photo credit: Matt Schwerin
Last month saw Chicago’s Babe Report release their full-length debut, Did You Get Better, an album that mixes fuzzy punk and alternative rock with unpredictable turns. It’s a ripper through and through, packed with propulsive tempos and enormous hooks, that only seem bigger with each repeat listen. The band were kind enough to give us some insight into the music that influenced their writing, spanning a range of artists from Parliament and Black Sabbath to R.E.M. and Yo La Tengo.
Give a listen to Did You Get Better and a playlist of its influences below.
Mech:
Ezra Furman “Trauma”
This whole record is one of my favorites, but this song in particular is about the heaviness and the breaks. The bass is fuzzed out, as is everything else. It’s slow and deliberate. It’s like Michael Myers with a Big Muff.
Parliament “Flash Light”
Yeah I know it’s a Moog part, but Bernie Worrell was a bad and funky man who gave us one of the best song-defining bass riffs known to funkdom. We’re not anywhere in the same conversation, but it did have me thinking about driving songs via bass riff.
The Smashing Pumpkins “Jellybelly”
Before this band, I didn’t play in drop tunings much. Now, even when the band isn’t in drop, I often am to be able to get lower than anyone would expect. “Jellybelly” has the octave riffs that I love to fall back on in tunes like “Jane”.
Black Sabbath “War Pigs”
For a work picnic, I once (dressed as Ozzy Osbourne) covered “War Pigs”. I’ve always wanted to riff like Tony Iommi but I’m a bassist. This album gives me some opportunities to channel all my favorite parts of Sabbath: Big slow riffs, quick pentatonic bass fills, and being heavy as fuck.
The Dreaded Laramie “Breakup Songs”
There’s a decent amount of guitarmony on the record. My favorite current guitarmony band is The Dreaded Laramie. How many DIY bands do you see with two lead guitarists playing harmonies tighter than Thin Lizzy? They’re a great band with great tunes and if you haven’t heard of ‘em, you should go buy their records
Peter:
Bedhead “The Rest of the Day”
This song is a master class in subtlety while hammering you over the head with it’s main themes. It’s got two parts one of which is a two minute build up and somehow it never gets boring. Bedhead and a few other bands of their ilk were front of mind when working on songs like “Bite My Lip,” “Kathleen,” and “Allergy”.
Stuck “Time Out”
Have you heard the news? Stuck rocks. I listened to this record pretty regularly all through 2023. You can hear the influence in songs like “Secular Mantis”. I spent a long time playing music with Greg [Obis] in an old band so even beyond his work in Stuck he has been a big influence on my playing. Greg also mastered the record.
William Tyler & The Impossible Truth “Area Code 601 Live”
I listened to this record constantly in the summer of 2023. It’s got some big dumb rock riffs, incredible Krautrock moments, and some incredible pedal steel. When I heard the opening quote “Hawkwind meets Charlie Daniels Band” I knew I was in. Brian Kotzur’s drumming on this record is also chef’s kiss
Bugg “Bleached”
I love big, fun, and bouncy grooves. It gets loud, it gets quiet, it has a build up, and it has a rippin’ solo, all in a lean 2 minutes. What else can you ask for in a rock song?
Ovlov “The Well”
The best band: Big burly guitars, great vocal melodies, and the iconic snare on one beat. An all timer for sure. I am consistently “re-appropriating” Theo Hartlett grooves and fills through most of the record.
Emily:
Ride “Polar Bear”
Nowhere (Ride) very much embodies the feeling and textures of “Bite My Lip,” and I always think about Ride when we play this song, especially towards the end. When we were writing (this song was a carryover from the Ordinary Reaper days) my bass part was essentially WWRD/WWSQD? Although now partially played on guitar it’s a bit less Ride. I think my goal was to create shoegaze triumphant arena rock. “Polar Bear” I think really captures that tempo/texture/feeling/vibe (especially with the tremolo at the beginning), but also “Kaleidoscope” (or really, the whole album in general) also deserves a shout out.
Delta 5 “Mind Your Own Business”
Although I always try to channel my inner Riot Grrrl while I sing (specifically I try to embody Sleater-Kinney) vocally, probably a more personally resonant song influence would be “Mind Your Own Business” by the Delta 5. I have a memory of a show during my early 20s where this song seemed to come on between all the bands’ sets. I think I had just learned of the Delta 5’s existence at the time and they continue to be the OG/proto Riot Grrrl for me. The attitude and urgency of the vocal delivery, coupled with dissonant guitars, well I don’t think “Turtle of Reaper” or “Freak on a Lease” would sound the same without them.
Close Lobsters “I Kiss the Flowers in Bloom”
Killing Joke “Eighties”
I spent like 10 years listening to the tweest indiepop almost exclusively, and I’m pretty sure it shows in my guitar playing. I spend a lot of time with single note, kind of pretty sounding, guitar lines, and I draw a straight line from that back to bands like The Close Lobsters. “I Kiss the Flowers in Bloom” is really representative. On the other hand, I did rub shoulders with the goth-y/industrial kids in high school. The fact that I was listening to Killing Joke then kind of blows my mind now, but the guitar accents in songs like “Eighties” I think really kind of come into play in songs like “Freak on a Lease,” “Kathleen,” or “Allergy 2000”.
Built to Spill “The Plan”
R.E.M. “Auctioneer (Another Engine)”
An obvious song reference for me would be Built to Spill’s “The Plan” for “Kathleen”: I’m pretty sure I originally started trying to mimic that kind of ornamental guitar accent as much as possible at the beginning while I figured out what to contribute for this song. Ultimately, my part evolved away from this sound and feel a bit. Even before I could remember what this song was, I would just think of it as the Built to Spill song to remind me of what I needed to do. But now, Built to Spill is a less exciting or relevant reference for me here, so I will go out on a limb and cite one of my all time favorites, R.E.M. I hear a lot of Peter Buck in Ben’s guitar, especially for songs like “Kathleen” or even “Ocean”. I like to think he gets that because I still listen to R.E.M. SO MUCH (can I take credit for making Ben listen to R.E.M.? I don’t think he does it of his own volition). I doubt Ben would explicitly cite R.E.M. as a writing influence. Notably elsewhere, I do also want to call out Michael Stipe/Mike Mills vocal relationship as a bit of a covert influence, like what we hear in “Auctioneer (Another Engine)”.
Ben:
Mogwai “Like Herod”
The first time I heard this song, I fell in love with the jump-scare quiet/loud moment towards the beginning. It also just friggen rips. Since then, I’ve been trying to recreate similar moments in music, with limited success. I think I subconsciously was going that route with the guitar parts on “Bite My Lip”.
Devo “Girl U Want”
I really slept on Devo. I don’t know how it happened, but one day it just clicked. In a previous life, my bandmate Kelly [Johnson] would play Devo in the van and I wouldn’t know who it was. I just liked it and would think “cool pick, Kelly.” Only later did I realize it was the “whip it” folks with the silly hats. In recent years, I’ve been digging a lot of modern egg-punk bands with similar vibes. “Universal” is in that vein. We actually had a discussion once in practice whether to start the song with a chain punk or an egg punk intro. Egg punk won. Egg punk will always win.
Built to Spill “Goin’ Against Your Mind”
Memory is so bizarre. I recall going on a long run maybe 7 years ago and this song came on, via a shuffle mix I was running to. For some reason, I had a cathartic beautiful few moments with this song. In those moments, it felt like everything music was supposed to be, at its very best and most pure. Anyway, early on when we were messing around with what became “Kathleen,” Peter was playing something that reminded me of this song. I think that association with “Goin’ Against Your Mind” kept me motivated to revisit this half-formed idea over and over until we were able to finally make it something.
Yo La Tengo “I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass”
I unabashedly love Yo La Tengo. I love them so much that we literally discussed in practice trying to write a Yo La Tengo-style song with a driving bass part like “I’m Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass”. Mech (who I think is fairly unfamiliar with YLT) improvised a bass line on the spot that became the main line in “Allergy 2000”.
Geronimo! “60 Ways to Tie a Tie”
Am I allowed to say this one? Full disclosure, I used to play in this band. However, the thing about this song that inspired me in “Secular Mantis” is Kelly’s lyrics and vocal delivery. I always really admired his lyrics and vocals, and this is me trying to ape him in my inept way. He has a beautiful and satisfyingly oblique way of conveying complex topics such as frustration with modern city life, the pursuit of something besides pure capitalist gains, general angst, and existential dread. I’m fairly certain I don’t hold a candle to him on this song, but he was the source of my inspiration.