Impose - Brett Nelson's 7 Milestones Towards Musicianship

On Record Store Day, Built to Spill bassist Brett Nelson released The Electric Anthology Project of Dinosaur Jr., which reshaped J. Mascis into the front-man of a synth pop band. Nelson was kind enough to provide insight into the songs that led him towards this vision of blending the synths of OMD to the wail of Dinosaur Jr.

This is not Brett Netson. Two people, guys.

I decided to go with songs I feel were milestones to my wanting to be a musician.

A Flock Of Seagulls, "Remember David"

A Flock Of Seagulls really started it all for me. I heard them when I was 12 on the radio and immediately bought the record and a Casio keyboard to start a new wave band. Although the dream of playing keyboard in a new wave band turned into playing bass in a punk band. Frank Maudsley's bass rhythm on this song was amazing and something I tried to mimic on Built To Spill's "Goin' Against Your Mind". They're still one of my favorite Pop bands to this day.

Orchestral Maneuvres In The Dark, "Joan Of Arc"

This song is so melancholy and beautiful and made me realize that the synthesizer could be the whole band; bass,drums,guitar,anything you could imagine. I love at the end when Andy McCluskey's voice cracks while singing it brings so much power and emotion to the song - happy they left that in instead of wanting pitch perfect vocals it really makes the song for me.

The Jesus And Mary Chain, "Never Understand"

I grew up listening to lots of 60's pop music that my Dad had around and this song captured the sound of the Phil Spector "wall of sound" idea that I loved in my youth, while adding noisy punk elements like feedback and distortion that I loved as a teenager, along with beautiful vocals and catchy melodies. Great how they merged different styles together into something new, yet nostalgic.

For the last four milestones, check out Impose.