HEY! Welcome to Twenty Top 5s. I (Tyler) have been sending out questionnaires to some of my favorite musicians and asking for their top 5 in every category. I’ll be publishing them every Thursday for the foreseeable future. Hopefully this lets you get to know some of your favorite musicians a little bit better, and I hope it distracts you in these trying times.
Today's Twenty Top 5s participant is Luke McGowan. Luke is a prolific songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from right here in Pittsburgh whose work spans many genres and styles. Most recently Luke has been getting a band called the Original Citrus together before Covid ruined all of our musical plans, but in classic Luke fashion, he used this time to release an entire album, Ode to Monotony. Ode to Monotony is a fuzzy, psychedelic pop album reminiscent of some of the earlier Flaming Lips albums, and boy, does it bop. Luke played all of the instruments and produced it himself, an amazing feat anytime, but especially when so many of us artists are sapped of creative energy.
Luke was also the original drummer/singer/guitarist of the Zells, whom I currently play with. We are all thrilled to have him back in Pittsburgh creating again, and we eagerly await the live and recording debut of the Original Citrus. Until then, keep checking back on Luke's bandcamp, as the man simply cannot be stopped when it comes to writing and recording everything from fuzz-rock bangers to introspective electronic music.
recording artists when you were in high school
Bruce Springsteen
The Clash
Conor Oberst
The Avett Brothers
Neutral Milk Hotel
Instrument influences
Piano: Daniel Johnston (His modernist ragtime on Songs of Pain is where I aspire to be)
Bass: Gary Tallent (Any time I sit down to write a bass line it ends up sounding like either the intro to Born to Run or Fire)
Guitar: Kevin Shields (I’ve never been too technical on the guitar, so I like to make big, droning, yet somehow melodic sounds whenever applicable)
Synth: Al P (girlsareshort really knew how to turn a subtle synth melody into something really memorable)
Guitar: Stephen Malkmus (Again with talk of melody, but the guy is an expert on drawing structure from the absurd. Melodies cut through noise like light in a crack in the foundation of my basement.)
Songwriting influences
Robert Pollard
Stephen Malkmus
Jeff Mangum
Bruce Springsteen
David Berman
Karaoke songs
Margaritaville (the one, true redemption song)- James Buffett
Hungry Heart- Bruce Springsteen
Tiptoe Through the Tulips- Tiny Tim
Surrender- Cheap Trick
Death or Glory- The Clash
Junk foods
Smoked oysters on Chicken in a Biskit crackers
Bite sized round tortilla chips with roasted red pepper hummus
Crab chips
Popcorn with an inordinate amount of butter
Olives at the bottom of my martini
Places to eat in Pittsburgh
Merchant Oysters
Muddy Waters (really anywhere that has oysters on the halfie)
Thai n’ Noodle Outlet (they deliver to my house in under 20 minutes and they have insane goons and dumplings)
Park Pizza and Cream
Franktuary (probably not actually, but I’m craving hotdogs right now and also most of the time)
Movies
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
The Royal Tenenbaums/ The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou/ The Darjeeling Limited
Shrek (I don’t fuck with the sequels)
The Wind Rises
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Role models
Grandpa Phil
Howard Hays
Bruce Springsteen
Abe Lincoln
Franz Kafka
songs you’ve written
Zero Gravity and Other Drugs
High in Dupont Circle Listening to "Heroes" by David Bowie
Sleepless, Silent Nights
Drip Me a River
Beach Things
Pittsburgh bands
Panther Hollow
String Machine
The Zells
Rave Ami
One Hundred Year Ocean
Productive ways to pass time during corona
Write music
Hack some ramen
Teach your roomba some cool tricks
Learn how to draw hands
Work on sock puppet movie
Unproductive ways to pass time during corona
Pick up a good book. Set it down before you finish your first page
Pacing (I’m glad to have a long, skinny house)
Buy into virtual capitalism via Animal Crossing
Ask yourself, “what is that smell?” in 5 minute intervals and then realize the smell is still you.
Consider whether or not we are living in a simulation (it really doesn’t matter if we are, but we almost certainly are unless this is truly the end times, in which case it is a crapshoot)
Songs right now
The Boy- Shannon and the Clams
Good Bad Times- Hinds
Hair- Porches
As You Are- Onodera (FFO of Mr. Rogers-induced nostalgia)
Volver, Volver- Vicente Fernandez
80s pop jams
Come on Eileen- Dexy’s Midnight Runners
You Make My Dreams- Hall and Oates
99 Luftballons- Nena
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun- Cyndi Lauper
Karma Chameleon- Wham!
Bruce Springsteen albums
Nebraska
Born to Run
Greetings
The Wild, The Innocent, The E Street Shuffle
The River
Albums that changed your life
The Monitor- Titus Andronicus
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea- Neutral Milk Hotel
Yellow Submarine Movie Soundtrack- The Beatles, George Martin
The Clash- London Calling
Guided by Voices- Bee Thousand
Pizza toppings
Onions
Sausage
Roasted Red Peppers
A fuck ton of cheese
Big Mac ingredients (it was a thing at my high school)
Cities you’ve visited
San Juan
Mumbai
Philadelphia
New York
Blacksburg
Condiments
Ranch
Mayochup
Chik-Fil-A Sauce
Mustard
Garlic Aioli
Fictional characters
Legolas
Jimmy Neutron
Nute Gunray (Star Wars)
Grimace (McDonalds)
Violet Baudelaire
Written by Tyler Gallagher (@TylerGallagher8)