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Here's a collection of musicians who have in one way or another influenced me greatly in my own endeavours...

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Hitchcock   -  from his days with The Soft Boys in the late seventies to his later work with The Egyptians, Hitchcock is important because he is one of the few artists who has stuck to his vision with scant regard for commercial success. His music is deeply melodic, and his lyrics both intriguing and comical.
Guided by Voices Guided by Voices   - Robert Pollard's abilities to knock out 60's tinged abstract songs with killer hooks is truly phenomenal.
The Monochrome set The Monochrome Set   -  Unsung heroes of the late 70s and 80s whose combination of suave pop, lounge music, and spaghetti westernisms were way ahead of their time.
Wire Wire   -  British art-punks who initiated the tradition of linking  pop sensibility to intellectual abstractism. From primal punk to arty sound collages in three years, and always sounded great.
Minutemen Minutemen   -  a San Pedro, USA, trio who fused punk to free-form jazz and added left-wing intellectualism to the mixture. Their motto : say what you have to say, and get off. Hence albums full of 1 minute gems with no filler.
Half Man Half Biscuit Half Man Half Biscuit   -  In a league of their own since 1985, Birkenhead's HMHB blend catchy melodies and dire production values with witty and astute observations on British life, the indie music scene, obscure eastern European soccer teams and any other bizarre bits of information that have lodged in the head of main man Nigel Blackwell. John Peel's favourite band.
Frank Zappa Frank Zappa   -  The late great Mr.Zappa whose vast oeuvre of more than 60 albums spanned classical, jazz, hard rock, fusion, new wave, you name it. And all suffused with wit, humour, smut, a sense of anarchical fun, and two fingers up to the conservatives and the Establishment.

Also worthy of mention: Devo, The Raincoats, Buzzcocks, The Jam, The Who, The Beatles, Husker Du, The Fall, Dead Kennedys, Killing Joke, The Smiths, Can, Magazine, The Stranglers, Carcass, Captain Beefheart, Syd Barrett, The Kinks, King Tubby, Gang of Four, Joy Division, Shonen Knife, The Ramones and Swell Maps.