Musical Influences

1. The Sex Pistols

Oh, man.  The Pistols.  The original U.K. punk band, the guys who started the whole movement.  When these guys emerged in London in the mid 1970's and sang about anarchy and going over the Berlin Wall, people were both intrigued and baffled.  No band had ever done that before and listeners didn't quite know what to make of it.  Some people thought they were out of their minds and they were serious about their lyrics, but the smarter listeners knew it was just to get people riled up.  I love stuff like that.  To me, the Pistols are about being rebellious.  Their original and unique fashion styles as well as their music was clearly a message to listeners that they were all about doing what you want to do and dismissing the belief that things have to be a certain way, or else.  When I heard their record for the first time, it hit home for me.  I love to crank that record on my iPod while I'm running.  It gives me such energy.  Part of the reason why I enjoy running is because it's my way of rebelling against the world that I was exposed to growing up, where people had the notion that if you didn't play football or basketball, you weren't an athlete.  Oh really? Those poor people.  They just don't know any better.  The tone of that album blends perfectly with my feelings on that, and all the other things I rebelled against as a kid.  The message I've developed and that I adopt from their music is "take your oppressive, closed minded attitude, and cram it".  In late 1976, the Sex Pistols did a TV interview with Bill Grundy.  He was acting like a total ass, provoking the group, and even making suggestive remarks to the female members of their entourage.  He was just being disgusting.  Then he asked the band this: "I just want to know one thing...are you serous?" apparently referring to their music and lyrical content.  That was the dumbest question Bill could have asked them.  Of course they replied sarcastically and proceeded to swear at him on live television.  It was awesome.  That only made me love them even more because I have such low tolerance for people being blatantly rude and inappropriate.  I would have likely done the same thing.  Unfortunately, the Sex Pistols fell apart quickly.  Their manager was jealous of all the attention they were getting, and he wanted to take sole credit for all of their creative ideas, so he resorted to shady business practices to do so.  He and Johnny Rotten, the band's lead vocalist were butting heads constantly, and tensions rose between him and the rest of the band as well.  Sic Vicious, the bass guitarist had developed a severe heroin addiction by the time the band dissolved.  During their final show he was, as Johnny Rotten put it "completely out of his brains.  Just a waste of space on stage".  His addiction ultimately led to him dying of an overdose in late 1979 at only twenty-one years of age.  During their short career, the Pistols only put out one record, but honestly, that's probably the way it should be.  That record is so powerful, I feel it would have been very difficult for them to out-do themselves.  There are a lot of great punk rock records out there, but no one had ever put out anything like that before, and no one has ever since.

2. Amy Winehouse

Since Amy Winehouse emerged in the early 2000's when I was a teenager, I always knew who she was, but I didn't become interested in her from a musical standpoint until I was older.  Sadly, she battled numerous hardships in the final years of her life including alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, and eating disorders, the first of those issues ultimately leading to her death in 2011 at age twenty-seven.  To me, nobody's music touches the soul quite like Amy's songs.  "Back to Black" was her most commercially successful record, and it's a great one, but I feel that "Frank", her first record, is still her best work.  She was known to be revealing in her music and every song of hers is like a short story about her life.  Because of this, a lot of her fans felt that they had a strong connection to her.  It was easy to gravitate towards her.  When I listen to her music, it's almost like she's sitting right there, telling me stories about her life.  And the cool part is that even though a lot of her songs are emotionally charged, they're not necessarily depressing.  They always have a good grove to them.  She was not a bubblegum pop singer.  Her music is hard to categorize.  It's like taking jazz, hip hop, soul, and bossa nova and throwing it all into a blender together.  A lot of her songs featured her playing guitar and singing while incorporating horns and piano over a hip hop style turntable beat.  I always thought she had the coolest voice.  Low and raspy, yet extremely soothing, especially in her songs where she recorded layered backing vocals.  Her music is one thing, but what also drew me to her was her personality and image.  Her dark features, long black hair, and the style in which she wore her make up were very unique to me.  Despite her superstar status, she could have given a damn less about being a celebrity.  She didn't like the spotlight and was known for assaulting members of the paparazzi when they crossed the proverbial line.  During interviews she came across as being very personable and down to earth and during her live shows she spoke to the audience and expressed her appreciation for them.  She was a beautiful soul and we lost her way too early.  I like a lot of female musicians, but there's just something about Amy Winehouse that can't be matched.  RIP Amy, we miss you!

3. Limp Bizkit

If you grew up in the 90's, the only way you wouldn't know who Limp Bizkit was would be if you lived under a rock.  During the late 90's and early 2000's, they were one of the most commercially successful bands in the world.  Say what you want about them.  They've certainly had their fair share of controversies over the years, but these guys had a bigger influence on me as a teenager than arguably any other band I listened to.  Some people, especially parents and socially conservative groups, might listen to Limp Bizkit and say "oh, these guys are just angry and negative.  Let's not let our kids listen to them".  But I disagree.  On the contrary, Limp Bizkit's music was one of the most positive things I had in my life during my teen years.  When I was growing up, music was my outlet for aggression.  Unfortunately, not everyone understood that.  I would occasionally get mocked for being a Limp Bizkit fan, while the goodie tooshoes kids would have their boring classic rock or teen pop playing in their headphones.  All teenagers are emotional and go through various stages of angst and insecurity.  While some kids in my school channeled their angst through taking drugs or engaging in sexual activity among each other at young ages, I channeled my angst and aggression through music.  Limp Bizkit appealed to me because they had songs where they were completely pissed off and out of their minds like "Break Stuff" and "Stuck", but they also had songs that were calm and soothing like "Re-Arranged" and "The One".  It was a perfect balance.  They have a couple of songs that I think are downright awful though.  I have no idea how the song "Nookie" became a hit.  That song is ridiculous, immature, and stupid.  But not every song can be amazing.  I think all of their records are pretty cool, but "Three Dollar Bill, Y'all" was by far their best work in my opinion.  I love that record!  It's so raw, edgy, and experimental compared to their other albums.  It's one of my all time favorites, even now as a thirty-three year old.  The song "Faith" is one of the few songs where if I hear it in public I go crazy and jokingly tell everyone to "be quiet!" because the song is on.  The original version by George Michael is awesome too, but Limp Bizkit's version to me is "the" version.  There is so much happening on that record, experimentally.  They were one of the first bands to combine hip hop style turntable beats, sampling, and scratching with down tuned, heavy metal style guitars.  The last minute or so of the song "Nobody Loves Me" consists of only drumming and the crackling and popping sound of DJ Lethal's turntables.  It's so cool to listen to.  There is a song at the very end of that album called "Everything".  That song is a true masterpiece.  It is over sixteen minutes long and was recorded as an improvised jam session.  The song is calm, beautiful, and has an incredible baseline.  The tone of that song reminds me of being out on the trail in the wilderness in the dead of night during an ultramarathon or a hiking trip when things are dark, calm, and quiet.  It used to annoy me when people said that Limp Bizkit were a Korn rip-off band, or that they "sounded just like Korn".  They weren't, and they didn't.  I could never understand why people thought that way.  Korn and Limp Bizkit's music may have had some similarities, but to me, they were completely different bands.  However, I feel that several bands that emerged later ripped them off.  People went so crazy over Linkin Park and acted like they were the greatest thing to ever happen in music.  They're good musicians and good song writers (RIP Chester), but I view them as a Limp Bizkit rip-off band.  I feel like they essentially took Limp Bizkit's sound and style, and morphed it into something softer with PG rated lyrics that were chock full of self pity rather than anger and aggression.  To me, Limp Bizkit was (and still is) about three things.  They're about friendship, outdoor adventures, and having an outlet for anger and aggression.  When I was in school I belonged to the ski club, a ten week winter program.  Every Wednesday after school during the winter, we would get on a bus with our gear and they'd drive us out to the local ski hill, where my buddies and I would spend our Wednesday evenings carving down the slopes on our snowboards.  At 9 PM, we'd board the bus again, and get driven back to school, where our parents would pick us up.  It was such a fun time.  During the bus rides I would always listen to Limp Bizkit in my headphones.  They became my soundtrack for hanging out with my friends and snowboarding.  When I listen to them nowadays I reflect on those days of racing down the slopes at Mount Holly with my friends and causing harmless mischief, along with current day outdoor adventures that I have with my new friends.  Their music is about friendship and outdoor adventures, something much more positive that what the casual observer might see.

4. Oasis

Ah, Liam and Noel.  The notorious Gallagher brothers.  While Oasis, the five piece idealistic britpop band from Manchester has had several members through their years of activity from 1991 to 2009, the Gallagher brothers (Liam on lead vocals, and Noel on lead guitar) were the sole constant members and conceptual leaders.  And when I say brothers, I mean they really were true brothers.  They hated each other.  They insulted each other on stage in front of their audiences.  During their first American tour, Liam even changed the lyrics in the songs to insult Noel while the band was performing.  Growing up in the suburbs of Manchester in an Irish family and having a abusive alcoholic father, the Gallagher brothers were prone to violent outbursts towards one another.  The band broke up when Noel quit after Liam broke his guitar during a heated confrontation.  Nevertheless, they remained in the band together for several years and during the band's active years they had a deep mutual respect for one another despite their sibling disputes.  A lot of the arguments probably stemmed from the fact that Noel wrote all of the songs and Liam was just his lyrical mouthpiece.  The dynamic of Oasis was always interesting to me because I've never seen a professional band relationship quite like their's and I probably never will again.  Aside from their turbulent personal lives, their music has always captivated me as well.  Like most bands that I love, no one has ever quite matched up to what they did musically.  They're so unique that any band who tries to copy them (and there have been plenty) would be so transparent and ridiculously awful.  Each of their albums has a different personality to it.  My favorite is "Definitely Maybe".  I feel like that one contains the most upbeat and positive work they've done, and the album also has just the right amount of sensitivity with songs like "Live Forever" and "Slide Away".  I really enjoy "Married with Children" the last song on that record.  It's pure and simple.  Liam singing, Noel playing guitar, that's it.  Even though they hail from England, Oasis's music had such a big influence on me because ever since I first heard them, I have always thought their music had more of a California sound to it.  Something about the tone and style of their music made it sound more to me like they were beach dudes from Southern California, except of course for their thick Manchester accents.  During all those years in school I would just listen to them and imagine living in California.  That's what their music was all about for me.  The song "Champagne Supernova" used to, and still does remind me of being on a California beach during a sunset.  I, along with so many other people, wish that the Gallagher brothers would just put their sibling rivalry bullcrap aside and continue to make music, but unfortunately it doesn't look like that is going to happen any time soon.  For now, I'll enjoy what Oasis songs currently exist and if there are new ones in the future, we'll see how they match up to the old ones. 

5. Motley Crue

Saving the best for last.  Motley F-ing Crue.  These guys are my all time favorite band of any genre.  I could write an entire post on the impact that Motley Crue has had on my life, but I'll try to condense it while still getting my point across.  I have always simply referred to them as the most kick-ass band that ever played.  I've never seen such a diverse band that takes heavy metal, hard rock, punk rock, blues rock, glam rock, and country rock, and blends it all together so wonderfully.  Everything I look for in music: edge, attitude, rebellion, aggression, but also sensitivity and sentimental moments created from lyrics and musical tones, I've found in Motley's music.  In particular, Mick Mars' guitar playing.  He's such an amazing guitarist!  There truly is no one out there who plays guitar quite like him.  When the band first formed in 1981 it was his idea to down tune the instruments a whole step to make the music sound more rough around the edges.  It was brilliant because it gave Motley such a unique sound, and all the copy cat bands tried so hard to replicate their style, but failed miserably because they couldn't figure out what the hell they were playing.  Over the years, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil both left the band temporarily and were replaced by another vocalist and drummer until they ultimately decided to return.  During their absence, there was a notable shift in the band's sound (to me, anyway) but overall, they still sounded like the Motley Crue I knew and loved.  But if Mick Mars were ever to quit and they brought in a new guitarist, they wouldn't be the same band to me.  That's how important Mick's style of guitar playing is to their sound.  Motley's music is the soundtrack to all of my outdoor adventures, whether it be running on trails, hiking through mountains, snowboarding, or whatever.  Something about their music and the feelings I experience while being active in the wilderness blends perfectly.  I associate specific experiences with specific songs and records in the Motley Crue catalog all the time.  For example, the song "Public Enemy Number One" makes me think of running on a mountain trial and reaching the top, admiring the view far below.  And "Red Hot" makes me think of ripping down a mountain on a snowboard, and the adrenaline I feel while picking up speed (while staying in control, of course).  The music is one thing, but there's also the band members.  All four those guys have been through so much in their lives.  Broken childhoods, coping with life long diseases, alcoholism, drug addiction, anger management issues, jail time, rehab, ups, downs, everything.  As I've mentioned, there were brief periods in the band's history where Tommy and Vince left temporarily, but other than that, the same four band members have remained intact since the bands inception in 1981.  I think the fact that there are four guys from different backgrounds who have different ideas, is the key element that makes Motley Crue such a unique band.  A lot of people who are casual observers would probably write them off as just another stupid 80's hair band.  They're not.  If people would take some time to listen to their music hear how unique it is, they'd quickly realize that they are a completely different entity than all of the rip-off bands that came after them.   I couldn't even tell you what my favorite Motley Crue record is, because I love them all and they all have their own unique sound and personality.  Sometimes it's "Dr. Feelgood", sometimes it's "Theatre of Pain", sometimes it's the new songs that they recorded in 2019 for their film "The Dirt".  Whether they continue to play for one more year, five more years, or ten more years, nothing will ever quite match up to the Crue in my mind.  They will always be number one, and when all else fails, I know I can always rely on them.

Honorable mentions that I may write about in the future: Billy Joel, The B-52s, Outkast, Eminem, Grateful Dead, NOFX, The Black Eyed Peas, and more! The list is too long.