Bishop Allen Inspired by Nursery Rhymes and British Philosophy

Posted on Apr 1st 2009 12:00PM by Joe Tacopino
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Brooklyn indie rockers Bishop Allen have seen their catchy pop songs featured on Sony ads and WB sitcoms. They even have an essential track on 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.' But with all the commercial appeal, one might be surprised to find out where these Harvard alums get their inspiration.

"I'm definitely drawn to schoolyard melodies," Bishop Allen's lead singer Justin Rice tells Spinner. "It's kind of really easy to identify and to sing-a-long with. But there definitely is a tradition in those kind of songs to have a darker lyrical content."

Rice mentions 'Ring Around the Rosie' and 'Aesop's Fables' as obvious references. "They're about some darker aspect of human existence," he says.

In addition to these children's melodies, Rice also name-checks British philosopher G.K. Chesterton as an inspiration for the band's new song, 'The Ancient Commonsense of Things.'

"At some point I just picked up a book of his essays, and there were all of these amazing weird little ideas," Rice says about Chesterton. "In one of those essays, he talks about books and how they seem to be filled with the ancient commonsense of things. I was like 'Wow, that's an idea that really makes sense to me.'"

The band's new album, 'Grrr...,' is out now. Indie rockers and literary geeks, rejoice.

Download Bishop Allen Songs