"I discovered Christopher Isherwood in college. His writing style is so direct, warm, and inclusive. There's one passage in this book, published in 1964, that has really stayed with me — the description of America. The narrator is a British man teaching at a California college. He and a few colleagues are having a conversation, and an American woman is saying how romantic Mexico is. She's critical of America. The protagonist argues with her, talking about the virtues of the United States. He says that its beauty is in its abstraction. I thought that was an amazing insight — possibly true and compelling at least."

"It’s hard to pick which of Kurosawa’s films is my favorite, since they’re pretty much all top-ten worthy. But for sheer spectacle and beauty, Ran is pretty hard to beat. The cinematography is unreal, the acting heightened and emotional, and his use of music and sound (and the sometimes dramatic lack of it) shows a master at the top of his game. I’ve lived my life by the Kurosawa quote “An artist is one who never averts his eyes.” Make sure you don’t avert your eyes from this classic! (Yes, I just said that. You’re welcome, Criterion!)"

"I don’t know how controversial it is in Beach Boys fan circles but I really like the Brother years. It’s as if they’ve all spent years with a genius, learning how to do it, soaking up musical know-how like sponges and then just gone for it themselves. There are some great songs – The Trader is one of my favourites, and Sail On Sailor is one of my wife’s all-time favourite songs. I’m drawn to beauty in music. You can put three chords together and it does something weird to me. It feels a little bit like magic."