Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitars
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Guitar Amps
  • Drums
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Lemmy vs Dylan
  • Are 'Friends' Electric?
  • Flava D - DnB is hard
  • Prince's drummers
  • 95k+ free music samples
Don't miss these
ELMONT, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 07: Sombr performs during the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena on September 07, 2025 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for MTV)
Artists “In the actual song you hear today, the guitars, the riff, the bass, the drums and all the vocals are from those initial takes I did in my bedroom”: Sombr on the making of viral hit Undressed, and his formula for creating "a legendary indie rock song"
My Chemical Romance in 2006
Artists “It took five years to finish the song and define what it was about”: How My Chemical Romance created a classic anthem
Clem Burke, Ancienne Belgique (AB), Brussels, Belgium, November 1998
Drummers Clem Burke's 10 essential drum albums
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Birdy performs at the VIP Opening of the David Bowie Centre, V&A East Storehouse, on September 10, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse)
Singles And Albums Jeff Beck, Roxy Music and Miles Davis all make the list of David Bowie’s 15 favourite tracks
Orbit Culture's guitarists
Electric Guitars Orbit Culture show us their ESP guitars – and tell us why the EverTune bridge is a game-changer
Yungblud
Artists Yungblud reveals his secret to making acoustics sound massive – and hints at future signature model
Brent Smith of Shinedown performs during the US rockers' Dance, Kid, Dance Tour 2025.
Artists Shinedown’s Brent Smith on finding inspiration in a hurricane and why you don’t need to be play guitar to write a great song
Otoha holds a blue Fender Strat in a staged setting with neon pink and blue lights overhead.
Artists IDLES, Wet Leg and Sam Fender all graduated from the Fender Next programme – meet its Class of 2025
Jack Antonoff attends the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on January 26, 2020
Recording “He kind of approaches records like a plumber…”: Bartees Strange on super producer Jack Antonoff
Tori Amos
Artists “I was screaming at the top of my lungs that it had to be a whistle!”: How Tori Amos created the classic Cornflake Girl
Liam and Noel Gallagher in 1994
Guitars The Oasis song Liam hated because it was 'reggae': "I remember Our Kid saying 'Why are you writing reggae songs?' And I was like, there speaks a man that has never heard reggae"
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders performs at The London Palladium on October 22, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Robin Little/Redferns for ABA)
Artists “A spontaneous and what I thought would be a fun thing”: Chrissie Hynde to release a new album of duets
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 7: Yungblud performs a live set on Denmark Street during the launch of his new store 'Beautifully Romanticised Accidently Traumatized' at 20 Denmark Street on August 7, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Nicky J. Sims/Getty Images)
Artists “I wanted to bring a new generation to this iconic street”: Yungblud launches his Denmark Street B.R.A.T store
Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson backstage at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Field on April 17, 2009 in Palm Desert, California
Recording “They all remind me of certain times in my life”: McCartney names his all time top three albums
10 people drummers will encounter at gigs
Drummers The 10 people drummers will inevitably encounter when playing a gig
  1. Artists
  2. Singles And Albums

The Orwells' Matt O'Keefe: The 10 records that changed my life

News
By Rich Chamberlain published 3 February 2017

Pop songs with a twist…

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Mutilated pop tunes...

Mutilated pop tunes...

A lot of my choices are pop songs that are just slightly off and that is a big influence on The Orwells,” the band’s guitarist Matt O’ Keefe explains as he runs MusicRadar through the ten records that changed his life.

The influence of the key albums that Matt reels off during our chat is clear to see on his band’s new album, Terrible Human Beings.

In discussing the making of the Illinois fivesome’s third record, Matt reveals that his upbringing of off-kilter pop was a cornerstone of the album’s writing sessions.

Once we had a tune that would pull you in we would think, ‘How can we fuck this up now? How can we mutilate it?’

“We all love pop songs that are just slightly off and we would start with the melody and the lyrics and once we had a tune that would pull you in we would think, ‘How can we fuck this up now? How can be mutilate it?’”

Recorded at Steve Albini’s Electric Audio studio in Chicago, Terrible Human Beings sees Matt apply his ‘mutilated pop tunes’ approach to his guitar work.

“There’s nothing really fancy on there guitar wise,” Matt says. “I like when I can grab all the strings and rip them and something great comes out of it. There’s some of that on this album.

“There’s times when I’m just hitting my guitar or I’m letting the feedback wail. When you get lucky like that, that is my favourite and there are some nice parts like that on this record.”

With the influences that powered Terrible Human Beings still fresh in his head, we grilled Matt on the albums that shaped his musical past, present and future.

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
The Strokes - Is This It (2001)

The Strokes - Is This It (2001)

This is the first record that I heard that really made me think about playing music.

It was so simple, that was what was great about it because it was so easy to learn to play all of those songs. It was all so cool. It’s a great record, The Strokes are great.

That was the first record that I felt some kind of attachment to. When it was first released my elder brother was obsessed with it but I was in first grade or something. I remember hearing Last Nite at that time but it wasn’t until later that I really understood it and started to dig it big time.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
Pixies - Doolittle (1989)

Pixies - Doolittle (1989)

This was another huge record for me. I still listen to this record a lot.

It’s tripped out. It’s like a pop record that is so out there. It has all of these weird noises and it has bizarre lyrics.

I love the production of that record so much as well, it has all of this reverb, it sounds like it is being played in a gymnasium.

I love the production of that record so much as well, it has all of this reverb, it sounds like it is being played in a gymnasium or something. It’s a record that I just can’t get over.

Once I discovered Is This It I started playing guitar and when I first heard Doolittle I was playing but I hadn’t quite figured out exactly what I wanted to do just yet. I didn’t realise that I would end up writing songs, but this was a formative record for me.

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
The Stooges - The Stooges (1969)

The Stooges - The Stooges (1969)

It’s funny about some of the records I have chosen here, some of them I don’t listen to at all anymore but they were really important in my life.

This record is one that my brother got me for Christmas. I remember listening to it and zoning out for 1969 and it didn’t really catch my attention but then once I Wanna Be You Dog came on with the sleigh bells that really pulled me into that album.

I became kind of obsessed with The Stooges for a bit after hearing this record.

I became kind of obsessed with The Stooges for a bit after hearing this record. My brother is six years older than me so he had figured out a lot about music and had filtered out the bad stuff so he showed me the good stuff.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers (1976)

Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers (1976)

That same Christmas that I got The Stooges record, my brother also got me the first Modern Lovers record. This is just so simple but also unbelievable.

We grew up in a little Mid-Western suburb and those songs really do feel, even though they’re about Boston, they feel like they could be translated directly to being about the suburb that I grew up in.

It takes a good record to capture something like that and have a vibe that you can apply to yourself and where you grew up. To do that, and for it to not come across as cheesy, is difficult but they pull it off.

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
The Replacements - Let It Be (1984)

The Replacements - Let It Be (1984)

I went through a big Replacements phase. This was a huge record for me.

With all of these records I can’t really explain what it is about them, they are just great records. This one has the whole package.

This one was the first time I heard rock songs where I thought, ‘Ok, the lyrics can really be something’.

It has the KISS cover [Black Diamond] in there and the artwork has them on the roof which is one of my favourite images of all time.

This one was the first time I heard rock songs where I thought, ‘Ok, the lyrics can really be something’. This album took me into a whole different realm. Again, my brother introduced me to The Replacements. Most of these bands came from my brother or my dad.

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Big Star - Radio City (1974)

Big Star - Radio City (1974)

From The Replacements I discovered Big Star. Radio City is their second record and I could easily have put their first or third records on this list because I love them all, but Radio City is so cool.

It is the sloppiest and rawness of three and it is just a great record. This is another one, like Modern Lovers, that captured the feel of growing up. Those are coming of age records.

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
Lee Hazlewood - Requiem For An Almost Lady (1971)

Lee Hazlewood - Requiem For An Almost Lady (1971)

We start now with some of the weirder choices, some of the records that I don’t think have really influenced The Orwells.

This is a folksy album and it’s just him with a guitar and an acoustic bass. He has all of these songs about these girls that had left him and how he got over them.

The melodies are great, the lyrics are great. It’s super simple and I love it. I remember hearing the first track on this album which is I’m Glad I Never… and it’s a funny song about him saying some pretty weird shit. I think I heard that song and wanted to hear more.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Bob Dylan - Vol 4: Royal Albert Hall Bootleg (1998)

Bob Dylan - Vol 4: Royal Albert Hall Bootleg (1998)

If I had to pick one Dylan collection I would take the Royal Albert Hall bootleg, the one that was actually in Manchester.

That is like a greatest hits at that point. He plays those songs live on this album in such a cool way, like when he play Visions of Johanna and he’s stretching out the words.

That is like a greatest hits at that point.

It’s such a vulnerable sounding spot with him sounding alone and then it goes to him the band.

The solos in Tell Me Momma and One Too Many Mornings are some of the heaviest rock music out there.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)

Going a little bit more modern it gets tricky because there are about 50 modern records that could take these spots.

The theme that goes across my choices are that they are pop songs but there’s just something off about them. It’s like they’re pop songs that just got melted a little bit.

With this album they’re mostly pop tunes and then there’s folky tunes and then they’re mutilated with these noise tangents that they go off on.

That is such a great record lyrically, it’s unique. I remember hearing that song when I was very young and I heard Heavy Metal Drummer and thought it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard.

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012)

Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012)

This is the super-modern choice. This was the first time that I heard something like this and really liked it.

This is one of those really big story records. To make one of those big story records great is very rare, I had never heard a record like this before. Lyrically, this album is unbelievable.

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
Rich Chamberlain
Rich Chamberlain

Rich is a teacher, one time Rhythm staff writer and experienced freelance journalist who has interviewed countless revered musicians, engineers, producers and stars for the our world-leading music making portfolio, including such titles as Rhythm, Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, and MusicRadar. His victims include such luminaries as Ice T, Mark Guilani and Jamie Oliver (the drumming one).

Read more
ELMONT, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 07: Sombr performs during the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena on September 07, 2025 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for MTV)
“In the actual song you hear today, the guitars, the riff, the bass, the drums and all the vocals are from those initial takes I did in my bedroom”: Sombr on the making of viral hit Undressed, and his formula for creating "a legendary indie rock song"
 
 
My Chemical Romance in 2006
“It took five years to finish the song and define what it was about”: How My Chemical Romance created a classic anthem
 
 
Clem Burke, Ancienne Belgique (AB), Brussels, Belgium, November 1998
Clem Burke's 10 essential drum albums
 
 
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Birdy performs at the VIP Opening of the David Bowie Centre, V&A East Storehouse, on September 10, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse)
Jeff Beck, Roxy Music and Miles Davis all make the list of David Bowie’s 15 favourite tracks
 
 
Orbit Culture's guitarists
Orbit Culture show us their ESP guitars – and tell us why the EverTune bridge is a game-changer
 
 
Yungblud
Yungblud reveals his secret to making acoustics sound massive – and hints at future signature model
 
 
Latest in Singles And Albums
Ed Sheeran attends the European Premiere of F1 ® The Movie at Cineworld, Leicester Square on June 23, 2025
“It would be ‘Stop’ and then ‘Eject’”: Ed Sheeran reveals that plans for posthumous album are in his will
 
 
Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richard of The Rolling Stones perform during the final night of the Hackney Diamonds '24 Tour at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena
“They’re all hyped up”: Marlon Richards says that the Stones have been recording a new album in London
 
 
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Birdy performs at the VIP Opening of the David Bowie Centre, V&A East Storehouse, on September 10, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse)
Jeff Beck, Roxy Music and Miles Davis all make the list of David Bowie’s 15 favourite tracks
 
 
JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" airs every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. ET and features a diverse lineup of guests that include celebrities, athletes, musical acts, comedians and human interest subjects, along with comedy bits and a house band. The guests for Monday, September 8 included Spinal Tap (Nigel Tufnel aka Christopher Guest, David St. Hubbins aka Michael McKean and Derek Smalls aka Harry Shearer) and Marty DiBergi (aka Rob Reiner) ("Spinal Tap II: The End Continues"), and musical guest Spinal Tap. (Disney/Randy Holmes) SPINAL TAP  (Photo by Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images)
Five basses! Spinal Tap recruit Tal Wilkenfeld and Thundercat for bottom-heavy Jimmy Kimmel performance
 
 
Graham Smyth
“I wanted to save my sister the torment of listening to songs about coconuts and infant fish”: Meet the DJ who’s made a babies' rave album
 
 
Bruce Springsteen, circa 1982
“It was kinda like punk rockabilly”: Springsteen to release electric versions of Nebraska tracks
 
 
Latest in News
Posed portrait of musician Stephen Luscombe (left) and singer Neil Arthur of English synth-pop band 'Blancmange', July 1982. (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty Images)
“A unique, talented, and innovative musician”: Tributes paid to Blancmange's Stephen Luscombe
 
 
Jon Batiste
Jon Batiste answers the internet’s piano queries and agrees with one potentially controversial musical statement
 
 
Flava D in the studio
Flava D on why drum & bass is the toughest genre to produce
 
 
SCM All Stars logo
“I’m so grateful that our music can be a vehicle for their spirits to fly”: Students at Flea’s music school pay tribute to Chili Peppers
 
 
Musician Dave Grohl, founding member of Nirvana and The Foo Fighters
“Ladies and gentlemen, will you please welcome Ilan Rubin”: Dave Grohl introduces new drummer at Foos secret gig
 
 
Brian May
“I missed a couple of things": Brian May critiques his Last Night of the Proms performance
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...