okay, i can't list all the things that have influenced me...everything leaves some kind of stain on my mind, whether i want to or not...but out of some stupid impluse, here are some of my favourite people...the ones i'd like to have influenced me...i know that some of these get quite a few shallow mentions...but we live in awe of them...

(the thing is, i kind of feel that the stuff that influnces me most is the stuff that i really hate. maybe i should list loads of 80s stuff here, michael jackson, phil collins, kula shaker, ocean colour scene, cypress hill, and a million other dumb safe dead musicians...but i hate them too much)

(addendum 22.12.02 - i'm revising this list and putting in a whole load of new people. and i'm taking the links out because i think you're capable of putting some words into google)

sparklehorse
los planetas
bright eyes
the promise ring
godspeed you! black emperor
the manic street preachers (who really were good before richey disappeared. hard to believe now though)
hole (good up till the celebrity skin album)
nine inch nails
sonic youth
nick cave
smashing pumpkins (uhh, until they started wearing dresses all the time)
the velvet underground
everclear (although they really dropped in my estimation when they did a Gap advert)
tortoise
belle and sebastian
the replacements
the pixies
morphine
fireside
pavement
wilco
seafood (not to be confused with the terminally bad seafruit)

william burroughs
franz kafka
bret easton ellis
mark z. danielewski (go now and buy house of leaves)
douglas coupland