I am what I hear.

One of the greatest rewards to come from the act of creation, whether it be an art form or a physical object, is being aware of the effect it has on others. Unfortunately often the artist has a general idea whether their creation is accepted or viewed in a positive light, though is not aware of more personal impacts.
Today I thought I would offer a list of my top 3 bands or artists who have changed my life of influenced me greatly.

Firstly I need to mention the influence of a radio station which is a national youth network in Australia called JJJ (pronounced Triple J). Without them I would have never heard many of my favorite artists. During my teenage years, they provided me with a wealth of quality music and commentry. These days I still enjoy listening to them (as opposed to the top 40 stations) , though as I am older their impact is not quite as strong but I still certainly enjoy their content.

So on with the list:

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - St Nick is truly magic, his music simple, his lyrics poetic his presentation preacher like. His Old testament style language combined with a passionate presence and detailed imagery really conveyed his subject matter totally. Albums like 'Tender Prey' and 'The Good Son' literally didn't leave my car CD player for months.
Having experienced Nick and the Bad Seeds live a number of times, the intensity and passion generated by each performance was unlike anything else I have experienced.

Tom Waits - A true master of musical genres. This man can do anything from a touching ballad to skeleton music and pull it off brilliantly. Detailed imagery, the husky voice, the sometimes quirky subject matter, the original concepts all combine to make the perfect troubadour. He reminds me of a Tenor that has lost his way. All of his releases have been consistently great, but my favorites are 'Swordfishtrombones' and 'Frank's Wild Years', I recall being totally blown away upon hearing both these albums. 'Frank's Wild Tears' was especially close to my heart as at that time I had left my full time job to take up a music career, and related to much of its content.

TISM (This is serious mum) - If you are not an Aussie you are not likely to know the likes of TISM. They were a Band that basically didn't take themselves or the music industry very seriously, though managed through their mockery of the industry to become quite popular. Their early material was raw and poignant, sometimes cryptic lyrics were incredibly well written. Law suits came at them like wildfire as they parodied and sometimes shamed popular artists, celebrities and bands in their songs. Their identities were always hidden by balaclavas or similar face covering headgear. Their concerts were a creative theatrical event often with something goofy going on behind the band. Hitler Ron Barassi ( the bands voice) often broke into spoken word diatribe attacking the evils of the music industry and Aussie culture. Tism fans were loyal, dedicated, fun loving yobbos who would often slag the band as much as the Band slagged them as being mindless sheep.
Unfortunately the band did their final gig a few years back, there was always hope for a reunion, but their lead guitarist (Token Blackman) passed away earlier this year. ( most of the band were in their 40-50's). Tism were pure energy.