A Taste:

Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, The Black Crowes

Lamb of God can certainly pummel with the best of them. However, lead guitarist Mark Morton really just wants to kick back and listen to the blues.

He laughs, “I spend so much time around heavy metal that it’s constantly floating around in my head. Personally, I find more inspiration in that soulful, finesse-y blues playing than I do in modern shredding. That’s not to take away from anything anybody’s doing because there’s a lot to be said for really fast licks. I work on some of that myself [Laughs]. For me, great blues players are who really give me goose bumps.”

Morton opened up his iTunes for us and gave us an exclusive look at the artists that truly inspire him. Check out his playlist below!

Mark Morton’s Playlist:

1. The Black Crowes — Warpaint

“This is probably not what a lot of people want to hear from me [Laughs]. But, I’m still really into the latest Black Crowes record. Luther Dickinson’s slide and lead work is really some of the more exciting guitar playing that I’ve heard lately.”

2. ZZ Top — ZZ Top’s First Album

“I’m still stuck on my old ZZ Top. I listen to ZZ Top’s first album a whole lot. That Billy Gibbons stuff is amazing. Most of my inspiration comes from real heavy blues playing. That’s where my head’s at.”

3. Led Zeppelin

“Jimmy Page is probably my all-time favorite guitar player.”

4. Fleetwood Mac

“Recently, I was looking into some of Peter Green’s stuff—his early work with Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood’s so famous for the Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham-era, but there’s a whole catalog of Top-40 stuff from before. During that time, they were really a heavy British blues band. There’s some great guitar playing there.”

5. The Yardbirds

“The Yardbirds were really ahead of their time.”

—Rick Florino
04.29.09

A Taste:

Patto, The Yardbirds

“I’ve actually been listening to a lot of the music from Observe and Report,” says Seth Rogen with a hearty laugh and a wide smile. “The songs that [director] Jody Hill chose definitely helped me get into the mind space of what he was looking for in terms of performance.”

Right now, Seth Rogen is everywhere—from starring as vengefully clueless mall cop Ronnie Barnhardt in Observe and Report to playing B.O.B. the brainless blob in Monsters Vs. Aliens to being funny alongside Adam Sandler in this summer’s Funny People. Given Rogen’s dynamic production schedule, it’s no surprise that what’s in his iPod is quite diverse as well. Being the affable and fun guy he is, he decided to share it too.

However, he doesn’t think his character, psychotic security guard Ronnie from Observe will be caught spinning Journey anytime soon. “I don’t think Ronnie cares for music. Maybe he’d like Merle Haggard? [Laughs]”

Check out some of the tunes that Seth Rogen is spinning below and catch him in Observe and Report Friday April 10.

Seth Rogen’s Playlist:

1. Patto — “The Man”

“That song ‘The Man’ by Patto is amazing. I can’t get enough of it.”

2. The Yardbirds — “Over Under Sideways Down”

“That Yardbirds track is a great song too.”

3. City Wolf — “Where Is My Mind?” (Pixies Cover)

“That’s by Joey Stephens! He’s the composer, and he was also our boom operator [Laughs]. He and his band did the cover, and it turned out really good.”

—Rick Florino
03.31.09