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Baker's Dozen

Constellations In The Sky: Jonathan Donahue Of Mercury Rev's Top LPs
Yousif Nur , October 22nd, 2015 10:15

From spooky narrations in the Catskill Mountains to avant-garde masterworks, the New York band's singer and guitarist tells Yousif Nur about the albums and one song that have had a lasting impact on his own music


Bobbie Gentry - Ode To Billie Joe
There are some wicked arrangements by Jimmie Haskell here. The string arrangements and this diving, swooping orchestral score is something you'll hear on our new album. It's a composing style that I was enamoured by - just look at how the strings dive in and out of the lyrics.

This was popular pretty much from when I could listen to radio from about 1969. I was three or four at the time. It's always been on the radio in America on oldie stations, it never stops! Especially where we live in the Catskills, we don't get alternative radio stations. The ones that do call themselves "alternative" play Dave Matthews.
