Former Smith Westerns man Cullen Omori released his own record, New Misery, earlier this year and is now set to tour the UK, with dates kicking off at Brighton’s The Great Escape (19-21 May). To give you an idea of what he’s about he’s made Q a playlist of “Songs to snob about”, or alternatively “ten songs that were influential to me from the time I was 14 to now.”
Velvet Underground And Nico – Sunday Morning
“I used to ride my mountain bike around my neighborhood when I was 14 or 15 with a Discman in my cargo pocket listening to the my dad’s copy. I didn’t really know if I liked the album but I knew it was cool.”
The Stone Roses – I Wanna Be Adored
“After I got into high school I discovered shoegazing and apathy through The Stone Roses. This song got me playing guitar and trying to be super shoe hazy.”
The Rolling Stones – 2000 Light Years From Home
“The first Rolling Stones record I ever bought was Their Satanic Majesties Request. Of course I had heard The Rolling Stones before, but this album definitely sounded a whole lot better than Exile On Main Street to my 17 year-old self.”
The Black Lips – Hippie Hippie Hoorah
“When I heard Let It Bloom my mind was destroyed. Let It Bloom is by far the best lo-fi album of all time and probably one of the best albums ever made. Baby Smith Westerns’ songs switched from shoe gaze to garage punk after hearing this record.”
Milk’n’Cookies – Typically Teenage
“Hearing that Black Lips sent me into a huge record collecting phase of power pop and punk bands from the 60s and 70s. One of the bands I discovered was Milk n Cookies who along with T-Rex transformed my songwriting.”
John Lennon – Mind Games
“Heard this song and knew that saying your influence was The Beatles was more than just some bullshit soft ball response. Began mining these solo John Lennon records for all their worth.”
Girls – Hellhole Rat Race
“When I met Girls, I was mainly devoted to listening to old bands and obscure records. I did a tour with them in 2010 and that all changed. By far one of the most influential bands both musically and personally that I have ever experienced. I wanted to be Chris Owens.”
Smith Westerns – Weekend
“Wrote this song half and half with Max. I did the verse he did the chorus and we molded something of ourselves into each others part. I had no idea this song would be responsible for giving me such great experiences and such pain later on.”
Suede – Saturday Night
“This band will always hold a special place in my heart as Suede is the best Britpop band of all time and the person that turned me onto it turned me onto a lot of other things too, lol.”
Spiritualized – Do It All Over Again
“As Smith Westerns started to fall apart and I started to become more withdrawn and bummed out, I began listening to a lot of Spiritualized. I also probably tried to imitate Jason Pierce a little too much.”
For more head to Subpop.com/artists/cullen_omori
