When MAGNET asked Manchester native Damon Gough (a.k.a. Badly Drawn Boy) for 10 favorite songs, he pulled them out of his hat. On the new One Plus One Is One (XL/Astralwerks), Beatlesque baroque pop, clavinet-and-flute faerie folk and Vince Guaraldi-style piano runs add up to a surplus of melody and just the right amount of experimentation.
Tim Buckley “Song For The Siren” (1970)
Over the years, I’d heard the Cocteau Twins’ version. I’ve used it a few times as my opening music for gigs. The Buckley version was kind of elusive for me; the only version I had of it was on this really rough bootleg. It’s a pretty basic chord progression, but you’ve got to be a good singer to pull that shit off.
The Shins “Sphagnum Esplanade” (2001)
It’s a b-side from the “New Slang” single. It’s like a hymn of some sort. It sounds like a standard. They never play it live because they can’t. I think the singer (James Mercer) did it on his four-track at home, and he’s never been able to replicate it. If all the Shins stuff was like this, they’d be the best band in the world. I wish I’d written it.
Bob Dylan, “Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues” (1962)
It displays Dylan’s humor. There’s a bit where he describes himself at the picnic, and he’s beaten and bruised and bald and his teeth are falling out, but he’s still lucky to be alive. The way he turns it, it makes me laugh every time.
Nico, “I’ll Keep It With Mine” (1968)
It’s a Dylan tune he didn’t really finish, and he gave it to Nico and she reworked it. Oddly enough, she did a better job of it than Dylan. It’s got this hopeful, almost Western, feel to it. Last year on my birthday, my girlfriend booked a limo to drive around Manchester before we got to a surprise party. We drove around for an hour and played this track 10 times.
Dave Tyack’s Dakota Oak, “How Heavy A Heart Is Mine!” (2001)
This is an instrumental that made the list for a sad reason. Dave was missing for two years and was recently found dead. He went hiking through France and ended up in Corsica, and his body was found in the mountains. He was the first artist we had on my label, Twisted Nerve, aside from myself. It’s beautiful music, and it’s a tribute to Dave that he’s on this list.
Tim Hardin, “Tribute To Hank Williams” (1968)
I’d heard Hardin’s name along with singer/songwriter people like Fred Neil. Hardin has one of the best voices. I read that in the ’60s, Bob Dylan said Hardin was the greatest living songwriter.
John Frusciante, “The Days Have Turned” (2004)
I heard this track on BBC Radio One, and I thought it was a Cat Stevens song I hadn’t heard before. When he started
with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, he seemed like an impressionable kid, really young and vibrant, then he had that period of 10 years when he was out of it. But I think he’s a great bloke.
Guided By Voices, “Echos Myron” (1994)
I could have picked quite a few tracks off Bee Thousand, but there’s something amazing about this tune. It’s everything that’s good about lo-fi, which doesn’t mean anything anymore. I met Robert Pollard, who’s a hero of mine. People think I’m prolific, and Pollard said, “Well, you are in a way, because you release albums on a bigger scale.” I told him, “I’d kind of like to do it more like you.”
Mazzy Star, “Fade Into You” (1993)
Hope Sandoval has one of the great female voices. This song would suit a lot of good situations, like sitting under the stars at the Glastonbury Festival or the Grand Canyon.
Bobby Conn, “Whores” (2001)
Me and a few others forced him to play this song when he did a
solo gig in Manchester recently. He said he couldn’t play it without his band, but we told him he wasn’t getting off the stage until he did. And he did it with us all singing along.
