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Golf Harris Under The influence

Golf Harris - Under The influence
12 tracks, in no particular order that have influenced Golf Harris to sound the way they do.
1. Golden Slumbers – The Beatles
The track that John most wishes that he wrote and a standard starting point for attempts to write anything.
2. Isn’t it a pity – Galaxie 500
A George Harrison cover, although neither of us ever managed to hear the original. This is the saddest song ever and the bench mark for sad songs. Was also the song that was mentioned when we spoke of starting Golf Harris.
3. Cheese and Onions – The Rutles
The greatest Beatles song ever! With the greatest middle 8 of all-time. Worth it alone for the final note.
4. Northern Skies - Nick Drake
The song that inspired Northern Lights as a homage, a staple Golf Harris favorite – including with founder member Ricc.
5.The fall
Not one particular song, just the whole Mark E Smith ethos, i.e. group members come and go, never being tied down to a particular style or anything –just wish we where as prolific.
6. The flaming lips - The Soft Bulletin
Pick a song, any song…. The Soft Bulletin is one of those albums we wished we could have made, and unlike , say OK Computer, is one that we could have made (if we’d have had the money, the time, the talent etc.etc.) Melodic Originality – the GH Holy Grail
7. Bottleneck in Caple Curig – Half Man Half Biscuit
It could have been any of the ‘biscuits tracks pretty much as there all brilliant, however this one was picked for several facts. It is a brilliant pop song, it makes you feel incredibly summery! And it has the line ‘Neil Morrissey’s a Knob head’’ And he is.
8. Ennio Morricone
We’ve always been huge fans of soundtrack music , and Morricone is the daddy of them all (and Lalo Schiffrin’s its brother and Bernard Herman’s its uncle), mostly for his use of drama and intensity, a big influence on our ‘arrangements’ – check out ‘Sun Has Crossed The Sky’ or ‘Shrouded In The Snow’.
9. till the morning comes - Neil Young
The whole of ‘After the Gold Rush’ is a great album, but this was picked for the fantastic use of the trumpet at the end, something we have tried a lot in the past.
10. The Super Furry Animals –Radiator
Taught us the way to use Pop tricks without sounding ‘twee’.
11. Here comes your man – The Pixies
The song that inspired Paul to actually pick up a guitar and learn. Could have been any Pixies track, but this one wins, just from Velouria for the riff.
12. Car Wash Hair – Mercury Rev
One of the first songs John learned to play on guitar- Aminor, G, D - never lets you down.

Two Gallants "Steady Rollin'"

http://www.myspace.com/twogallants

Steady Rollin' is a great peice of drunken sing-a-long new county that Johnny Cash would have appreciated whilst he punched Ostriches and necked whizz- great tune great lyrics great Beards.

Lark: Under The Influence

Stephen Jones - '0-1-800-Jesus' From 1985-2001
Erik Satie - 'Gymnopedies No. 1' From Piano Works
Smog - 'All Your Woman Things' From The Doctor Came At Dawn
Sparklehorse - 'Spiritditch' From Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - 'I See A Darkness' From I See A Darkness
The Dirty Three - 'Lullabye For Christie' From Whatever You Love,
You Are
Spain - 'Ten Nights' From The Blue Moods Of Spain
Babybird - 'Copper Feel' From The Happiest Man Alive
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - 'Lucy' From The Good Son
Tom Waits - 'Big In Japan' From Mule Variations
The Cramps - 'Human Fly' From Off The Bone
The Fall - 'Dr. Bucks' Letters' From The Unutterable

Karl from Lark sez: "You could add anything by Cohen or Dylan for their influence
although musically not that direct

As for why, if you've heard us and heard these songs you'd know why.
from nonsensical rhyming dadist nonsense to heartfelt love songs
and now even including a couple of good time numbers, well for us
anyway."

Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors

Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors

Great title, but there always great titles aren't they? Problem is I think one of his previous titles would have been more apt, 'Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before', or 'That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore' as this album sounds like I have heard it before, it sounds like more of his old music, again. Artists sound the way they sound and this is why we like them. However whilst I wasn't expecting this to sound like new wave jazz or heavy metal, my problem lies in just that - expectations.

With Morrissey we always expect so much. While our expectations were being dulled by his solo outputs, his last album 'you are the quarry' raised them again, back to those we had of his former group. And this may be the crux of the problem.

Our expectations are such of him that we need to be challenged by what we hear and not to simply have the same formula repackaged again. Whilst we have believed his hype we desperately need him not too. Maybe to achieve this he needs someone with as much investment and input in the songs as he has. As such Morrissey sounds like he needs a stronger song writing partner, someone to bully him and to shape him and not to just write songs that sound like Morrissey songs.If rifts or riffs can not be patched up with Johnny Marr, then maybe its time for someone new, someone to push things further once more, to bring the best out of him. Something that Tony Visconti seems to have not quite managed.

As such I can only suggest our own Riccardo Terranova, with Morrissey's new adopted homeland of Italy, this would help with the kudos as well as the song writing.

For now Morrissey is treading water, when he should be walking on it. Pity.

PB