The artists Courtney Barnett thinks every kid should listen to: “I thought they were just old”
The music you listen to as a kid sticks with you for life. Whether it’s the dad rock that soundtracked drives home from swimming practice, the local artists you discovered during your first visits to your nearest indie venue, or the embarrassing boy band phase you’d rather forget, the connections you forge to the songs of your youth are impossibly strong, for better or worse. If you’re looking to ensure that your kid is brought up on cool tunes, Aussie singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett has some solid recommendations.
With her rambling words of wisdom and angsty guitar tones, Barnett’s music lends itself to those turbulent teen years spent wondering and wallowing. Her deceptively considered and poetic lyricism has earned her that coveted “voice-of-a-generation” title countless times over, making her a source of solace and stability for her listeners.
She’s also a dependable source of recommendations for artists to fill out that playlist. During a conversation with Illustoria, the Melbourne-born songwriter divulged some of her recommendations for artists she thinks every kid should listen to. Her picks ranged from folk and jazz legends of the 1960s to post-punk and new-wave progenitors to rap.
“I think when I was growing up, I kind of discounted [older artists] because I thought they were just old people,” Barnett comically admitted. Despite dismissing the guitarists who preceded her in her youth, Barnett has since come to appreciate the celebrated singers and players who came before her. She names folk icons Neil Young and Joni Mitchell as two artists she believes every kid should listen to.
With her soft strums and words of wisdom, Mitchell seems like a solid pick for an artist to grow up on. Even before you’ve forged a connection with her work, it feels steeped in nostalgia and familiarity. It’s the perfect introduction to vulnerable and masterful songwriting.
Barnett also named Nina Simone as essential early listening. This marks another solid choice to introduce kids to the beauty and power of the human voice. Between her nuanced, emotional tone and themes of freedom and protest, Simone is the perfect artist to bring a child up on.
Barnett also gave a shout-out to the artsy punk and post-punk kids of the late 1970s, naming poet Patti Smith, new wave connoisseurs Talking Heads, and germ-free adolescents X Ray Spex as some of the best artists to grow up on. Between their literary influences, cultural references and endlessly entertaining instrumentation, they do seem like perfect additions to a childhood playlist. Talking Heads, in particular, seem like the perfect band to extoll lessons to the youth with a dadaist appeal that children lap up. Between their playful grooves and nonsensical lyrics, they entertain every generation.
For her final selection, Barnett named her most modern pick – rap icon Lauryn Hill. Hill’s debut record, the endlessly influential The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, still remains one of the most important entries into the genre well over two decades since it was first released. Her smooth voice and emotionally-driven writing seem like the perfect introduction to the genre for a young budding R&B fan.
From the soft folk stylings of Mitchell to David Byrne’s driving and unpredictable post-punk, Barnett seems to have curated the perfect playlist for every kid to listen to. They’re all artists whose creations have well and truly stood the test of time, masters of their craft.
We assembled this assortment into a playlist for your own little sprites below.
The artists Courtney Barnett thinks every kid should listen to:
- Joni Mitchell
- Neil Young
- Nina Simone
- Talking Heads
- Patti Smith
- X Ray Spex
- Lauryn Hill
