Just reading on another thread that Neil is a fan of Guster - a band I'm not familiar with. It just got me wondering what other bands Neil is a fan of and any other influences he has name-checked. Of course we all know The Beatles and The Byrds.

and The Kinks

quote:

Originally posted by KEROUAC:
Just reading on another thread that Neil is a fan of Guster - a band I'm not familiar with.

You should check out Guster. I love Keep It Together.

I've seen Neil mention the Arcade Fire and the Shins.

I've read that Neil is a fan of Built to Spill - an excellent band. At one point he said he was enjoying the new Wilco record (probably A Ghost Is Born).

He's said that he doesn't really keep up too much with current bands..."I'm not one to keep my ear to the ground and seek out cool obscure groups" or something like that.

quote:

Originally posted by slowpogo:
I've read that Neil is a fan of Built to Spill - an excellent band. At one point he said he was enjoying the new Wilco record (probably A Ghost Is Born).
.

actually, the latest Wilco album is Sky Blue Sky. (my favorite is Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, not that anyone cares...)

I recall listening to some radio show where Neil and Tim played DJ and one of the songs Neil played was by the band Gomez...Gomez is the bomb (not so much their most recent album, but go back to Split the Difference and In Our Gun)

quote:

Originally posted by sunset swimmer:

quote:

Originally posted by slowpogo:
I've read that Neil is a fan of Built to Spill - an excellent band. At one point he said he was enjoying the new Wilco record (probably A Ghost Is Born).
.

actually, the latest Wilco album is Sky Blue Sky.

At the time he said that, I do believe A Ghost Is Born was their latest.

The Smiths, of course.

and of course Neil's all time favorite...Neil Young, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Neil Young and the Blue Notes, etc etc.

And the guy grew up just down the street from me....used to walk the very streets I walk....and for cripe sakes, my kids go to the same school he went to. How cool is that!

Now to add a more comedic element to the thread; Neil's dislikes.

It's very very rare that you ever hear Neil slagging a band off or expressing his dislike for an artist. I've only ever heard him do this four times (which really isn't that much at all).

They were:

Creed
I think we're all aware of this one because I think he's mentioned his dislike of the band on multiple occassions, mainly when they were at large in the early 2000s.

Steely Dan

When I went to see the Finn Brothers in 2004 in Melbourne, he mentioned his dislike for the band on stage during a song. He was in a bit of a dark mood that night as it was the first time they had returned to Melbourne after Paul's passing (with the exception of the funeral). But it was the first major tour they did in Australia after everything happened.

ANYWAY, the show didn't go without its humour. They were performing Mood Swinging Man and there was this strange interlude somewhere in the middle of the song where they slowed down, stopped singing and gently spoke while they played. For memory, Tim remarked how down Neil looked and asked what sort of mood he was in. Neil gave a fairly vague and muttered response. Tim then asked if he was in a "Doobie Brothers mood" to which Neil responded, "no, not tonight". Tim then asked if he was in a "Steely Dan mood" to which Neil shook his head and said "no way". This had obviously been an ongoing joke between the pair as Tim then carried on stating that Neil wasn't much for Steely Dan, to which Neil said something like, "no way...if anyone in the audience has any Steely Dan albums, please bring them to the stage to be destroyed".

Metallica

When One Nil was released, Napster and various forms of file sharing was of very common knowledge amongst the general public. During this time, Metallica drummer, Lars Ulrich, had unleashed a law suit on Napster on the grounds of Copyright infringement. This was a VERY hot issue at the time, not only in the music industry but in the legal profession and current affairs. Anyway, Neil was being interviewed in a magazine to promote One Nil and he was asked what his thoughts on file sharing were and if he agreed with the war against it. He stated that he didn't really have much against it and also mentioned that he didn't have a great deal of respect for Metallica anyway.

Not a huge slagging, but more than the normal for Neil.

The Police/Sting

Not sure how to interpret these instances but it has happened twice. I think we all know the story where Neil and Sting met in the 1980s? The short version: Sting was backstage at a concert singing "Don't dream it's over" and walked into a room where Neil was. Neil had overheard him and simply said "Do do do, da da da".

Secondly, very recently, at a gig this year, think we all know that they parodied Every breath you take with Nick on vocals?

That's about it.



My thoughts on all of that, in all honestly, I only agree with one of them - CREED. Shamelessly derivative of Pearl Jam which even as an impersonation was only done half as well, bland sounding music, cliche lyrics and a group of musicians who clearly took themselves WAY too seriously.

As for Steely Dan, i'm not a fan or a follower of their music, but it's no big deal for me to sit through a song of theirs when it is on the radio. I find them quite catchy and likeable. I can't see what Neil has against them.

I happen to be a fan of Metallica, but the animosity toward Metallica is nothing new and has been brewing since the early 1990s. I prefer to talk to someone who says "no thanks, not for me" rather than a whinging fan who states they hate the band because their music doesn't sound like Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning, they've done much better things than that in my opinion. So no offence taken from Neil.

The Police AND Sting solo, i'm a fan of both too. Again, as with Metallica, a lot of people groan when they hear the name Sting, haven't completely understood why, but I have no shame in saying that i'm a fan. But, at the same time, there seems to be a lot of anti-Sting out there too, so again, not offended.

Yes! Thanks for that last post re: Meil's dislikes......I absolutely hate Steely Dan's music. To me it is horrible! All songs sound somewhat the same. So I can see Neil's point.

Also, same goes for Metallica.

And the band I hate most currently....the last few years.....Nickelback. Horrible horrible!

renzo, such a cool Neil Young story of yours

I have no nice comments on the music of Steely Dan or Creed... I have also read Neil does not think to much about the err, music of Moby

I agree with Neil on Moby then, Moby seems to just be getting more and more mediocre with each release. Same with Fat Boy Slim.

Any quotes of Neil dissing Moby?

Actually I have something to contribute to the "Likes" section of this thread.

Radiohead and Pearl Jam he seems to be fans of (for obvious reasons). He also happens to be a fan of David Bowie, The Byrds (if it already hasn't been mentioned), Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes, Missy Higgins, Sarah Blasco and I assume the Dixie Chicks.

Also, I was reading that apparently Neil stated that REM's Automatic for the people was one of his favourite albums of all time.

I was just looking for where I read it...found it now

In Rolling Stone a couple of years ago,they had Neil and his favourite albums...this was one comment on Alan Lomax

I hope that Moby donated a ****load of money to someone who was connected to the people he sampled because the real stuff is 100 times better than his album

there was also a thing online awhile back where Neil mentioned Alan aswell and added 'why would you ever need to listen to Moby'

p.s. Automatic For The People is awesome... but I like UP even more

lol wow that's pretty strong coming from Neil!

I think that's harsher than the Creed feedback.

I also love Automatic, but New Adventures is my favourite, UP could have been a classic with 3 or 4 less tracks.

quote:

Originally posted by Joel:
The Police/Sting

Not sure how to interpret these instances but it has happened twice. I think we all know the story where Neil and Sting met in the 1980s? The short version: Sting was backstage at a concert singing "Don't dream it's over" and walked into a room where Neil was. Neil had overheard him and simply said "Do do do, da da da".

IIRC, that story is told in Something So Strong. According to Chris Bourke, Neil started singing "Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" as a sort of tribute to Sting, but Sting misinterpreted it as making fun of him.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Finngirl:

there was also a thing online awhile back where Neil mentioned Alan aswell and added 'why would you ever need to listen to Moby'[QUOTE]

I remember that as well! I think it was when he picked 10 favourite tracks for iTunes. One of them was Bessie Smith, who I think Moby has sampled one a few times, which was when Neil made his 'why would anyone need to listen to Moby?' comment.

As for Neil's likes, don't forget The Who, David Bowie, The Beach Boys, Elliott Smith and Bob Marley (the man's got taste!). I agree with him on the Steely Dan thing as well...

Thanks for the posts so far ..it's made an interesting read. This is entirely hypothetical but I can imagine Neil appreciating Ray LaMontagne as he's quite Crosby, Stills and Nash influenced who I think I've heard Neil namecheck somewhere.

I also agree with the Radiohead suggestion as there are one or two songs Neil has writen that have reminded me of them - particularly the chorus of Turn it Around

De gustibus non est disputandum, I guess. I love Steely Dan, both the consummate musicianship and the dry wit illuminating the seedy underbelly of American culture. Thinking about it, I'd say they're the opposite end of music from Neil/CH in that SD in its heyday became exclusively a studio band, whereas CH's music is almost always better live, IMO. A different aim and energy. But they're alike in one way: Steely Dan reformed not too long ago.

Personally I always thought Creed was a buncha posers. Metallica is the real deal, just not my real deal. Not a huge fan of metal in general. To me, music of that genre all starts sounding alike toute suite.

I've idly wondered at times whether Neil ever got into any country-ish music. To my ear some of his songs sorta lean that way; perhaps it's the shared Scottish/Irish/Border Country musical lineage. In particular Better Be Home Soon wouldn't take much work to be a really good country ballad. I could hear LeeAnn Rimes doing it, or even better Alison Krauss. (Although maybe that's already happened. I don't follow country music.)

Wonder if Neil listens to any hiphop?

quote:

Originally posted by lavar78:
IIRC, that story is told in Something So Strong. According to Chris Bourke, Neil started singing "Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" as a sort of tribute to Sting, but Sting misinterpreted it as making fun of him.

Actually, I remember it the other way around. Sting came backstage singing "hey now, hey now" in honest tribute. Neil thought he was being made fun of and replied with "De do do do...".

quote:

Originally posted by sunset swimmer:
I recall listening to some radio show where Neil and Tim played DJ

Was that on KCRW? On the show I listened to, Neil played "Not Even Stevie Nicks" by Calexico. Great song. You can still watch/listen to it here: http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/mb/mb050210neil_and_tim_finn

quote:

Originally posted by parula:

I've idly wondered at times whether Neil ever got into any country-ish music. To my ear some of his songs sorta lean that way; perhaps it's the shared Scottish/Irish/Border Country musical lineage. In particular Better Be Home Soon wouldn't take much work to be a really good country ballad. I could hear LeeAnn Rimes doing it, or even better Alison Krauss.

I've wondered that at times too.
I've always thought that the Dixie Chicks could do a really nice version of Better Be Home Soon-Natalie Maines has an amazing voice and their harmonies are beautiful(IMO).