Hurry discuss 15 songs that influenced their new album 'Fake Ideas'

Hurry, the indie pop project of Matt Scottoline (previously of Everyone Everywhere), have returned with their new album Fake Ideas, out today on Lame-O Records (order yours). It’s an album that pulls from ’90s indie rock, power pop, Britpop, and even a little of Matt’s emo roots, and if you’re curious which influences in particular Matt was channelling, you’re in luck. We spoke to Matt about 15 songs that inspired Fake Ideas. Stream the album and read on to see what he had to say about each one…

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15 SONGS THAT INFLUENCED HURRY’S FAKE IDEAS

Teenage Fanclub – “Sparky’s Dream”
If you forced me to name the single band that has most informed the direction I’ve taken as a songwriter, and the guiding light for how I navigate my own style and confidence, I would say Teenage Fanclub. It took me a long time coming out of the emo revival scene to get comfortable writing more straightforward pop songs, and discovering Teenage Fanclub around that time is one of the main things that sort of gave me the confidence to keep going. I was like, “if a band can be this cool, and write such lovely little songs, why can’t I at least try?” I’m not quite sure I’ve done either yet. Definitely not the cool part. Unless you think so? Please tweet me and let me know.

Yuck – “How Does It Feel”
Another sort of “formative” experience for me in my journey as a songwriter and performer after the Everyone Everywhere years was meeting Yuck. We lucked into opening a show they did with Alvvays as their support, and got to hang out with them all that night. For some reason, I ended up hitting it off with Max (Bloom) from Yuck, and we stayed in touch since then, eventually doing a tour together, and even Max and I collaborating on some music over email (which I would guess we will never release).

I think a lot of people loved the first Yuck record, but kind of tuned out after it. But god, the second record Glow & Behold is so beautiful, and the songwriting is really incredible. This song in particular with the horn section made me want to write a song with a horn section. So that was kind of where me adding the horns on “A Fake Idea” came from. Please go listen to this record if you haven’t.

Oasis – “Champaign Supernova”
I got (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? when I was a kid, and was in love with it. Particularly, I remember “Champaign Supernova” being an early example of a song that affected me so much, creating those swelling, emotional feelings, even though I had no idea what the song was even about. I still don’t think I know what it’s about! Space?? Regardless, I think I’ve always tried to emulate some of Noel Gallagher’s songwriting, and my greatest homage thus far is probably “(Sometimes I’m About It, And) Sometimes I’m Not There” on the new record. I mean, look at the title alone. I’m not really being subtle.

David Kilgour – “Fallaway”
Ugh, the guitar tones on this song drive me wild. Ever since I heard this record, I’ve always tried to emulate that acoustic guitar/chorus/clean guitar thing on my records.

Guided By Voices – “Things That I Will Keep”
What I’ve always admired most about Robert Pollard is the simplicity he brings to his songwriting. Often times, they are just one or two really well written melodies, and he never tries to overcomplicate it or make it more than what it needs to be. I feel like this song is a great example of that concept. It just kind of does one thing really well. The guitar solo mimics the vocal melody. It just rocks. I definitely try and carry this mentality in my writing. It’s so tempting to try and make “more” of everything, or feel insecure that you haven’t “done enough.” It’s a trap, a lot of the time.

Mannequin Pussy – “Drunk II”
The first time I heard Patience it felt like I hopped in a time machine to high school, when I would get so pumped up on a record and play it all the time. I think part of that was the tones on this record feeling kind of nostalgic for me. It reminds me a lot of the heyday of early 2000s emo/punk stuff, especially in the drums/bass. Not to say this album is driven by nostalgia or anything. This song is so, so good. And you all know it too, I’m sure. For me, just hearing a new record, especially from people I know, that could get me so hype was really wonderful.

Young Guv – “Crawling Back to You”
For a long time, I was a huge fan of Slumberland Records, and really followed everything they released. When this EP (Ripe 4 Luv) released, it blew my mind. And while a lot about the EP, and this song in particular kind of drove some decision making on my album Guided Meditation (namely the heavy use of flanger), I think Young Guv has always kept informing my songwriting just from the perspective of writing simple, catchy melodies, and not being afraid to keep things shiny.

Weezer – “Photograph”
I love The Green Album. I bought it the day it came out, and listened to it while I did my homework. Initially, I remember being pissed off because it turned out to only be like 25 minutes long, but over the years, I’ve kept coming back to it over and over, and now, from my perspective, it’s clearly one of Weezer’s best releases. The songs are so simple, but the melodies are perfect. For me, they achieve that rare quality where a song feels like you’ve known it forever, or that it’s always existed. For the new record, I wanted to get back to that simplicity in the songwriting and presentation of the songs. No tricks, just melodies.

Happy Accidents – “Nunhead”
While I don’t know if it’s correct for me to say the music of the Happy Accidents directly inspired any songwriting decisions I made, I think meeting this band, touring the UK with them, and becoming friends did a lot for me. Rich, Phoebe, and Neil’s enthusiasm, positivity, songwriting, and strong sense of values was like a shot in the arm for my cynical mind. I wouldn’t trade the tour we did with them for anything, and I’m so glad to know them. Their records are also amazing, and this song in particular sneaks its way into my head at least once a week.

Eyelids – “Slow It Goes”
This is another instance where a band I’ve come to know from performing together just kind of changes the way I think about music and my place in it. Eyelids are a fantastic band from Portland, and somehow have been friendly to me from the get go. I remember the first time they reached out, being so excited that they had been a part of Robert Pollard’s Boston Spaceships band, and some had even been members of Guided By Voices. Then I heard their music! Eyelids are just so good at melody. I might venture to call theme experts. I don’t know if I have the authority to do that. But try to listen to this song and not get that riff in your head for the rest of the day.

Best Coast – “Crazy For You”
This first Best Coast record (and the EPs) changed my life. I know that sounds extreme, but it’s true. I genuinely did not think it was possible for a new band to come out and just write pop music, but make it sound fuzzy and wild. It didn’t feel like something that could be done. When Crazy For You came out my worldview shifted, and I started writing music. It’s how Hurry was born, basically. And even though it’s been forever since this released, there’s no way that it doesn’t continue to inspire and inform me.

The Lemonheads – “If I Could Talk I’d Tell You”
I remember hearing this song in my dad’s car after he picked me up from Hebrew School one evening. I hated studying Hebrew, and was terrible at it because of that. However, there was a girl in the class that I guess I had a 12 year old crush on, and when we were driving home and this song came on, I just instantly connected it to how I was feeling. At 12 years old, I didn’t realize the song was about being so high that you couldn’t talk. Whoops.

The Get Up Kids – “Stay Gone”
I was a huge Get Up Kids fan, and I remember right around when this record released, my family went on a vacation to the west coast where we drove from San Francisco to LA on the Pacific Coast Highway. I brought it with me, and listened to it on my discman over and over. It’s kind of always tied to those positive memories for me, so listening to it is like a pure nostalgia drug. But, I recently feel like I “rediscovered” the album from a new perspective, and now it hits in a totally new way. I love the guitar work on it, and the sort of simple, melodic arpeggiations.

Joan of Arc – “This Must Be The Placenta”
One of the last tours we did before the pandemic was with mewithoutYou and Joan of Arc. It was a really lovely time, but one of the realities for any band functioning as support for a band like mewithoutYou, who has a rabidly committed fan base, is that at most shows, people aren’t there to see the openers. So as an opening band, you kind of have your work cut out for you to make an impression in your set. Usually I try and cater the songs we might play with this in mind, and do my best with between song banter to be kind of fun and engaging (at least I think I am).

Joan of Arc, though, seemed like they didn’t care at all about their first impression, or at least about catering it to the audience who was there. The set was wild, at times aggressive, but overall, it was art. Which seems kind of silly to say, but it’s true. Watching Joan of Arc every night of that tour really shifted my perspective on creating and expectations, and was really freeing. Especially when they broke into this song. The experience helped me let go a little bit as I entered the studio, and not worry about what people will think of the record. Just make it and let it be.

Tommy Keene – “Highwire Days”
Tommy Keene is so criminally under appreciated. One of the highlights of my music life was helping to set up a show for him in Philadelphia, and performing with him before he tragically passed away. His songs are so beautiful, wistful, and full of emotion, while also being perfectly crafted pop music with unbelievable melodies. I fell back into his catalog hard after he died, and tried to carry a lot of his influence into making Fake Ideas.