Influenced Blake Sokoloff & Robert Dean

In this episode of Influenced, we take a look at the career's of New York's biggest Indie rockers, The Strokes. Taking initial inspirations from '70s New Yorkers like Blondie and Lou Reed and combining that love of hooky pop rock with the aesthetics of Britpop, the band took the Indie scene by Storm in the early 2000s. Albums like 'Is This It' and 'Room on Fire' and singles like the smash hit 'Last Nite' propelled the band into the charts and the tabloids. An immediate influence on the rock scene, emerging bands as the decade went on like The Killers and Arctic Monkeys would tout the Strokes as some of their biggest influences. The band has  gone on to inspire a number of modern artists like Vampire Weekend, Haim, Clairo, and dozens more with their wildly catchy songs. Take a deep dive into their career with us, here on influenced ! 

For this episode of Influenced, we're tackling the iconic New Wavers, The Police. Formed in late 70s London initially as a punk band, the group fronted by Sting and backed by Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers would quickly digest the sounds of new to the scene artists like Bob Marley and The Wailers and an appreciation for Jazz and Fusion music, began crafting hits like "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Roxanne" which quickly catapulted the band to stardom. Continuing for 5 massive albums, 4 of which would go straight to Np. 1 in the UK along with a number of Grammys, the band left behind a legacy as one of the most popular bands of the time and would go on to inspire acts as diverse as the iconic Joni Mitchell, all the way to modern indie rock in Vampire Weekend and even massive stars like the modern icon Dua Lipa. 

In this episode of Influenced, we cover one of the most famous Folk-Songwriters of all time, Joni Mitchell. Born in Canada and inspired. y the likes of 50s and 60s folk from artists like Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan, Joni forged her own voice and quickly found her way to California where after some work with David Crosby and writing for other artists, she took off withg Grammy Winning albums like "Clouds" and amazing folk songs like "Old Yellow Taxi" she pushed further and further into her musical journey as she began to listen to and draw from Jazz Musicians like Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. Collaborating with amazing musicians like Jaco Pastorius and Pat Metheny, she would revolutionize the jazz fusion genre with her vocals and songs. Further into her career she would collaborate with artists like Lionel Richie, Tom Petty and Billy Idol to craft impeccable pop music. She's gone on to inspire dozens of artists as far ranging as Taylor Swift, Brandi Carlisle, Harry Styles and Jacob Collier. She's truly one of the greatest songwriters ever. Check out this Episode of Influenced to dive into her deep and amazing career.

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Formed in the early '90s California Punk Scene, Rage Against the Machine would become one of the most successful and politically charged Metal and Hard Rock acts of all time. Inspired equally by Hip Hop like Public Enemy and the extreme guitars of Black Sabbath, the band fronted by Zach De La Rocha and fed by guitarist Tom Morello's riffs would create anthems for the angst of the decade like "Killing in the Name" and "Testify." Their live shows at festivals like Lollapalooza and Woodstock '99 would cement their iconic statues as well as back to back no.1 albums. The band would go on to inspire their compatriots for the decade like Tool and Soundgarden and even go on to revitalize the politics of iconic artists like Bruce Springsteen. The are also cited by a number of modern acts like Alabama Shakes and alternative hip hop like Run the Jewels.

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For the season finale of Season 3 of Influenced, we're extremely excited tpo look at the career of the iconic songwriter Neil Young. Starting out with Joni Mitchell as a Canadian folkie inspired by Dylan, he grew a love of country and rock that led him to the states and to Stephan Stills to form the iconic '60s band Buffalo Springfield. After a string of '60s albums, Neil struck solo and became an occasional collaborator in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young which led some of the biggest hits of the decade of the '70s with songs like 'Helpless' and 'Ohio' and his iconic solo music like the amazing "Harvest" album would led him to being one of the most influential writers ever. Musicians from Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain all the way to Norah Jones cite Neil as an influence. Check out the season finale to get a deep dive on this fantastic singer-songwriter.

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Influenced is extremely excited to have a special guest today in Chicago Rapper and Hip Hop Artist Fury. Together, we take a look at the incredible career of the iconic Lauryn Hill, both her solo career and her time in the seminal rap group Fugees with Pras and Wyclef Jean. Getting her start on the screen in a Whoopi Goldberg film, Lauryn was immeditely holding the attention of the culture. She exploded with the Fugees early music and the group became instantly iconic with the amazing album 'The Score' in 1996. Lauyrn's vocals both sung and rapped could catapult any track to success and she even found time to write and produce for icons like Aretha Franklin. She's one of the best selling women in hip hop ever and continues to be a massive influence to artists like John Legend, Rihanna and of course our amazing guest today, Fury.

Fury on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/furyhiphop/

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