Quick-fire Questions: 10 minutes with Todd Modern
Todd Modern, in my neck of the woods up in the northeast of England, translates directly to Shit New Stuff. That might not be the opening line that the lo-fi indie songwriter had dreamed of, but he does play into it with his new single exploring the rise of technological induced loneliness.
His third single, ‘TV’, asks a wry double-edged question, “Who would’ve thought I needed someone just to watch TV with”. It’s a phrase that encapsulates the strange ontological spiral of the Todd Modern age, so to speak. In short, we’re so isolated, we can’t find people to even share our isolation with.
Thankfully, the Liverpool-based musician shares this conundrum with an upbeat riff that ensures it doesn’t rub salt into society’s wounds. His latest, much like each of the previous releases, has a playful sense of melodic reverie reminiscent of Britpop at its swaggering, catchy, slacker best.
The John Cage-like fuzziness ruffles the hair of a Damon Albarn-like ditty this time out, as the emerging talent delves into a desire he has often shared across the breadth of his work so far: to take things slow. Armed with a baseball cap, a keen eye to cut through the raucous buzz of society to find simple, resonant lines, and a knack for classic pop songwriting, he has teamed up with Chris Taylor at Kempston Street Studios to great effect.
So, as the slacker star ascends for the coastal Cumbria native, we caught up with him for a few quick-fire questions and got his thoughts on everything from The Beatles, ghosts, comfort albums, and of course, the curse of the nu-internet.
Quick-fire Questions with Todd Modern:
1. What song would you want played at your funeral?
“Haven’t really thought about it until now, ’That’s Life’ could be funny”.
2. What’s your go-to comfort album for company?
“Slanted and Enchanted by Pavement: This album has so much contrast and movement throughout. It’s a great album to stick on when you are going for a walk, and it has one of my favourite songs, ‘Here’, on it. That song means a lot to me as it transports me back to a certain time in my life, as a kind of pleasant and sad nostalgia.
“Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot by Sparklehorse: Mark Linkous is a massive inspiration musically. This debut album emancipates from the shackles of just songs on an album. It has a weird sample interlude/tape atmosphere. It’s full of great writing and instrumentation. This album was a turning point for me musically and sonically.”
3. Have we become trapped in our apps?
“Yeah, it’s hard to escape from apps, I guess everyone is reliant on phones, so it goes hand in hand with the obsession of being obsessed.”
4. You can enjoy a day without any devices. What would you do?
“Seems very out of reach now but if I was to do this I reckon reading or walking would be cool, it would be a bit of a lonely day I reckon.”
5. What has been your favourite album of 2025?
“Lucre by Dean Blunt and Elias Rønnenfelt: I’m not sure if this is classed as an album or EP. I think it has seven songs on it. It ticks all the boxes for me. Some really nice songs throughout, and lyrically it kept me hooked. I really like the track ‘4’, the bass sounds sick. I personally think that the label world music has been putting out some of the best stuff in the last few years.”
6. What’s the best TV show of all time?
“I’m a bit of a documentary person over TV shows. Different kinds of documentaries from historical, scientific and art stuff. Depends on the day, really.”
7. What was the first song you ever learned to play?
“I remember playing some stuff on the drums when I was younger, ‘Basket Case’, I remember being hard!”
8. If you’re concerned about the pace of life, why leave Cumbria?
“I left a while back. I came to Liverpool for music and just never left. Made some good mates here and everyone is making good stuff. Check out Terry Venomous, Dan Disgrace and European Taxis.”
9. Best book you’ve read in the last two years?
“George Cockcroft / Luke Rhinehart’s The Dice Man is abhorrent and chaotic. I read the sequel, Searching For The Dice Man on tour in America and that’s mental also. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World was pretty special.”
10. What’s the ultimate hangover cure?
“When you find out, tell me, becasue they are getting worse.”
Editor Note: The ultimate trick is to, first and foremost, deny that hangovers exist at all where possible. And then from this defiant mindset, deploy a combination of the Anthony Bourdain (minus step three) and Ledher Blue methods, and you’re on your way to another good day, Todd.
11. What one technology that has arisen in the last 10 years do you actually like?
“I swear by voice memos, I know recording wasn’t invented in the last ten years, but this portable pocket operator helps.”
12. What’s the most annoying song ever written?
“That repetitive waiting on the phone one.”
13. Do you feel the threat of AI obsolescence as an artist rising simultaneously with it?
“Yeah, there is definitely an underlying feeling that this is getting out of hand. At the moment, the defects of AI are quite fun to utilise. I hope a robot doesn’t see this and come and get me in the future. Feels very Orwellian at the moment.”
14. Do you believe in ghosts?
“Me and my mam think we’ve seen a few.”
15. Are The Beatles overrated?
“Nooooo!! The Beatles are great, Ringo is unreal.”
