Plastic Cowboys
The Plastic Cowboys are the latest Irish artist to take on our Guestlist series and chat about the 10 songs that shaped them as artists. The lads are releasing their debut EP ‘Splinter’ tomorrow so be sure to check that out! Here, band members Ciaran and Darren chat about the 10 songs (five each) that shaped them and their music.
Ciaran:
I Wanna Be Adored – The Stone Roses
The perfect start to a perfect album. The Stone Roses are the perfect three-piece, as they are more than the sum of their parts (just listen to any Ian Brown solo song to see my point). ‘I wanna be adored’ epitomises the larger than life attitude of The Stone Roses champion. A simple hook, bare boned instrumentation and almost whisper-like vocals, yet it demands your attention every time. Whatever your thoughts are on bucket hat culture, you can’t deny the brilliance in this tune.
Strawberry Fields – The Beatles
Can you name any other song that was more innovative and pushed the limits on studio production than this, and if you can it’s probably another Beatles track. George Martin famously regretted not including this song on Sgt. Pepper, but it’s isolation from anything else The Beatles’ recorded is a testimony to its genius. The height of the 60’s psychedelic era climaxed with this song, as there was no way to top it. Brian Wilson tried and he lost his mind from it. If there is anything to be learnt from this, is that this is the top of the mountain. There’ll never be a song better than this. It’s over, it’s done. Nickelback got pretty close though…
Life On Mars – David Bowie
Hands down my favourite Bowie track. It borders between ballad and anthem, which very few artists/bands can achieve (Queen being another great example of this). I don’t think anything I can say about this track can accurately convey how much of a masterpiece it is.
Horses / Land of a thousand dances - Patti Smith
Patti Smith is a child of Greenwich village, New York. From the perspective of a stupid culchie accented kid, who saw Dublin as a cat sees a lion, 1960s and 1970s Greenwich village felt like a poets promised land. Did poetic and lyrical geniuses move to the village, or does the village create the genius? I don’t know and I’m probably looking into it too hard. Regardless, Patti Smith is one of them, and if you don't listen to her, change that immediately.
Geyser – Mitski
Similarly to ‘I wanna be adored’, Geyser is a brilliant album opener. For a two and a half minute song, it goes through a million emotions at once as it crescendos from an atmospheric place of vulnerability to an explosive sense of chaos and euphoria. The lyrics match brilliantly with the music, as you are smacked in the face by a burst of emotion, much like an actual geyser.
Darren:
I don’t want to go down to the basement - Ramones
The Ramones are really what started everything for me. When I was 14 I heard their first record for the first time and it just hooked me like nothing else had ever done before.
Surfs up (Smile Sessions) - Beach Boys
During my last year of college, I was tasked with making a record and my big inspiration while making it was Brian Wilson especially ‘Pet Sounds’ and ‘Smile’.
Junk - Paul McCartney
I spent summer 2018 making documentaries for a non profit in Dublin and my entire summer was soundtracked by McCartney I & II.
Heroin - Velvet Underground
Heroin by the Velvet Underground blew my mind when I first heard it as a teenager I remember sitting in awe. It completely changed my perspective on songwriting.
Quicksand - David Bowie
This has always been one of my favourite tracks and reminds me of when Bowie passed, I was in college at the time and when I found out I remember sitting outside listening to ‘Hunky Dory’ with a pack of cigarettes.
The Plastic Cowboys will release their debut EP 'Splinter' tomorrow ahead of what promises to be a busy year for the band. Be sure to follow them on Spotify and check out the EP tomorrow.
