Music and specifically radio based music shows have long been the pedestals of a special community. This is no different for NSR, and one of those standout shows is Top 5 Records. The show has just started up for its second year on air and this week I had the chance to sit down with the show's host, Charlotte, as she took me on a tour of all things grunge, nostalgia and the homeliness of records.
Charlotte’s passion for music is evident, putting her to the test with the forever infamous ‘If you were on a desert island, what album would you pick?’. Her answer? Lungs by Florence + the Machine.
“My mum would play it in the car… at six years old I’d scream it at the top of my lungs.”
This sense of family and nostalgia that she explains in her answer to this question is palpable through the show that she puts on every week. “Music has always felt like a safe space for me” she described, trying to put into words this sense of homeliness that I picked up on tuning into her show. She made it clear that the catalogue of music knowledge needed for Top 5 Records has come from a rich history of “friends who loved all the same things I loved… who couldn’t stop playing guitar at any minute.”
She described herself as previously feeling somewhat “militant” about her music, when I asked her about how having guests on the show has impacted her taste. We reminisced on an anecdote from one episode saying; “One of my guests didn’t like the Foo Fighters, whom I love… I instantly tried to convince him he was wrong.” To this day, she mentioned, “he still doesn’t like them, but I realised that's okay.”
Charlotte hosts Top 5 Records alone, so it’s not often she has another person to converse with on the show; however, that's one thing I picked up on as admirable about it all. “I had no idea how it would shape me as a person” she heartfeltly expressed. It was a personal moment discussing the relationship that solo hosting has developed into
“It has made me trust myself more… increased my confidence tenfold.”
She reminisced on the fact that she once couldn’t believe she had chosen to get involved in such a way, still choosing to carry on with Top 5 Records as she works towards a Masters degree. Committing to an increased workload would often put people off the idea of hosting a radio show, but Charlotte explained that she finds the show “really cathartic” and that she views the opportunity as “self-care.”
Overall, Top 5 Records is a scrapbook of childhood, self-development and warmth all glued together with grunge. Charlotte’s dedication and her clear enjoyment for every aspect of putting the show together perfectly encapsulates the heart of Newcastle Student Radio.