"I suppose I always thought the Melvins were cool because they felt like a band that kind of came out of nowhere. They felt quite alien to me and I always like bands where it feels like the band are an alien product of a weird environment. It's like it was almost an accident that the band came about and made the record they made and that they weren't under any outside influence. When you hear about Can going to Cologne or living in some weird countryside village and making the kind of records they made, I think that kind of applies to Melvins as well. It's so warped. Although you can see how it came out of America, you can't as well. Because it seems like it's on another planet. I guess Josh would probably agree with a lot of the records on this list, he's into a lot of the stuff here and Melvins are one of his favourites. And I like anything that's got a hint of Black Sabbath in it really."

"I’d never seen the Stooges as early punks or anything—that’s media manipulation of facts; I loved them, but I was always appalled with their long hair. By this time my record collection was enormous and expanding, and my tastes were extremely varied. During the punk years, I really loved the Raincoats and X-Ray Spex and the Adverts, groups that were doing things way out on their own. There was plenty of experimentation going on musically in all areas, particularly reggae.” “I lack prejudice except for music that I find to be reminiscent of somebody else’s work—I find no need for endless Chuck Berry versions, which was very popular at the time. And I had little time for what was coming out of America; bands like Television never really grabbed me, I just couldn’t connect. It was all too clever for its own good and wrapped up in too much Rimbaud poetry: Get over it and write about your own life, not what you find in books."

"A little known '80s band from New York City. They were pretty much unknown to anyone outside of there, too. They used just two basses, a violin and a synth. No drums. They used a little bit of drumming on this album but live they had none at all. That was something which was quite central to The Light In You, where nearly all the songs have two basses going all the time. We grew up with Hugo Largo, we recorded with them and they actually got us our first recording studio gig back in '87. Another band heavily influential to Mercury Rev, very early on. I put it up there with some of the most beautiful, hypnotic music that a number of bands would point to these days. I think Brian Eno released this and had Drum been released or even re-released today, it probably would have had a much larger audience; if Drum was released today it would be album of the year, no question."

"Their songs have these great back-and-forth male-female vocals and really introspective lyrics that I love. We toured with them in the UK with Bikini Kill so I met them and was like, "Jesus Christ, bands here are just so much better than in the US" and, "Oh my god, they're so fucking good!" They made me feel like they were a band that was happening in the now. They reminded me that even when you're not in your twenties or whatever, it still has to be about now and not about yesterday. You can write a song about yesterday but the reason you're doing it is so that you can get to now. Your work has to be about now and not about yesterday: "This is something I'm thinking about today." All the beautiful, humble moments on their album, the musicality of it is just amazing. I've seen them live like a thousand times and they've never disappointed me – Rachel [Evans] and Ben [Phillipson] singing together is just an absolute dream."

"I often say there's a fight going on for best debut album ever, it might be The Velvet Underground & Nico or it might be Marquee Moon… there's a constant scuffle going on. Marquee Moon is a masterpiece. To come out with that album at that time with punk kicking off… It was cerebral and virtuoso, largely everything that punk wasn't. I remember I went to see them doing the tour when it came to the Free Trade Hall, and they were just another one of those bands who were fully formed when punk happened. If you hear 'Little Johnny Jewel' – there's nothing like that song that comes from anywhere else. I went to see them when they opened for Patti Smith at the Academy and I spent most of the night just watching Lloyd's guitar work. He is one of the greatest guitarists ever; and he's a guitar teacher now in New York. It's just a remarkable album, filmic. This came out when I was 16 and I was a roadie for The Fall in 1977."