Blue October isn't interested in fitting anybody's format. This summer the Houston band shot up the Modern Rock charts with "Hate Me," a cry of self-loathing worthy of Kurt Cobain. Time to release "Hate Me, Part 2" right? Well, no - this band doesn't play the game like that. Instead, "Into the Ocean" is a delicate slice of Breakfast Club synth pop - and the album Foiled confounds expectations at every turn. So when singer Justin Furstenfeld and bassist Matt Noveskey huddled around VH1.com's boom-box, we knew our play list could bounce between BBQ boogie and Gothic gloom. To reciprocate, they told us about how Alanis Morissette scared them and why Black Eyed Peas are like Scooby Doo.


ZZ Top - "Sharp Dressed Man," from Eliminator (1983)

Justin: [immediately] Houston, Texas. ZZ Top, bitches!

Matt: Big beards. I see red cars.

Justin: I see shag covered guitars.

Matt: I see spinning shag covered guitars. "Sharp Dressed Man" was the first video that I ever saw with, like, ladies. As I was going through puberty, I'd see ladies' legs stepping out of things in a ZZ Top video and be like, "Oh my God! Should I be watching this?"

Justin: I think of ZZ Top whenever I see one of those cars.


Alanis Morissette - "You Oughta Know" from Jagged Little Pill (1995)

Justin: A lyrical genius. Listen right here: "Would she go down on you in a theatre?" When I first heard that song back in high school, I was like, "Gasp!" When I heard the part where she goes, "Were you thinking of me when you f**ked her," I was like, "Aaaah! Oh my God!" Alanis has got the biggest set of balls in the world.

Matt: After seeing the video, I actually was thinking about her when I was ...well, you know. I felt like I was being called out when I heard it. She scared me! She's very real.

Justin: Remember the video where she's in the grocery store naked? I mean c'mon. She didn't care. That was the whole point. She's a normal lady, and I respect her for that kind of s**t.


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Erasure - "Solsbury Hill" from Other People's Songs (2003)

Justin: [shouting] OH! This is my wife's favorite song: "Climbing up on Solsbury Hill."One of the most amazing songs ever written. My wife loves Erasure and we both love Peter Gabriel, but when she heard that it was just like, "Oh man." It's a whole new way to do that song. The way Peter Gabriel does it is very acoustic. He's a genius god.

Matt: What a cool band to have play your song, too.

Justin: Erasure was very smart by choosing that song to do. Erasure and Pet Shop Boys still have credibility. I always throw them my love. I would choose Pet Shop Boys today over Depeche Mode today, you know what I'm saying? I still listen to their albums today and they effect me.


Hinder - "Lips of an Angel" from Extreme Behavior (2005)

Justin: Is this Catherine Wheel? Hmmm, don't know. Wait, my dad was just talking about this song! It's Hinder. What's really sad that it took us so long to get this song is that we played a show with those guys in Lubbock, Texas. Are Hinder our peers? I feel like everyone is a peer of ours. When we do a live show, we'll actually look at who's on the bill and be like, "So what's our set list going to be today?" If we're playing with Gnarls Barkley, we'll do some of our hip-hoppier trance stuff. If we're playing with The Flaming Lips we can put in our mellower stuff. But if we're playing with Papa Roach, you better know that we're going to rock.

Matt: I remember a specific show in Lubbock about eight years ago where we went on right after Drowning Pool and right before Mudvayne. At the time we didn't have quite as many rock songs. We were the very green redheaded stepchildren of that show ... if that makes any sense.

Justin: Back then we were like "Oh no they're going to boo us off the stage." Now it's like "F**k you if you don't like us." Radio's formatted so that you're either rock, pop or alternative. Put us in all those categories, just play our song!


Fergie - "London Bridge" from The Dutchess (2006)

Justin: [Listening to the "Oh s**t" intro] Uh oh. It's a rap song. [Laughs.] I got a feeling about this one. This is Fergie! Sounding like Missy Elliott. Stealing off Snoop Doggy Dogg. What is she singing about? [Ironic voice]: Definitely about a bridge. She wants to call London and tell them to raise the bridge because some ships need to come through. What do you think it's about you dirty minded motherf**ker?

Matt: The Black Eyed Peas though ... That's one of those groups that used to be like De La Soul or The Pharcyde. I really liked them back in the day. Now it's kind of like Scooby Doo when Scrappy came along. It wasn't cool anymore. I'm not going to say who Scrappy is. [Laughs.]

Justin: I appreciate hip-hop's honesty. I like how they come out and call each other names, like "I don't like you because of this." That's what old rap battles use to be. You get there and you talk about each other's mamas until the other one doesn't have anything else to say. I'm waiting for rock to do that one day, but I don't have any beef with anybody!


The Cure - "Close to Me" from The Head on the Door (1985)

Justin: Here we go. We're gonna get six in a row. Uh oh. This is The Cure. What do you want me to say? You can't go wrong with The Cure. Why do I like these English groups so much? I think a lot of it is the content. I love hearing ZZ Top doing 12-bar blues, but why would you want to play one style of music for your whole life? I'd get so bored.

Matt: When you go in to make a new album, it becomes monotonous after awhile. You're a band that's known to have a particular sound and that's it. With us, it's like, "Man, what are we going to do this time?

Justin: We could go into the studio and rewrite "Hate Me" a thousand times. I don't want to go out like that. I want to make music from the heart and from the gut. So if I've got to play drums on a tin can and play the flute for a hook, okay. I'll do that.

Matt: Those songs are all about girls and having a good time. We're about bringing up crazy issues and talking about preachers having sex with children, talking about drug addictions, talking about things that actually aren't dinner conversations.

Justin: Listen to a song like The Cure's "Killing An Arab." "Standing on a beach with a gun in my hand/ ... I'm alive/ I'm dead." Who the f**k writes that kind of s**t?

Matt: When I was a lot younger I remember there was this kid that lived in my neighborhood that wanted to be Robert Smith. He had the crazy hair and wore lipstick and everything, everyday. I'd see him when I got on the bus to go to school. I was always like, "Wow, that's kind of weird." Then I saw the first Cure video, and I was like "Ah, I know who that guy is into now - I get it." The Cure weren't afraid to be who they were. They definitely stood out at the time.

Justin: A little odd. But we like odd.