots of American stuff like The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, Arcade Fire, Polyphonic Spree. I'm going to go and reminisce now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. soooooooo much ♥ for The Manics ( I'm from Blackwood so I have too) and Suede.

      Delete
  3. This is awesome, fab idea for a personal post :) I agree about franz ferdinand, saw them 2 years ago at ATP at Butlins, brought back some very happy memories. Hx Ps, it's still all about the big fringe for me..

    ReplyDelete
  4. this post makes me miss those years so much! i listened to new music constantly back then but now i just listen to the same old stuff. indie music just isn't as exciting anymore i don't think. haha i remember posting all sorts of crap on my livejournal about bands & random song lyrics that ~expressed my feelings~ xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Think its a bit dead now, Maximo Parks new album is perfect though xx

      Delete
  5. Wahh just looked at your listener takeover link. Pretty much identical to what mine would have been..

    ReplyDelete
  6. I lol'd at the part about South Wales' 'unfortunate' scene, I still love a bit of Brand New and Taking Back Sunday! Can't deny the joys of those 'emo' days haha!

    Great post, I might make a similar one of my own if you don't mind? I'm sure I have loads of embarrassing photos of myself to share! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please do! send me the link if you do one xx

      Delete
  7. OH GEM this is making me itch to do my version, I'll shout about it when I do. Especially love the Kate Jackson reference, she was my IDOL ♥ Claire @ Jazzpad

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for this, I was obsessed with Franz Ferdinand too!

    Maria xxx

    ReplyDelete
  9. This reminds me of my teenage years! Oh the days of Myspace- did it really exist? It's certainly funny looking back now xxx

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment, feel free to ask me any questions here or on twitter- @Gemma_DS.