Sven68
born-again atheist
The latest edition of German music magazine "Musikexpress" has an interesting Johnny Marr feature in which he talks about the records he listened to while making "Fever dreams PTS 1-4". This is the DeepL translation:
Morrissey says that Marr should stop talking about him in interviews. Marr's management tells us in advance that said M. should not play a role in the interviews. Why also? There are better topics, for example a series of records that accompanied the wonder-guitarist and pop connoisseur Johnny Marr on the way to his new solo album FEVER DREAMS PTS1-4.
Sly & the Family Stone - Greatest Hits
Johnny Marr: I actually thought my favorite soul record was STAND! by Sly & TheFamily Stone, but I noticed that some of the band's best songs aren't on STAND! at all. Therefore it is now GREATEST HITS - this may be the more boring choice, but instead you'll find "You Can Make It If You Try." The title sounds sentimental, but there is a lot of truth to it. My song "Spirit, Power And Soul" is based on it. You may not be able to change the world, that would be asking too much. And you can't make corrosive attitudes like racism or homophobia finally disappear from the face of the earth. I'm not naive enough to believe that, I'm not Crosby, Stills & f***ing Nash! But you can allow the experiences you gain in your life. You have that power. So use it! Empower yourself! "You can make it if you try" - that's the message of Soul.
Talking Heads - Remain In Light
We all heard this record in 1980, it influenced the sound of the English undergrounds immensely and is produced by Brian Eno. Suddenly everyone wanted the groove of Talking Heads combined with the adventurousness of MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS, the album David Byrne and Eno released a year after that. Over in Liverpool, Echo & The Bunnymen wanted to sound like that, in Bristol The Pop Group copied the groove, in Leeds Gang Of Four changed their sound, The Slits gave it a female vibe. It was an interesting time, because all the D.I.Y. punks suddenly wanted to make music that was supposed to be played by excellent musicians. Funk'n'jazz sensibilities played by poor pale girls and guys. Freak Party, the band Andy Rourke and I played in 1981 before we formed the Smiths, also dabbled in it. What you can tell: In the early '80s, when everybody wanted to be funky, rock music was kind of illegal. Nobody wanted that anymore. It took the Smiths to make Rock okay again.
Electronic - Electronic
This is the first of three albums that Bernard Sumner and I did under the Electronic name. The record was quite successful at the time, but I think it's worth pointing out that the song "Get The Message" on that album is one of the absolute best I've been involved with. Most people think the single "Getting Away With It" is the better song, that's okay, but to me the song doesn't mean that much. The time with Electronic was very exciting for me. The Smiths were at the end, in the media the split was a permanent topic. Basically, I was in a shitstorm at the time, at the age of 24, while a revolution was starting around me in Manchester, because pop was opening up to dance music. Then Bernard came around the corner with the idea of a non-band, which suited me very well in my situation. I felt like breaking the rules of indie rock. At first, no one wrote anything about a supergroup, everyone was just mourning The Smiths. The fact that Electronic was a New Order/
Smiths project, was only noticed after the second record RAISE THE PRESSURE. Whereupon we got Karl Bartos from Kraftwerk. Because if it's going to be a supergroup, then let's do it right.
Sorry - 925
I consciously decide not to let myself be influenced by new things. I don't want to seem like an older musician trying to sound current somehow. That seems undignified. No old man has the right to steal the vibe of youth. But there is a record from the year before last that blew me away: 925 by Sorry. They have a very interesting approach because they bring a lot of depth to the digital technology. They play electronic music, but the album sounds like a band that still knows how to perform music - and that's not just pressing around on a damn laptop.
Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth Utopian Ashes
Bobby is a good friend, he played it for me before it came out. That may have influenced my judgment a bit. It's a great record of duets! I tried to copy them a little bit by asking Meredith Sheldon to sing on my new album. She used to be a singer with the band Family Of The Year, I like the female vibe she implemented to my tracks. You refrain from giving your songs any of that "Sister" energy.
Siouxsie And The Banshees - Juju
What is always worthwhile is to reach into the box with the records of Siouxsie & The Banshees, especially JUJU makes me happy. If I could put a quartet of the best singers, Siouxsie would definitely be there, along with Bryan Ferry, Ray Davies and Patti Smith. I like that Siouxsie has completely retired after an okay solo album. As far as I know she lives in the South of France and does well to stay away from the bullshit of the modern entertainment industry. On JUJU, not only are the vocals unbeatable, but so are the guitars of John McGeoch. No one has played like him. He was also the one who made THE CORRECT USE OF SOAP by Magazine into an album that never disappoints me.
Morrissey says that Marr should stop talking about him in interviews. Marr's management tells us in advance that said M. should not play a role in the interviews. Why also? There are better topics, for example a series of records that accompanied the wonder-guitarist and pop connoisseur Johnny Marr on the way to his new solo album FEVER DREAMS PTS1-4.
Sly & the Family Stone - Greatest Hits
Johnny Marr: I actually thought my favorite soul record was STAND! by Sly & TheFamily Stone, but I noticed that some of the band's best songs aren't on STAND! at all. Therefore it is now GREATEST HITS - this may be the more boring choice, but instead you'll find "You Can Make It If You Try." The title sounds sentimental, but there is a lot of truth to it. My song "Spirit, Power And Soul" is based on it. You may not be able to change the world, that would be asking too much. And you can't make corrosive attitudes like racism or homophobia finally disappear from the face of the earth. I'm not naive enough to believe that, I'm not Crosby, Stills & f***ing Nash! But you can allow the experiences you gain in your life. You have that power. So use it! Empower yourself! "You can make it if you try" - that's the message of Soul.
Talking Heads - Remain In Light
We all heard this record in 1980, it influenced the sound of the English undergrounds immensely and is produced by Brian Eno. Suddenly everyone wanted the groove of Talking Heads combined with the adventurousness of MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS, the album David Byrne and Eno released a year after that. Over in Liverpool, Echo & The Bunnymen wanted to sound like that, in Bristol The Pop Group copied the groove, in Leeds Gang Of Four changed their sound, The Slits gave it a female vibe. It was an interesting time, because all the D.I.Y. punks suddenly wanted to make music that was supposed to be played by excellent musicians. Funk'n'jazz sensibilities played by poor pale girls and guys. Freak Party, the band Andy Rourke and I played in 1981 before we formed the Smiths, also dabbled in it. What you can tell: In the early '80s, when everybody wanted to be funky, rock music was kind of illegal. Nobody wanted that anymore. It took the Smiths to make Rock okay again.
Electronic - Electronic
This is the first of three albums that Bernard Sumner and I did under the Electronic name. The record was quite successful at the time, but I think it's worth pointing out that the song "Get The Message" on that album is one of the absolute best I've been involved with. Most people think the single "Getting Away With It" is the better song, that's okay, but to me the song doesn't mean that much. The time with Electronic was very exciting for me. The Smiths were at the end, in the media the split was a permanent topic. Basically, I was in a shitstorm at the time, at the age of 24, while a revolution was starting around me in Manchester, because pop was opening up to dance music. Then Bernard came around the corner with the idea of a non-band, which suited me very well in my situation. I felt like breaking the rules of indie rock. At first, no one wrote anything about a supergroup, everyone was just mourning The Smiths. The fact that Electronic was a New Order/
Smiths project, was only noticed after the second record RAISE THE PRESSURE. Whereupon we got Karl Bartos from Kraftwerk. Because if it's going to be a supergroup, then let's do it right.
Sorry - 925
I consciously decide not to let myself be influenced by new things. I don't want to seem like an older musician trying to sound current somehow. That seems undignified. No old man has the right to steal the vibe of youth. But there is a record from the year before last that blew me away: 925 by Sorry. They have a very interesting approach because they bring a lot of depth to the digital technology. They play electronic music, but the album sounds like a band that still knows how to perform music - and that's not just pressing around on a damn laptop.
Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth Utopian Ashes
Bobby is a good friend, he played it for me before it came out. That may have influenced my judgment a bit. It's a great record of duets! I tried to copy them a little bit by asking Meredith Sheldon to sing on my new album. She used to be a singer with the band Family Of The Year, I like the female vibe she implemented to my tracks. You refrain from giving your songs any of that "Sister" energy.
Siouxsie And The Banshees - Juju
What is always worthwhile is to reach into the box with the records of Siouxsie & The Banshees, especially JUJU makes me happy. If I could put a quartet of the best singers, Siouxsie would definitely be there, along with Bryan Ferry, Ray Davies and Patti Smith. I like that Siouxsie has completely retired after an okay solo album. As far as I know she lives in the South of France and does well to stay away from the bullshit of the modern entertainment industry. On JUJU, not only are the vocals unbeatable, but so are the guitars of John McGeoch. No one has played like him. He was also the one who made THE CORRECT USE OF SOAP by Magazine into an album that never disappoints me.
