Music Riffs: The First and Latest Records Bought by Frank Black

First record

The Beatles

`Meet the Beatles'

Everyone is still exposed to The Beatles - wouldn't they be top in every nation's music poll? They were the first pop band who were everywhere, not just pop music, but film as well. If there was a movie that was guaranteed to excite me, it was Yellow Submarine or A Hard Day's Night. In most people's opinion The Beatles were the first proper band - especially if you were born any time near the Sixties - although their fame has rippled out from that time. Why? The material is beautiful, and it's the whole package, the quality on each record. Every day you still hear them. By the age of 10 I owned most of the collection, so I know them intimately. The music was an inspiration. It was rock music that made me interested in rock music.

Last record

Neil Young `Zuma Beach'

This has been played heavily on my car stereo. I have listened to it 100 times easily, and never find myself sick of hearing it, or even one track more impressive than another. I can hear the Neil Young spirit; it's an archetypal Neil Young album. In terms of its influence, I can hear it in parts of my own art. There is an environment that I find most appropriate when I am listening to it, and it's landscapes. Whether you're driving in a beautiful area clear of traffic, or in a traffic jam on the freeway with smog layers over the city, it can bring out the more joyous qualities in life, and also feel as though it is the end of the world. It can make you aware of extreme emotion. It interprets how I feel about LA. It has a beauty, but slammed next to the awful qualities of a big city. I associate rock'n'roll with the big city. It's where the heart of rock'n'roll can be found.

Frank Black and The Catholics' `Pistolero' (Pias) is out on Monday