Sound bites
Breed’s playlist of the month – Steven Wilson
Each month we ask one of our artists which ten tracks have been repeat played on their music player, spun most often on their deck or turned up when they come on the radio in recent weeks.
This time to start the year off for Jan 2020, Steven Wilson lets us in on what he’s been listening to and reveals eclectic tastes, in part inspired by his children.
Down in the Tube Station at Midnight
I often prefer very British lyrics as opposed to generic themes of love and all that. There’s a long history of British bands that tap into very British experiences that I like. Bands like The Kinks, Pulp, The Jam, Babyshambles, Chas & Dave and Sleaford Mods sing about the smaller, unique things in British life.
Next song is by the last band I saw live. It was at a small venue in Brighton, where I live, and the lead singer was the best frontman I’ve seen in a long time.
At odds with my first three choices, who are distinctly British, I’m going to have to have one track by Springsteen who couldn’t be more all-American. But his storytelling is relatable to anyone. I was the first out of my friends and family to escape from where I grew up to go to university and I never moved back. I still visit to catch up with everyone and this track always makes me laugh when I see people from my youth in the pub, who never left my home town, still harping on about their achievements as 16-year-olds, mostly because a lot of them haven’t moved on or done much since.
I have to have a Tom Waits track for the voice. The track I’ve chosen is from a different album, but the album cover for Rain Dogs with photo by Anders Petersen is also one of my favourite record sleeves.
David Bowie’s cut-ups technique, where he’d have lots of words cut out and start arranging them to try to find some interesting juxtapositions as a way of getting going on a song – that way to spark an idea was quite an important discovery for me. When I started out making images, I used to get stuck all the time, so I tried to copy the principle of that technique with shapes rather than words.
Nick Cave is one of my favourite artists and also a former Brighton resident. ‘Into My Arms’ has to be the best love song ever written, so I was going to pick that, but his latest album ‘Ghosteen’ written after the death of his son, is beautiful.
I was introduced to Will Oldham’s music as a student by a friend in student digs. This one to continue the melancholic mood.
I have three pretty young kids and mostly they subject me to music that drives me nuts, but occasionally I have to admit to a guilty pleasure of something they’re playing.
Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons:
I like a bit of soul if I’m on a night out, so something for the end of the week to finish.
#BreedPlaylistoftheMonth
For more music inspiration, check out Matt Blease’s November playlist here.