The First Time I Heard Joy Division / New Order is Part I in an ongoing series where musicians and writers tell their stories of first hearing the music of an iconic artist or band. In this first volume, forty-five different musicians and writers remember their initial experiences hearing the seminal post-punk UK band Joy Division and/or its offshoot, New Order. Contributors to the Joy Division / New Order edition include musicians such as Adam Franklin (Swervedriver); David Lewis Gedge (The Wedding Present); Emma Anderson (Lush); Aidan Baker; Lou Rhodes (Lamb); Christophe Den Tandt (The Names); Pieter Nooten (Clan of Xymox); Brian Thornell (Earlimart, One Way Driver); Count (Halou); Mark Refoy (Slipstream, Spiritualized); Shane Butler (Quilt); Mia Clarke (Electrelane); David Hawes (Catherine Wheel); Matt Kadane (Bedhead, Consonant); Matt Elliott (The Third Eye Foundation); Mike VanPortfleet (Lycia); Thomas Meluch (Benoit Pioulard); Ari Neufeld (Breathless); Morgane Lhote (Stereolab); Matt Jencik (Implodes); Ben Mullins (Midwest Product); Philip King (Lush, The Jesus & Mary Chain); Dexter Tortoriello (Houses); Tim Keegan (Robyn Hitchcock); Steve Hovington (B-Movie); Matt Keppel (Microfilm); Henry Frayne (Lanterna); James Chapman (Maps); Greg Bertens (Film School); Steve Elkins (The Autumns); Jon Attwood (Yellow6); Mark Beazley (Rothko); Nigel Humberstone (In the Nursery); Dawn Smithson (Jessamine); and writers like James Greer (also onetime member of Guided By Voices); Mitch Cullin; Sylvia Sellers-Garcia; Ben Kopel; Alistair McCartney; D. Travers Scott; Mark Gluth; Ian Johnston; Daniel Allen Cox; Jaime Clarke; and Sheri Joseph. The "First Time I Heard" book series is edited by Scott Heim, a novelist (Mysterious Skin, We Disappear) who is also a longtime music fan. Other installments in the series (or those forthcoming soon) include books on David Bowie, The Smiths, Kate Bush, Cocteau Twins, R.E.M., Kraftwerk, My Bloody Valentine, Abba, Roxy Music, The Pixies, and others.

The First Time I Heard Cocteau Twins is Part II in an ongoing series where musicians and writers tell their stories of first hearing the music of an iconic artist or band. In this second volume (following the opening installment, which covered Joy Division / New Order), forty different musicians and writers remember their initial experiences hearing the seminal dreampop / post-punk band Cocteau Twins, a standout group from the legendary 4AD Records and favorite of radio personality John Peel. The Cocteau Twins hailed from Grangemouth, Scotland, and featured musicians Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, and Simon Raymonde. Contributors to the Cocteau Twins edition include musicians such as David Narcizo (Throwing Muses); Ian Masters (Pale Saints); pianist and Cocteau Twins collaborator Harold Budd; band collaborator and live guitarist Lincoln Fong; Pete Fijalkowski (Adorable); Anka Wolbert (Clan of Xymox); Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak (Mercury Rev); Meredith Meyer; Mark Van Hoen (Locust, Seefeel); Paul Anderson (Tram); Paul Elam (Fieldhead); Rebecca Coseboom (Halou, Stripmall Architecture); Michael Cottone (The Green Kingdom); Sarah Jaffe; Antony Ryan (Isan); Dean Garcia (Curve); Kurt Feldman (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart); Erik Blood; Annie Barker; John Loring (Fleeting Joys); Guy Fixsen (Laika and co-engineer for My Bloody Valentine); Emily Elhaj (Implodes); Carlo Van Putten (The Convent, White Rose Transmission); Eric Quach (thisquietarmy); Ryan Policky (A Shoreline Dream); Matthew Kelly (The Autumns); Steve Elkins (The Autumns); Ryan Lum (Lovespirals); Michael Savage (The Fauns); Amman Abbasi (The Abbasi Brothers); Eric Loveland Heath; Ben Mullins (Midwest Product); Keith Canisius; Michael McCabe and David Read (Coldharbourstores); and writers like Emily Franklin, Craig Laurance Gidney, Alistair McCartney; Tony Leuzzi; and Sommer Browning. The "First Time I Heard" book series is edited by Scott Heim, a novelist (Mysterious Skin, We Disappear) who is also a longtime music fan. Other installments in the series (or those forthcoming soon) include books on Joy Division / New Order, David Bowie, The Smiths, Kate Bush, R.E.M., Kraftwerk, My Bloody Valentine, Abba, Roxy Music, The Pixies, and others.

The First Time I Heard David Bowie is Part III in an ongoing series where musicians and writers tell their stories of first hearing the music of an iconic artist or band. In this third volume (following the opening installments, which covered Joy Division / New Order and Cocteau Twins), forty different musicians and writers remember their initial experiences hearing the influential rock chameleon David Bowie, whose musical legacy now spans nearly five decades. Contributors to the David Bowie edition include musicians such as David Balfe (The Teardrop Explodes, manager/producer for bands like Echo & the Bunnymen and Blur); Danny Benair (The Three O'Clock, The Quick); Annette Peacock; Craig Gannon (live guitarist for The Smiths, Aztec Camera, and other bands); Vanessa Briscoe Hay (Pylon); Brian DeGraw (Gang Gang Dance); Robert Holmes ('til tuesday); Nathan Larson (film composer and guitarist for Shudder To Think); Carl Marsh (Shriekback); Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman; the Antony & the Johnsons band); Emil Amos (Holy Sons, Grails); Jem Tayle (Shelleyan Orphan); Pal Shazar (Slow Children); Mark Albrow (Hula); Michelle Leon (Babes In Toyland); Rob Preuss (Spoons); Julian Tardo (Insides); Robin Saville (Isan); Erik Jeffries (A Shoreline Dream); Steven Burrows (And Also the Trees); Nyles Lannon (Film School); Anomie Belle; David Woodward (Clearlake); Philip King (Lush, The Jesus & Mary Chain); Carlo Van Putten (The Convent, White Rose Transmission); Ben Mullins (Midwest Product); Kenneth Bernard (Ra Ra Riot); Mark Van Hoen (Seefeel, Scala); Anna Fox Rochinski (Quilt); Adam Forkner (Yume Bitsu, White Rainbow); Frank Navin (The Aluminum Group); Jon Attwood (Yellow6); and writers like Dave King; Ben Neihart; Deborah Pintonelli; Mitch Cullin; Dena Rash Guzman; Laurie Foos; Matt Dean; and Connie Deanovich. The "First Time I Heard" book series is edited by Scott Heim, a novelist (Mysterious Skin, In Awe, We Disappear) who is also a longtime music fan. Other installments in the series (or those forthcoming soon) include books on Joy Division / New Order, Cocteau Twins, The Smiths, Kate Bush, R.E.M., Kraftwerk, My Bloody Valentine, Abba, Roxy Music, The Pixies, and others.

THE FIRST TIME I HEARD KATE BUSH is Part V in an ongoing series where musicians and writers tell their stories of first hearing the music of an iconic artist or band. In this fifth volume (following the first four installments, which covered Joy Division/New Order, Cocteau Twins, David Bowie, and The Smiths), thirty-nine different musicians and writers remember their initial experiences with hearing Kate Bush, the brilliant, eccentric, influential, and immensely talented British singer/songwriter whose albums include her debut "The Kick Inside," the classic "The Dreaming" and "Hounds of Love," and the recent "50 Words For Snow." Contributors to the Kate Bush edition include musicians such as John Grant, Daren Taylor (The Airborne Toxic Event), Kaia Wilson (Team Dresch, The Butchies), Simon Phipps (Engineers), Matt Keppel (Microfilm), Paul Livingston (The Trashcan Sinatras), Dominic Appleton (Breathless, This Mortal Coil), Anka Wolbert (Clan of Xymox), Dan Hougland (Excepter), Thomas Meluch (Benoit Pioulard), Jem Tayle (Shelleyan Orphan), Ryan Newmyer (A Sunny Day In Glasgow), Ben Eshbach (The Sugarplastic), Louise Rutkowski (This Mortal Coil, The Hope Blister), Christoph Hochheim (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Depreciation Guild), Ryan King (My Latest Novel), Anji Bee (Lovespirals), Aaron Snow (Landing), John Mark Lapham (The Earlies, The Revival Hour), Andrew P. Crane, Mark Rimbach (The Milling Gowns), and Tiffany Anders; musical theater directors Martin Lowe and John Tiffany; and writers Chris Roberts, Kellie Wells, Michelle Hoover, Kevin Killian, Matthew Rettenmund, Tara Ison, Lisa Borders, Rakesh Satyal, Alden Jones, Alexander Laurence, Joseph O. Legaspi, Douglas Ferguson, Elizabeth Searle, Thomas Negovan, and Sylvia Sellers-Garcia. The "First Time I Heard" book series is edited by Scott Heim, a novelist (Mysterious Skin, We Disappear) who is also a longtime music fan. Other installments in the series (or those forthcoming soon) include books on Joy Division / New Order, David Bowie, Cocteau Twins, The Smiths, R.E.M., Kraftwerk, My Bloody Valentine, Abba, Roxy Music, The Pixies, and others.

THE FIRST TIME I HEARD MY BLOODY VALENTINE is Part VI in an ongoing series where musicians and writers tell their stories of first hearing the music of an iconic artist or band. In this sixth volume (following the first five installments, which covered Joy Division/New Order, Cocteau Twins, David Bowie, The Smiths, and Kate Bush), forty different musicians and writers remember their initial experiences with hearing My Bloody Valentine, the groundbreaking Irish alternative rock band, led by Kevin Shields, known for their sonic experimentation, blistering live shows, and classic "shoegaze" masterpiece, Loveless. Contributors to the My Bloody Valentine edition include musicians such as Bob Mould, Christian Savill (Slowdive), Louise Trehy (Swallow), Peter Silberman (The Antlers), Geoff Sanoff (Edsel), Jonathan Segel (Camper Van Beethoven), Jonas Munk (Manual), Mia Clarke (Electrelane), Matt Schulz (Holy Fuck), Scott Cortez (lovesliescrushing), Adam Pacione, Andrew Prinz (Mahogany), Ian Masters (Pale Saints), Matt Elliott (Third Eye Foundation), EJ Hagen (Highspire), Ryan Policky (A Shoreline Dream), James Chapman (Maps), Gazz Carr (God Is an Astronaut), Sally Robertson (The Sunshine Factory), Hank Starrs (Animals That Swim), Hobey Echlin (Majesty Crush), Michael Savage (The Fauns), Alap Momin (dalek), John Loring (Fleeting Joys), Jon Attwood (Yellow6), Mat Flint (Revolver, Deep Cut), Aidan Baker, Ron Gibbs (Auburn Lull), Jeff Kandefer (The Daysleepers), Kellii Scott (Failure, Veruca Salt), Nick Keech (One Unique Signal, The Telescopes), Michael McCabe and David Read (Coldharbourstores), and Kimber Lanning (Half String); Amber Crain of the shoegaze blog When the Sun Hits; and writers Nick Burd, Evan Garza, Roy Christopher, Kevin C. Smith, and Steven Karl. The "First Time I Heard" book series is edited by Scott Heim, a novelist (Mysterious Skin, We Disappear) who is also a longtime music fan. Other installments in the series (or those forthcoming soon) include books on Joy Division / New Order, David Bowie, Cocteau Twins, Kate Bush, The Smiths, R.E.M., Kraftwerk, Abba, Roxy Music, and others.