Sources of Ankh

Ankh is the wellspring of life. To my little guys that means the frequencies generated by music and their effect on the hormonal system of living beings. In other words, the stuff that sends the shivers down your spine and makes you rage like a fool. Ankh is timeless. The taste and smell may change but the effect is the same.

Nothing exists in isolation and everything is related to something that has been done before. Anyone that tells you they have come up with something completely original is deluded. When you are talking ankh there is a big difference between inspiration and plagiarism. When you absorb your influences and spew them out as something that belongs to you, that’s inspiration. When you sound like a hack, that’s plagiarism. Ripping off a cool bassline to suit your financial bottom line is hack behaviour. Getting fuelled by a source of ankh is inspiration. This post is a not-very-comprehensive list of sources of ankh the Hopkinsville Goblins use to build their musical matrix. It’s inspired by the record sleeves of the Chocolate Watch Band. This is the only web page you will read that lists Cold Chisel and Japan in the same breath.

Simple Minds, Dub reggae, Gong, original blues, Virgin Prunes, Throbbing Gristle, Sleazoid 60’s rock, XTC, the best bits of 60’s acid rock are all covered already on this here blog. 

Add to that The Boys, Adam & the Ants, and The Rezillos for making punk you can laugh along to; Gang of Four, Japan and New Order for making post punk you can dance to; The Soft Boys, Swell Maps and ATV for warping traditions before they became traditional; and Humble Pie, Free and Cold Chisel for putting soul into hard rock and roll.

Plus Little Feat, Little Bushman and Little Richard for making little sound big, Big Star and Big Black for making big sound tight, The Black Crowes and Black Keys for making black come alive; and Black Sabbath and Black Uhuru for making black sound deep.

And in no particular order:

AC/DC and ZZ Top for the greatest guitar sounds, Graham Central Station for the heaviest bass playing and The Jam for the gnarliest drumming ever.

Antibalas for blurring the lines between tribute and inspiration, and I-Roy for his shameless appropriations from legends.

Linton Kwesi-Johnson, Gil Scott-Heron and John Cooper-Clarke for giving hyphenated surnames a sound of their own.

Magazine for giving attitude and paranoia an honours degree.

The Glove and Visage for significant one-offs.

Mandrill for bringing the tropics to New York.

P-Funk for reclaiming the pyramids, Billy Lee Riley for flying saucer rock and Hawkwind’s sonic assault across time and space.

DEVO’s alternative universe.

Brian Eno’s fluid future explorations and the darker time zone of Chrome.

The Ramones and Led Zeppelin for spawning the most imitators in history and The Buzzcocks for spawning a 100 UK indies.

Edgar Broughton's gentlemanly eccentricity and Captain Beefheart’s gentlemanly madness.

John Martyn’s cosmic celticness.

Cheap Trick’s goofy identity and The Comsat Angels honest anxiety.

The Fall, Tall Dwarfs and Hound Dog Taylor’s minimalist genius.

The Gun Club, The Replacements and The Faces for giving drunken sloppiness soul.

The Pink Fairies, New York Dolls and The Stooges for prototypes that work better then the final product.

The D4 for proving pure punk is timeless.

Supergrass’s single malt 60s drop.

Vernon Reid, Ice-T and Public Enemy’s killer collages.

Prince’s genius libido.

Wire for capturing the soul of the lost banker.

And Talking Heads for their slippery funk.

Now see what you can find in us:

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