As 2012 comes to an end, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite posts of the year by our guest editors.
Not long before the major-label landscape collapsed in a heap, only to morph into a crud formation of reissue-happy conglomerates, Garrison Starr signed with Geffen. It was 1997, and if ignorance truly is bliss, the 22-year-old singer/songwriter from Hernando, Miss., couldn’t have been happier. Those 15 years feel like a lifetime ago for an older, wiser, slightly more cynical Starr, who’s busy promoting her sixth full-length effort, the self-released, fan-funded Amateur (Radtown Music). It took her some time to come to terms with her sexuality (and others’ opinions of it), and it’s taken her even longer to get comfortable with her creative self. To that end, the angsty-yet-optimistic, stylistically diverse Amateur is a coming out of sorts. Starr will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with her.
Starr: The Bangles were the first band I really got excited about as a kid. Don’t get me wrong: I loved the Beatles and the Stones. We listened to some really great music around my house when I was growing up. My mom introduced me to the Ink Spots and the Temptations; my dad introduced me to the Beatles, the Stones, Cream and the Yardbirds. Oh and also the Animal House soundtrack. But I discovered the Bangles and felt like I had found a band I could really relate to. Vicki Peterson is my rock ‘n’ roll hero of all time. She played a Les Paul and wore really short skirts. I didn’t wanna wear the skirts, but I liked the way she looked. She was a rock star and total badass in my eyes. I wanted to be her but in different clothes. They had a self-titled EP out a long time ago with the song “How Is The Air Up There?” that I became completely obsessed with. That EP was such a cool mix of ’60s-era sounds and riffs as well as some early punk influences that I had no reference for but thought was really interesting and different. Vicki has a super-cool style of playing that influenced me greatly in the beginning of my acquaintance with the guitar. The first album i ever bought was Different Light on vinyl. I think it’s still in the bottom of a trunk in my parents’ attic. I gotta dig that thing out. I wonder what else is in there, actually.
Video after the jump.
