Drunk on beauty

Pick 5 artists that you love before reading the questions

1. PJ Harvey

2. Nick Cave

3. New Order

4. St Vincent

5. David Bowie

What was the first album you ever heard by 1?

Rid of Me. I was 14 and it was too raw for me. It was 10 years before I went back to her and found a kindred spirit.

What is your favorite album of 4?

Strange Mercy.

What kind of impact has 1 left on your life?

She strongly effected my songwriting, from tuning my guitar down and playing only two strings for an entire song to the power of atmosphere to storytelling.

What are your favorite lyrics of 5?

“I heard telephones, opera house, favourite melodies

I saw boys, toys electric irons and T.V.’s

My brain hurt like a warehouse

It had no room to spare

I had to cram so many things

To store everything in there

And all the fat-skinny people, and all the tall-short people

And all the nobody people, and all the somebody people

I never thought I’d need so many people”

- Five Years. The speaker is just trying to desperately to record every tiny moment in his mind before it all ends; it just gets me every time.

How many times have you seen 4 live?

Once. Neither me nor my mate realised what a brilliant guitarist she was until then.

What is your favorite album by 2?

Let Love In. My first Nick Cave album.

Is there any song by 3 that makes you sad?

meh. No. a lot of their music is sweetly melancholic though, like In A Lonely Place.

What is your favorite album by 1?

To Bring You My Love OR Is This Desire. I can never pick.<

How did you get into 3?

I got the Trainspotting soundtrack when I was 15 or so and couldn’t get enough of Temptation, so I went out and bought Substance and it went from there…

What is your favorite album by 5?

Low or Aladdin Sane, depending on the mood I’m in. Low is creepy Berliner perfection but Aladdin Sane is black burlesque.

How many times have you seen 2 live?

Twice. The first time was the Bad Seeds, one of the best gigs I’ve EVER seen. I’d never realised what a (totally hilarious) showman Nick Cave is before that. The second time wasn’t as amazing but I did touch Nick’s hand so who cares.

What is a good memory concerning 1?

none comes to mind, actually. weird. not that they’re bad memories at all.

Is there a song by 4 that makes you sad?

Strange Mercy:

“I’ll be with you lost boys

Sneaking out where the shivers won’t find you

…

If I ever meet that dirty policeman who roughed you up

No I don’t know what”

What is your favorite album by 3?

Technique. I used to only have it on vinyl cos it was cheaper.