My
name is Simon Gustafsson, and I play bass and sing in a skate punk band called
MOMENT 22 together with my hairy family consisting of guitarists Kujtim Bahtiri
and Alec Ferrara and drummer Love Behrndtz. I was asked to put down a top 10
list of bands that inspired me and my band over the years. There are so many
bands that mean a lot to us, but these are ten of the most important ones.
10: STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO
In like 2008 we
all went to see Reel Big Fish in Malmö, Sweden, and by then we hadn't ever heard
of the support band "Streetlight something". Anyone who is familiar
with the experience of seeing these guys live might know that we got blown away
in a second. The countless hours we've spent listening to the "Somewhere
in the Between" album somehow makes me sad that we don't have a brass
section. But that kind of energy delivered by Streetlight Manifesto, that is
something that can inspire the hell out of anyone in any genre.
9: SUM 41
This is as high
school as it gets. Sum 41 is one of the bands that made us notice the beauty in
catchy four-chord songs, and that it's all okay to shred a heavy metal solo
once in a while. "Does This Look Infected?", "Chuck" and
"All Killer No Filler" are all parts of the soundtrack to our youth
and the beginning of our friendships, and that Deryck Whibley sure knows how to
write great choruses.
8: EMINEM
Lyrics, lyrics,
lyrics. I speak mostly for myself in this influence. As a huge fan of the real
Slim Shady I've taken a whole lot of inspiration from his kind of rhyming and
by creating genuine and genius lyrics. And, I'll always cherish every memory of
Love and myself, drunk out of our asses, competing who was able to drop
"Lose Yourself" or "Without Me" word by word. No one was
ever as impressed by this as we wanted people to be.
7: THE FLATLINERS
After listening to
a whole lot of punk rock and pop punk over the years, sometimes it feels like
you've heard it all. And, along came the Flatliners. This was really exciting
to hear, and still is, and it felt to me like this is the new kind of vintage
sounding punkness. "Cavalcade" is an album that opened a lot of doors
for us and our songwriting, and helped break a lot of barriers that I really hadn't
thought of as there. Also one of my favourite bands to see perform.
6: MILLENCOLIN
Millencolin, and
specifically the "Pennybridge Pioneers" album, always inspired me a
lot. I would like to think that it is pretty obvious in our own kind of
melodies. Nikola inspires me a lot as a singer, and I'm always finding myself
really trying to have that specific tone. And, of anyone, these guys makes you
fucking proud of being from Sweden.
5: SKUMDUM
For those not
familiar with Skumdum, they're a punk rock band from Skelläfteå in Northern
Sweden. Kujtim, Alec and myself caught 'em on tour in like 2005, and they will
always have a special place in the heart and soul of Moment 22. If you haven't
checked them out, make sure you do. Really melodic, raw and punchy, just as I
like it. And, it always feels inspiring for me seeing a guy like their Pierre
Klingstedt or Nikola from Millencolin being a lead singing bass player.
4: RANCID
Tim fucking
Armstrong. The man who can write the most simple, half-assed lyrics and still
make it pure magic. Tim and Rancid are not just inspiring as a band with
brilliant music and wonderful albums, but also as punk rock guys not giving a
shit what or who is punk or who isn't. This makes a lot for the whole scene. So
what if it's punk, pop, rock or whatever. Rancid doesn't care, and you
shouldn't either. Good music is good music. And that Matt Freeman tho'.
Greatest bassist ever.
3: FOO FIGHTERS
Kujtim and Love
has always been huge Foo Fighters fans, always jamming on Everlong or My Hero
on every fucking party they could find a guitar. Myself, on the other hand,
didn't get into them at all until just recently. I watched ther HBO series,
bought a couple of albums and went to a show. Yes, THAT show! The one where Mr.
Grohl broke his leg. All I can say is, I get it now. We love the Foo Fighters,
and Dave seems to be one of the coolest guys in the business.
2: BLINK-182
This is another
band that we got into in high school, showing that pretty much any idiot in the
world can play pop-punk, and that it is beautiful. A couple of friends sharing
the stage singing catchy tunes about teenage years and oral sex, in between their
poo-poo-pee-pee banter. A concept I swallowed whole, and I'm pretty sure that
Blink always will remain one of my favourite bands. It may be all bubble gummy,
but hell, I'm feeling this
1: NOFX
When asked what is
the main influence of Moment 22, we'd all say NOFX. Simple as that. Every song
is brilliantly straight forward, and still, after 30 years as a band, they're
killing it. They're always finding ways to sound fresh, without even changing a
whole lot. Mike is my favourite lyricist ever by far, and I'm always so
impressed whether he's writing political stuff, doing simple story telling or
being a simple pain in the ass to his chosen victims. Always a pleasure to see
the old turds playing shows, and business wise I'll always cherish their way of
making the Fat Wreck empire flourish.
Honourable mentions: NO USE FOR A
NAME, THE OFFSPRING, GREEN DAY, RISE AGAINST.
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