R. Stevie Moore

These days, anybody with a laptop and a net connection can record and release their own album. In 1968, when 16-year-old R. Stevie Moore holed up in his Tennessee bedroom with a brand-new four-track recorder (a birthday gift from his father, celebrated Nashville session pro Bob Moore) and a handful of like-minded pals, it was considerably harder to get your music out there. But over four decades later, Moore is not only hailed as the godfather of DIY home recording, he's cited as a direct musical influence by young musicians from Ariel Pink to Theophilus London. (Chillwave, that blend of modern lo-fi indie sensibility and unironic love of vintage soft-rock synthesizer sounds, was basically invented by Moore around 1975.) Sometimes, the connection is even closer: RSM fans The Apples In Stereo feature multi-instrumentalist John Ferguson, whose dad Roger was one of those high-school buddies who appeared on Stevie's teenage tapes. Over the decades, Stevie has self-released literally hundreds of albums (first on cassette, then on CD-R, most recently as downloads), playing nearly all the instruments himself. But for all his charming eccentricities, he's a top-shelf songwriter whose best songs are as tuneful, clever and immediately accessible as those of his own pop idols. The curious will find Cherry Red Records' compilations Meet The R. Stevie Moore! (focusing on his poppiest tunes) and Me Too (delving into his quirkier stuff) a well-rounded introduction. For those who get hooked, there's plenty more Moore where those come from.