"She's so dirty. The rhymes by themselves are incredible, like “He called why I ain't beeped him, well I thought your ass was still sleeping”, it's so good. She was ahead of her time. There's always been sex, like Donna Summer just moaning on a record, but Kim was definitely filthy. And amazing. It was hella sexual but I don't think people give her props. I mean the album after that, The Notorious K.I.M, I almost put that instead. Her rhymes are unparalleled, she is such a fucking good rapper. She is incredible! And I don't think her sexuality overshadows her because it's so out there. The rhymes are about sex and that's what people are thinking, but it's just shockingly good. It is about sex and she is a woman and she is here, but just the rhymes are so incredible. They're fucking phenomenal. I think everyone respects Lil' Kim, but I think every woman artist is underrated. Honestly, aside from the big pop stars, if you are an artist or a producer or a writer, for the most part, you probably aren't going to get the respect that you deserve."

"Mizoguchi is one of the greatest masters who ever worked in the medium of film; he’s right up there with Renoir and Murnau and Ford, and after the war he made three pictures—The Life of Oharu, Ugetsu, and Sansho the Bailiff—that stand at the summit of cinema. All of his artistry is channeled into the most extraordinary simplicity. You’re face-to-face with something mysterious, tragically inevitable, and then, in the end, peacefully removed. I love all three of these pictures and many other Mizoguchi films as well (including Princess Yang Kwei-fei, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums, and Miss Oyu, to name only a few), but Ugetsu has the most powerful effect on me. There are moments in the picture, famous ones, that I’ve seen again and again and that always take my breath away: the boat slowly materializing from out of the mist and coming toward us . . . Genjuro collapsing on the grass in ecstasy and being smothered by Lady Wakasa . . . the final crane up from the son making an offering at his mother’s grave to the fields beyond. Just to think of these moments now fills me with awe and wonder."

"After Adrian and I broke up, and I moved into my new house, I bought myself a record player. Or, actually, if either of my kids are reading this, Father Christmas bought it for me [laughs]. Not that I think they'd be reading The Quietus yet – they're six and eight – but start them young. My mum brought me some records, and this is one she used to love when I was really small, although I only vaguely remembered it. I've always loved Maddy Prior and June Tabor's voices, though – do you know June Tabor's Abyssinians? That's an amazing record, full of depth and darkness, both in the singing, and the material. But listening to this…it made me think I'm sure it subsconsciously affected the way I make music. The way the women's voices interweave to tell their stories reminds me very much of the way Becky and I sing together, although she didn't remember the record at all! The band's also fantastic, including Martin Carthy, Nic Jones and Andy Irvine. The effect of this record on me is what I'd love to do every time making music."