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I first heard about Cigarettes after Sex through my mum and instantly became obsessed with all their songs and their lyrics . The band frontman in an interview talks about how hard it is to write good lyrics and how even Leonard Cohen took years to write one line for a song (Cigarettes after sex on the influence of Leonard Cohen 2017). He talks about finding the right vowel sounds and how you have to create a story with your lyrics. Sometimes things sound good in your head but when you actually sing them they don't always work well and you have to change them. He says the whole writing process still feels unnatural in comparison to actually making chord progressions. This has influenced me to find the right words and vowels to make my lyrics flow better.

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My mum introduced me to Lana Del Rey back in 2012 , the first song I heard was actually a cover of "Blue Velvet" , I was taken by her haunting vocals that had a sense of melancholy in them. Her whole "Old Hollywood" aesthetic inspired me to create my own individual aesthetic in my music , because I think that gives an added dimension to your art form and connects you with your audience. She has created her own "Sad girl" persona, leaning into melancholy and drama Cosslett, R.L. (2023) . This has inspired me to create my own persona in music

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My mum introduced me to Mazzy Star and I became hooked. Shoegaze is one of my favourite genres and later on opened me up to other related genres and bands such as Triphop and Portishead. Hope Sandoval's vocals are so dreamy and rich, I aspire to sing like her one day. This band is from the 90's but even so it still sounds so current and fresh. The lyrics of "Fade into you" are evocative and remind you of falling in love. One article mentions the similarities between this song and Bob Dylan's "Knocking on heavens Door" in terms of chord progressions. Pappis, K. (2021).

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My mum has equally influenced my taste in music, she grew up in the 60s and 70s and so has a broad range of knowledge in the rock genre, with her favourite records being Carol King's Tapestry and Pink floyd's Dark side of the Moon, she introduced me to psychedelic rock and even hard rock records like Jethro Tull. She stresses the importance of a song conveying a message and having a meaning, lyrics are very important to her. Lyrics have become important to me, some of my favourite songs have great lyrics that actually provoke ideas and adhere to an intrinsic sense of meaning.

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Kurt Cobain has influenced so many artists and his music still so relevant today. Cooper, L. (2014) St Vincent wishes Kurt was still alive today and how he inspired her to pick up an electric guitar (The song that made St. Vincent want to become a guitarist. (2022, June 29). Kurt's attitude toward rock is what makes me admire him. Kurt created his own definition of punk  "punk rock should mean freedom, liking and excepting anything that you like. Playing whatever you want. As sloppy as you want. As long as it’s good and it has passion. Coffman, T. (2023)

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David Bowie is one of both mine and St Vincent's main influences - sonically and stylistically . The way Bowie continuously reinvents himself has inspired me to create a different aesthetic for each project I create. Every album of his has it is own theme and aesthetic , he creates a whole different character each time, its performative, exciting and dramatic much like his music .
My favourite song of his is "Its No Game" , in an interview St Vincent writes about it ; "The song unites beauty and paranoia, and it reminds me what a funny writer and a consummate performer [Bowie] was.”Anders, M. (2022

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Double J (2021) St Vincent notes Steely Dan's sound as being a major influence in her 70s inspired album "Daddy's home". Sonically, they are incredibly advanced, weaving jazz into soft rock. Their blunt and tongue in cheek lyrics set them apart from the rest which has influenced me in the way I write lyrics. My favourite song from their catalogue would be "Any major dude" because it is a really sweet song (a change from their usual harsh and sarcastic lyrical writing).

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St Vincent has influenced me in a whole myriad of ways. Firstly she's a baddass female guitar player who inspired me to pick up an electric Stratocaster. Secondly , her music influences are quiet eclectic, from Steely Dan to Jimi Hendrix to Erykah Badu but whom all share the theme. She says in one interview Double J (2021) that she gravitates towards music in the 70s "Great music that was very sophisticated, but spoke to the human condition in such a real way". She also is a major fan of Kurt Cobain and the whole grunge rock genre "It really did feel like Nirvana was a band for outsiders, that just happened to reach millions and millions of people,” she commented. “I always felt like a weirdo, and I was.”
Cooper, L. (2014). In her interviews she has mentioned bands that I never would have come across such as Badu and Steely Dan. I have found my parents only really connect to music from the 60s/70s so it was great to find someone born in the early 80s who has a strong grunge influence, who has opened me up to music of the 90s which I connect to.

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Elton John's songs have majorly influenced the way I write music and the way I create piano progressions. Technically , he is incredibly talented, his style of playing has influenced my dad's style which he has then passed onto me. His use of inversions add colour to his songs, like George Martin, he also was classical trained (Keyboard Improv (2019). It's fascinating how training in one genre such as classical can benefit you in the Rock world because you have this added theory and knowledge that you can draw upon.

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The Beatles have forever changed Pop and Rock music, they are one of my Dad and I's favourite bands because of many factors : song writing, lyrics, chord progressions and social/ political songs. We argue that producer George Martin should be included as the 5th Beatle because of his innovative production style, merging his classical background with the new ideas of The Beatles to create their unique sound (2016) The World from PRX. This production style has influenced me to experiment with things like reversing vocals like George Martin does.

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U2 has changed the way I view rock music, they have essentially created their own genre within the rock landscape. They are a band that has been catapulted into fame and fortune, but have still remained true to their art and humble. They actually first started out as a punk band in the early 80's with influences such as the Sex pistols, The Clash and The Rolling Stones (Discover who influenced U2 (2013). Bono's lyrics are full of expressive imagery and meaning, some of his songs are political too such as Sunday Bloody Sunday Music, T.L.O. (2018).
The Edge's guitar playing and delayed effect has in itself created its own genre and that was so inspiring to me and has allowed me to experiment with creating different guitar sounds .

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My dad has definitely influenced my taste in music to a large degree. He has educated me through each recent decade of music and pop culture (60s, 70s,80s and so on) . The music of the 60s and 70s in particular is deeply imbedded into my psyche, I find myself gravitating towards artists like Carol king and Elton John - Rock in general has been a major influence in determining my music preferences. In addition to this, my dad has made a point of educating me on social movements and the pop culture in each decade to provide context for the music. Music influences pop culture and pop culture influences music, it was fascinating to see this correlation. This notion has influenced the way I want to create music, I believe to make great art, one has to keep in mind this generation's pop culture and social values and reflect them in your music.