London trio Zibra might be newcomers might be new but they’re already dreaming big/ But We’re not talking about their tour with Rat Boy that kicks off tonight (16 September) at Nottingham’s Bodega Social, or even the glory of headlining their own UK dates soon, no. These boys are dreaming about carboot sales and discovering boxes loaded with a treasure trove of amazing records. So much so they’ve made Q this Playlist of songs they’re hoping to discover on their next haul. “So you give the door lady with the hi-viz jacket your 20p and you enter, from the bleak land of reality to the designated zone of bargains,” explains singer Sam Battle, slightly misty-eyed (possibly unaware of advances in streaming technology). “You get into the carboot you come across a stall owned by a retired guy with a dusty old red Volvo estate and a Crocodile Dundee hat. You look down and you see a soggy old Marathon box (now Snickers) with the words sharpied on the front “music bargain box”, hopefully this is what you’ll find in it.” To save you your weekends, we put them together in a handy playlist.
Beastie Boys – Sabotage “To be honest if any Beastie Boys were in there we would pick it up. Preferably something in video format too. Hopefully the guy doesn’t price this song too high because that would just be annoying. We always find ourselves talking like Beastie Boys, one of us starts singing sometimes undecipherable jargon and the others go oh on every fourth beat. Try it. You’ll sound like Beastie Boys in no time.”
B*Witched – C’est La Vie “No one yet has had the balls to pick this up and offer the guy 20p. But what the hell, if you don’t buy this your as good as the guy who just left with ‘Hammond organ on crack volume 6’, so get it because you’ll thank yourself later. Hopefully the CD its on isn’t too scratched from the 11 year old girl who had it on repeat. Who cares what demographic this song was aimed at, fact is its a classic that everyone will sing with nostalgic fondness.”
ATB – Till I Come “This Ministry Of sound classic was about to be pulled from under your feet by a shaking 38 year old guy with yellow eyes and a stomach pump, but you grabbed it from his person and chucked your money at the Dundee hat before he had time to even realise what was going on.”
Michael Jackson – Man In The Mirror “If this is still there by the time you get to it, you’re lucky. I mean it’s a no brainer, Ben [Everest, our bassist] thinks it’s Michael’s best song, so I don’t know where he was when Mr Jackson released Leave Me Alone, but whatever.”
The Real McCoy – Another Night “This one is probably right in the corner at the back of the bargain box, not yet seen by any punter on this sunny Sunday morning, but never the less it managed to wriggle to the top. and straight into your hands, The first time I heard it I had a bit of a what the fuck moment, but its a grower. Now it’s a fond part of my psyche.”
New Order – Blue Monday “An obvious choice. It might be a bit scratched, hence it being in the bargain box but it grabs your eye, with an all black sleeve that has holes in it like a floppy disk and no words on it. You buy it anyway, get home realise what it is. Well that day is sorted.”
Elvis Costello – No Action “Going past the CDs and further back into the vinyls you see a tatty sleeve that looks like its got a misprint of a colour chart on the side, and a picture of Elvis Costello posing with a camera you read it saying “This years model”. Your interested so you offer the guy a quid and you’re off. Don’t know what to say apart from its just the best, this whole album infact is not like any other Elvis Costello release. To me it could have been released in the last 10 years. The lyrics are odd but deep and the music is crisp and punchy, maybe buy both copies.”
Captain Sensible – Glad It’s All Over “If this isn’t in there I don’t know what will be. I always see this or a similar Captain Sensible release at the bottom of the pile in car boot sales or junk shops. Some of his stuff is questionable but this song is nice. Slamming riff. It makes you want to put your arms out and spin around with your newly acquired Staffordshire dog ornament in one hand (£2) and a picture of David Hasselhoff you regret buying from the lady with no teeth on the first stall (50p).”
Green Day – Deadbeat Holiday “From the Warning album, It was the first CD Ben owned, and he’s picking it up to buy. When I asked him ‘why are you buying that Ben’ he replied ‘hey everybody needs a bit of Green Day in their lives, Deadbeat Holiday is the song that got me into drugs ok…… and drums’. It’s true though, everyone needs a bit of Green Day in their lives. It’s healthy and you shouldn’t be ashamed of it.”
Adamski/Seal – Killer “You’re pretty surprised this is in the box, with its orange and green sleeve. This one was probably priced above a quid but I’m willing to meet in the middle. After having a Dad who was obsessed by Seal and all the remixes of this song, it’s part of my brain. I’m pretty happy it’s in this bargain box.”
Yellow Magic Orchestra – Firecracker “This one wouldn’t be in there, that’s’ for sure but it would probably be in the £5-£10 box next to the second hand socks. For a second lets imagine it is because any YMO stuff is good stuff, just delightfully happy. So many people have ripped them off or sampled them, but I bet you never knew it was YMO first, like Your Mummas Got A Penis by Goldie Looking Chain. I would probably put this track on when driving back with all my bargains, provided it’s in the right format for my car player.”
The Stranglers – Down In The Sewer “You stop at one of the nicest looking vinyl sleeves you’ve come across, the colour combinations would be enough to make Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen faint with envy, it’s Rattus Norvegicus, who is that guy with the hat on right at the back of that picture? I guess we will never know for sure. If the cover art wasn’t enough you put it on, which is when Down In The Sewer hits you, its a four-part instrumental piece with some crazy, keyboard solos galore, but not the cheesy types (If you haven’t heard a keyboard solo that don’t make you cringe, listen to this).”
After that we’re beginning to suspect this might not be a wish list, but an actual box of records… for more head to Facebook.com/ZibraZibraZibra
