- Let’s look at the description of the uncommon sources of inspiration of some famous cult artists.
Who Were the Inspirations Behind Some of the Popular Cult Songs?
Not every great album gets mass recognition. Throughout history, there have been albums that did not do very well commercially but left their mark in the music industry to achieve true cult status. People liked some of these albums because of their quirkiness, while others were simply overlooked classics that should be heard. Be it the punk tones of a casino’s songs or reggae beats at a beach bar, some of the best music albums remained loved by only a handful and unknown to too many. These underrated records became the most noteworthy cult albums of all time.
How did Cult Artists Find Their Source of Inspiration?
Who inspired these popular cult artists? Who were their idols? Here is some information on various well-known cult artists, their models, and the inspirations that drove them to write songs about them.
Faris Badwan of the Horrors on Todd Rundgren
Badwan heavily admired Todd Rundgren because he helped move out the psych-garage of the 60s towards something glam with the song Forget All About It. After which, they produced more records and moved the glam to modern-day punk. Badwan used to find it strange to read about him in the NY punk books or appear in anecdotes about Iggy Pop or Lou Reed because he couldn’t be pinned to any one place.
According to Badwan, Rundgren experimented like Brian Eno, to see what could be achieved to calibrate his body to do something it was not meant to do. Badwan, in his way, thought of Rundgren as more of an alien and alpha male than Bowie. However, his total conviction made him an idol and cult hero in Badwan’s eyes.
Stephen Morris of New Order on Peter Hammil
Morris recollected that he met Hammil for the first time, hanging around in dark rooms and listening to music. He started liking Hammil after listening to his album, Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night, which fitted with the depressed state that Morris was experiencing.
Morris became such a fan of Hammil that he collected posters and badges about him and his book of poems. He believed that the punks loved Hammil because he was genuine but also painful to listen to. Morris exclaimed how some of Hammil’s songs were so tear jerking that they would make his eyes feel like saucers.
Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip on Alex Chilton
Taylor has always said that he liked Chilton’s solo records the most. He says that the difference between the three Big Star records was massive because, by the time the third record was released, it seemed that things were falling apart.
Besides leaving his mark in the music industry, Taylor believes that Chilton has also done some strange things that were indecent and unthinkable. However, Taylor thought that it was because of these unpleasant activities that people became attracted to Chilton as he seemed to be driven by strange desires but also had a sweet side to him. Taylor exclaimed that Chilton was his hero and meant a lot to him.
Jerry Dammers on Sun Ra
Jerry Dammers attributes the formation of his band Special AKA Orchestra partly to Sun Ra. According to Dammers, Sun Ra was a natural cult leader who belonged to the love-and-peace kind of guys. In jazz, Sun Ra nearly equals what Lee Perry was to reggae and was a genius on the edge of madness who was not afraid to live life in an extreme way.
Dammers applauded Sun Ra for his 20-minute title track on the Atlantis album, which freaked him out. Sun Ra introduced the concept of space-age jazz in the 40s and was the first person to use electronic keyboards. According to Dammers, Sun Ra didn’t only do atonal and squeaky stuff but also did funky stuff and African stuff. To Dammers, Sun Ra was a complete mixture of different cultures and religions, from Egyptology to numerology.
Conclusion
Cult songs always had a very narrow fan base, and hence to engage people, popular cult artists drew inspiration from uncommon sources, sometimes from people that left a deep impact on their lives or affected society in a revolutionized way.