My Life In Records
You may recall we gave the “sprawling, atmospheric indie” that belongs to Other Lives the Ragged Recommends seal of approval earlier this month. You’ll be able to find out exactly how impressive a noise the Oklahoma quintet make when we review their imminent sophomore LP Tamer Animals in the coming days.
As the band were busy preparing to hit The UK for a number of live dates, Jonathon Mooney – who plays everything from violin to French horn, organ and presumably kitchen sink – was kind enough to give us an insight into his band's musical influences by detailing their Life In Records. And yes, don't worry, of course Neil Young and Brian Wilson made the cut…
This is one of the first records I remember hearing in its entirety and it made a huge impression even as a young kid.
Some of us were really into punk as kids. The music really connected to us as it did many other kids at the time. We still consider the Ramones self titled debut to be one of our favorite records through and through.
In High School I was turned onto Neil Young in a music class and really fell in love with the simplicity and effectiveness of the songs.
We’ve always loved how this record broke out of the rock band format. It encouraged us to branch out and think about where else we could take music and songwriting.
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We love how untraditional the songwriting was in that it focused on mood and beauty as opposed to form and structure.
Hearing a rock band play as an ensemble really inspired our first band Kunek.
The way Wilson used classical instruments and arrangements in this record is amazing and made a huge impression. The percussion alone is brilliant. There’s a lot to learn from this record.
This is one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve ever heard. It’s amazing from start to finish but contains a few moments that are unbelievable.
Reich and Glass are very influential on our current record. There is a subtlety and meditative quality that we love about these composers.
TEll us what you think