It is wonderful Bridgers has worked with other artists, and I think it has really added something special to her solo material. I was keen to find out which artists influenced Bridgers herself, and whether there were particular subjects or sources that motivated her lyrical drive. In a brilliant interview with London in Stereo, Bridgers was asked about her influences and lyrics:
“Who do you think are your biggest influences musically?
I can honestly say my friends are my biggest influences. Conor Oberst has been an influence of mine for a long time, and of course more so now that we’re in a band together. I’ve been listening to The People’s Key a lot, getting production ideas and trying to rip him off as subtly as possible. All my best friends are great songwriters: Christian Lee Hutson, Marshall Vore, Harrison Whitford, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus… All of them are making my favourite music right now.
And what inspires you most lyrically?
Personal experience. But I think about songs like dreams. They’re kind of about one person, but also sort of this other person, and then they turn into my second grade teacher and then I’m falling off a cliff and then it’s over”.
I have mentioned Elliott Smith a lot but, not to give him too much credit, he does seem to be a muse for Phoebe Bridgers. His album, Figure 8, turned twenty back in April, and it is considered one of his most important works. Maybe the link between Bridgers and Smith is not that obvious but, actually, Smith’s music is paramount to Bridgers. In this interview, the link between Smith and Bridgers is discussed:
“To Bridgers, though, Smith's music is something more than an influence: It's absolutely foundational. "It's like The Beatles to me, and I mean that in every way," she tells me. "If someone doesn't like his music, I actually feel like I'm not going to agree with them about anything. It informs everything I like."
Lindsay Zoladz: I'm 33 now, so I was in high school when Elliott Smith died. I have a pretty vivid memory of it — I definitely wrote a really bummed LiveJournal entry that day. Since you got into his music after he was already gone, I'm curious about your earliest memories of listening to him, and what record you started with.
Phoebe Bridgers: I was in eighth grade. My friend Carla Azar showed me "Kiwi Mad Dog 20/20," which is on Roman Candle. It's a super weird one to start with because it's instrumental. Later, another friend showed me "Waltz #2," which became, and maybe still is, my favorite song of his — I think it just exemplifies his writing. Then I went super deep.
At the time this record came out in 2000, some people were kind of miffed that he'd signed to a major label and started making more elaborate arrangements — like it automatically meant he was selling out. We don't talk about those things in quite the same way anymore, and when you listen to a record like Figure 8 now, that narrative kind of falls away. Was it ever on your radar with him?
Not really. I mean, I hear it's an old folk tale, the idea that someone could sell out. It's such a goofy stance. There's so much less money in music [today] that sometimes getting a car commercial is the only way that you're gonna make money. People don't make nearly as much money as they did in the '90s, so I think it was way more prevalent then. But also, who wants someone to just be lonely and be making records in their basement instead of collaborating with a band and touring and making sounds? I feel that way about it. It's lonely to make records by yourself. I hear a joy in the more jammy songs on this album”.
