margeaux labat's life in ten tracks featuring the smiths, björk, alex g, and more
the music curator and interviewer on the songs associated with her strongest memories
Margeaux Labat is known for her music discoveries and the niche recommendations she makes to her cult following. But before her career as a music curator and interviewer, she spent hours driving around with her mother and brothers, listening to everything from Björk to The Smiths — those rides, the first hint at a long career of listening, became the foundation for her eclectic musical taste. Here, she shares her first indie music discovery, the band to listen to in the fall, and the musician whose music defined her early 20s.
Alex G
If I had to pick one artist to define my music taste in my early 20s, it’d be Alex G. I had always heard Alex’s name around my college campus, usually in my college radio meetings, but I wasn’t really exposed to Alex’s music until I saw him live at a music festival in Texas in 2016. I remember seeing him perform “Kicker” and the crowd loving it. From that moment on, I became head-over-heels obsessed with his music. I’d describe my love for his music as all-consuming at that point in my life. I would always go see him live, sometimes even driving out of town by myself to catch his shows. Like most Alex G fans, I not only listened to all of his albums but dug deep into his unreleased catalog, which has some of my favorite Alex G songs. But if there’s one track that’d define my Alex G obsession, it’d probably be “Memory” from Trick.
The Cars
I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. I had just started third grade when my family evacuated due to Hurricane Katrina. After that, we bounced around to a bunch of different places before eventually settling in a really small town in rural Alabama called Montevallo. During that time, I remember my mom always playing The Cars’ Complete Greatest Hits compilation when driving me to school. I vividly remember the song “Touch and Go” because I thought it was super weird-sounding, like nothing I had ever heard before, which I later attributed to the song’s differing time signatures. The verses are also pretty off-kilter and even somewhat eerie-sounding (to a nine-year-old, at least) before settling into the chorus, which is bouncy and melodic in typical Cars fashion. It’s still one of my favorite songs!
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