Name X Ambassadors (Intro completed by Sam Nelson Harris)
Best known for My moustache.
Current city Los Angeles.
Really want to be in A cabin in the woods learning how to be a cobbler or some shit because the entertainment industry is sooo wacky and I often wanna run away from it all. (But who am I kidding? I’d last three days out there and then come running back).
Excited about VHS(X) 10-year anniversary tour, and then getting back to finishing up our new (5th!) album.
My current music collection has a lot of I’ve been listening to a lot of rap (Benny the Butcher, Westside Gunn, JID), and classical (Gustav Holst’s The Planets). Just about anything that takes me as far away from the genre I tend to write in.
And a little bit of Pop Country—A LOT of, actually. I love Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson the most right now.
Preferred format I love the ritual of putting on a Vinyl and because most everything sounds good on Vinyl, BUT… I think right now I’m a bigger CD guy. It’s nostalgic for me as a mid-millenial and I also just love how good and consistent the quality is.
From Sam Nelson Harris (vocalist)
1
Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen
This is by far my favorite album of all time. I wasn’t really a fan of Bruce’s until I heard Atlantic City—in that instant, the second that chorus hit, everything made sense to me about him. I was immediately as hardcore, die-hard of a Springsteen fan as you could find. There’s both an uncanny poetry and a grounded realism to his writing that is so egalitarian and human. I can genuinely feel that not only is he diving deep into himself but also reaching out to all of us, trying to build some sort of bridge between us. It’s what makes him one of the greatest to ever do it, and is the blueprint for me of what a really good song / album has the power to do.
2
In Rainbows, Radiohead
There are some albums you’ll never forget where you were and how you felt listening to it. I was in my apartment in Bushwick on my computer, and somewhere, somehow, read an article about a “pay-what-you-want Radiohead album.” Like a rabid animal I raced to the website, paid $0 for it (sorry Radiohead), and started listening. “15 Step” had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and when the riff from “Bodysnatchers” started, I remember I literally jumped up out of my seat and started yelling, “HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT!!!!” I sat and listened all the way through, then put it on my iPod, went for a long walk and listening to the whole thing again. Every year I go back and find a new song from that album to obsess over, but my favorite will always be “All I Need.” It’s Thom at his most genuine, pure, and un-obscured vocally and lyrically. I always think about the painting “Christina’s World” by Andrew Wyeth when I hear that song: “I’m in the middle of your picture / lying in the reeds.” It’s a tortured love song about an imbalanced relationship, he’s always pining for them, but they couldn’t give a shit about him. Which… I mean, I think we’ve all been there.
From Casey Harris (keyboardist)
3
Blow by Blow, Jeff Beck
I have always loved instrumental music, but this was the first album I’d ever listened to, that wasn’t a soundtrack of some kind, and was captivating from start to finish. It’s been one of my favorites ever since I discovered it at age 16. I can honestly say that it was this record which inspired me to learn to improvise and actually practice piano until I felt I could play like these guys. I’m still trying!
4
Manic Meat, Tobacco
I learned to play piano as a kid, and I was mainly a piano/organ guy for years, even into adulthood. It wasn’t until I discovered this album that I realized how much I’d been missing on the synth side of town. There are so many sonic colors on these tracks, and the whole thing in general is so unique and unlike any other music I’ve heard really. Also very cool to hear vocorder used like this, as a serious lead vocal, rather than a gimmick or effect.
From Adam Levin (drummer)
5
The Shape of Punk to Come, Refused
I discovered this record when I was 15 and deep in the throws of my emo/screamo era. I love everything about the record. Everything about it felt next level. It was heavy, weird, experimental, and somehow still catchy. It sounded unlike anything I’d ever heard, like hardcore smashed together with noise, electronics, and these wild left turns that made no sense but worked perfectly. What really sticks with me is how far ahead of its time it was. When it dropped, it basically flopped, but now you can hear its fingerprints all over the next generation of bands. It still inspires me today because it reminds me that art can be challenging, and ahead of its time and even if the world doesn’t get it right away, it can still leave a lasting impact.
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