- Hey, I'm Arlo Parks.
Today, I'm with Buzzfeed to revisit the past
and build a playlist of my favorite songs
from when I was a teenager.
If you wanna listen along,
click the description box to access my playlist.
(upbeat music)
I'm 20 years old now,
so I was actually a teenager only a few months ago.
I was living in West London, in Hammersmith,
which is where I've been all my life.
I was an awkward kid,
but I was a happy kid.
My teenage years is kind of
where I started coming into myself
and discovering music, and art, and film, and books.
And I was very much in with the,
like, very studious kids.
Like we spent a lot of time at the library,
that was my vibe.
And then when I got to college,
I started, kind of, partying a bit more,
and expanding my social circles,
I was definitely part of like the artsy kids group.
And that's when I started hanging around
with people who love making beats,
who wanted to be directors, and designers,
and the vibe of my people, I guess.
I mean, I was always completely enthralled by music,
ever since I was a really small kid.
Like I remember my dad telling me
the story of when I was about one years old,
every time he would stir his coffee,
and it would make this little rhythm,
and I would, like, do a little dance.
So ever since I was a kid,
I've always been enthralled by music,
and it was very much my safe space.
You know, something that I listened to by myself
when I was feeling low,
or when I was feeling excited.
So my first election is "Chum" by Earl Sweatshirt.
I remember falling in love with the album "Doris"
when I was 14 or 15 years old.
There was something so gritty to this song,
there's something so introspective,
and he's exploring his relationship
with his race, his family.
The whole hook is probably one of my favorite hooks
of all time.
The first line of that is,
"Something sinister to it.
Pendulum swing and slow, a degenerate moving."
And it's like that sense of time slowing down
when you're in a difficult place,
then there's this really more sense of darkness
to that song that I love.
It reminds me of sitting in my bedroom,
right here where I am now
and just feeling a little bit lost,
feeling like I wasn't quite sure of my direction
and knowing that I wanted to be a creative,
but being slightly unsure as to how to get there.
It reminds me of feeling a bit confused
but also hopeful and super inspired.
My second song selection is "No Surprises" by Radiohead.
Radiohead is one of my favorite bands of all time.
And I discovered "OK Computer"
when I was probably about 14 or so.
Again, there was something so angsty to this record.
It's a record that surrounds melancholy and alienation.
And that first line, you know,
"A heart that fills up like a landfill.
A job that's done kills you."
It was like, (Arlo exclaims)
Like it was a hit.
And Thom Yorke's voice was so graceful
and delicate and fragile almost.
And the whole of Radiohead's catalog
really taught me the idea of evolving as an artist.
It kind of brings back that like teenage times
when you're walking home from school
and you're kind of feeling like no one understands you,
and you're just wandering like lonely as a cloud
and feeling like a little bit cool
'cause you're listening to this edgy band
that no one else in your class knows.
I don't know, that song feels soaring.
It always lifted me up.
Next, I've got "Figure 8" by FKA Twigs.
And the reason why I love this song
is that it's so kind of confident
in how sensual and physical it is.
It's very kind of muscular as a song.
And I remember listening to those since,
and feeling like it somehow got to the core of me
and it kind of reminds me of like getting ready for a party,
and then like putting it on with my friends.
And we would feel like we were just in a movie,
like, we were just like getting ready.
Like we would walk in slow motion into the party.
Obviously we were like 15 and awkward.
But that's the memory that comes back to me
when I think about that tune.
What her music taught me
is that idea of experimentation of fluidity.
Also work ethic.
And everything I see on her social media,
she's always honing her craft
and her martial arts and her choreography.
So ambitious.
And I think it kind of showed me
that there are no boundaries when it comes to music
and the worlds that you can create.
"Out Getting Ribs" by King Krule is my next election.
And this album is probably one of the most important albums
when it comes to who Arlo Parks is and how she came to be.
There's something so distinctly London
about this record.
It's poetic it's gritty,
it's rough around the edges,
and it really inspired me
to start making music in my bedroom,
'cause I was listening to his voice and it felt so unique.
And I was listening to the instrumentation
and that it was quite sparse and minimal
and it felt like he had made it in his bedroom.
And that was something that really drew me to his music.
And there's this little kind of sample at the beginning
on this guitar run
and it just reminds me of walking home from school
with a friend of mine and just feeling free.
I think what's beautiful about those teenage years
is that those moments where you feel completely infinite
and unstoppable and you're like,
"We're gonna rule the world someday."
And that's what "Out Getting Ribs" reminds me of.
The next, we've got "Younkers" by Tyler, the Creator.
When I was younger,
I was an unabashed Odd Future fan.
I loved how provocative and playful and weird the music was.
And I remember this was one of the first raps
that I learned completely off by heart.
And it's a very dark one,
but I remember that being something so confident
about his delivery
and the way the beat was kind of creaking,
it was almost Gothic,
but it was also hip-hop
and it was this really interesting fusion.
And I found it so exciting
and Tyler, the Creator definitely had a big impact
on my work in terms of how versatile he is
and the places he explores with his production.
Up next, "Juicy" by Biggie.
This song ignited my love of hip hop.
I think I heard this song when I was pretty young.
I think I must've been 12 or 13.
That was something so inspiring about the storytelling.
Like I remember listening to it over and over again
until I was just like wrapping it in the kitchen.
And I taught it to my little brother as well.
So even now, whenever we hear that song
we just like, we know it word for word.
The story behind that song, you know,
his ascend to the fame
and building his way up from the bottom.
I found it so inspiring and the production felt so nostalgic
for a time that I wasn't even alive in.
It was a song that I grew up to when I was by myself
and feeling a little bit down.
And his flow is literally like butter.
The drums and hip hop
is something that I really hold dear to my heart.
How crunchy they are,
those kinds of repeated loops.
You can hear that influence in my music.
So next up we've got "Special Affair" by The Internet.
And I remember when I first discovered this band
I was in love with every single member.
Hearing Syd's voice,
and it was so, it was like honey
just like floating towards me.
And I got obsessed with that whole record "Ego Death."
I went to see them when I went to Redding festival.
I was 15, and I saw them live
and I love those kind of psychedelic influences.
It felt like I was dreaming,
or I was floating.
Even just seeing like these kind of slightly
in the edgy like black kids just doing their thing,
it felt so inspiring to me.
It's like a little weird kid in the corner.
So I was super inspired by watching them play.
So next, we've got "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance.
I was a big fan of My Chemical Romance when I was a kid,
especially like "Welcome to the Black Parade."
And this song was like the epitomy of those moments
where you are just raging against everything.
And I would just put my headphones on,
my massive headphones with my little like iPod nano,
and I would stomp around.
I would like stop by the river and be like,
"No one understands me."
It was like the quintessential song for like Soul King.
Essentially.
I had a big phase where they were all I would listen to them
and the Fall Out Boy and Good Charlotte as well.
So I was definitely one of those kids.
'Cause I remember loving,
like loving George Way with my whole heart, like all of it.
And my last choice is "Milk Teeth" by Keaton Henson.
And this is a very kind of quiet, soft song.
It encouraged me to kind of tap into
that vulnerable side of myself
and led to me discovering artists like Elliot Smith
and Sylvia Stephens.
I think it reminds me of those moments
where I was just in my room,
feeling a little bit frustrated
then Keaton Henson's voice has this very soothing quality.
It made me somehow feel like
everything was gonna be all right.
So although it's quite sad and delicate,
I've got lovely memories of listening to this song
and feeling like that things might work out in the end.
And that's my ultimate playlist from my teenage years.
Let me know what you thought in the comments below
and don't forget to check out my newest album,
"Collapsed in Sunbeams."
(slow upbeat music)