Cave Clove, The TVD First Date

“There is something deliciously ceremonial and ritualistic about listening to music on vinyl.”

“The process of picking a record, looking at the album art, maybe displaying it somewhere as you listen, the flip to side B. No matter how big or small a collection is, it feels like a fun creative restriction to pick a record from the collection at hand, since these days with streaming services we can put on a digital version of pretty much anything in the world we want to hear.

I was fortunate to grow up in a home with a pretty sweet vinyl collection. My parents had lots of rock, soul, jazz, and folk records from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Some classics that I’ve had on heavy rotation for as long as I can remember that have greatly influenced my taste and the music I make include George Harrison, All Things Must Pass, Joni Mitchell, Blue, Prince, Prince, Steely Dan Aja, and Kate Bush The Kick Inside.

Below is a little more info about why I chose each of these albums. I would say overall, that the biggest aspect of all of these albums that influenced my own music is melody. All 5 of these artists write really beautiful, unique, and emotionally rich melodies in my opinion. A lot of really great music does not have strong melody lines, nor does it intend to.

Sometimes songs are more about feel, about sonics, about rhythm, etc., and while none of the albums I listed here are lacking in these other elements, they are all full of remarkably strong melody lines. I think growing up listening to this music bumped melody up to the top of my list of musical values, or at least led me to focus a lot on melody in my own writing.

Joni Mitchell, Blue | I am a big fan of many Joni albums, but Blue is so delicate and raw, and it just feels sacred. There is a quality of vulnerability that the songs on this album have, both lyrically and melodically, and that has inspired me to strive to be vulnerable in my writing.

George Harrison, All Things Must Pass | George Harrison was so spiritual, and that really comes through on this album. The guitar lines have so much soul it just destroys me (in a good way). I’m also really inspired by the arrangements on this record. The songs all have this really epic feeling about them, in a similar way to gospel and other spiritual music. This has inspired me to put as much soul into my music as I can and to not hold back when I’m really feeling it.

Steely Dan, “Deacon Blues” | I just feel like this is an album of perfect compositions. I feel this way about pretty much all Steely Dan albums, but this is the first one I heard since my parents had it on vinyl, and therefore it has an extra special place in my heart. I’m a big fan of how Steely Dan’s lyrics seem to paint visual pictures of the characters and scenes the songs describe. I’m a big fan of their grooves, arrangements, melodies, and their HOOKS! I’ve come to really value hooks in music and I’m pretty sure Steely Dan helped lead me here. Hooks can also contribute to songs being cheesy, but I’ve grown to love the cheese, I like when songs just go for it and these songs definitely do.

Kate Bush, “Feel It” | Kate Bush is a strong flavor to say the least, and I was not fully sold at first. I think her voice was a little piercing or shrieky for my taste. I learned to embrace that though, because the songs are so much fun, so emotional, and so courageous. They have kind of a musical theater vibe to them, as does Kate in general with her dancing and amazing theatrical videos. I always aspire to be more theatrical like this in my music and performance.

Prince, Prince | It’s hard to say what it is in particular about Prince or this album that has inspired me, because I don’t think I’m alone when I say it’s EVERYTHING. What a crazy amazing artist he was. Somehow, all at the same time, he was a total shredder, made us want to dance, had impeccable feel, and so much heart-wrenching soul. I also really appreciate his use of space on this album.”
—Katie Colver