"A total classic from George Lucas, pre Star Wars. It's the start of pop culture going retro, as it created a whole kind of rock & roll revival with records being reissued and that double LP soundtrack being released. It's the past informing the present so it's important in terms of pop culture and teen films. It influenced a couple of other movies that we're going to talk about later. And I love the music – 'I Only Have Eyes For You' and all those tunes. Fantastic."

"A total earworm. It’s a guy called Alexander Brettin from Los Angeles. He has to his credit so far one single, two tracks. Wire are taking him on the West Coast leg of our American tour. It lives in a similar world to certain tracks on the last couple of Wire albums, and also Malka [Spigel, Newman’s wife]’s solo album. It’s an assemblage of harpsichord, flute, organ – it’s got a bit of Todd Rundgren, a bit of ’60s psychedelia, a bit of Sébastien Tellier."

"Like the Roth novel, this short story contains some of the most exquisite dialogue I've ever read. It's only four pages, covering about 45 minutes, as a couple waits for a train in Spain. You come to realize that they're talking about her having an abortion. Actually, they never speak about it overtly, but their story is just heartbreaking. Again, it's about people who are recognizing the distance between them. It's a very appealing story for an actor because drama exists in what's not spoken."

"C’mon. Is every scene in this movie perfect? Yes. I could watch this movie over and over on a loop. Actually, I’m pretty sure they do that on cable. It plays quite a bit. Meg Ryan is nothing short of magical in this performance. And the time lapses are, for me, what make this film really work — because we truly believe that this oil-and-water couple will stay together and they ought to. I sure hope they do in the sequel: When Harry Stayed With Sally."

"The Kid saved my sanity while I waited for my kid. I’m 32, I’ve had a home visit, I’ve filled out the paperwork, and now I’m waiting and waiting to be picked by a birth mother to adopt her baby. Through it all, I keep on my person a tattered copy of this Dan Savage book. How the story of a white gay couple adopting a baby boy feels like exactly the same journey as a single black woman adopting a baby girl is its magic."

"Black Unity is one song played live that lasts about 35 minutes and it's free jazz but it has a very deep groove. There's a drummer and a couple of percussionists and the bass player is locked into them. It's almost the jazz version of the Stooges song 'Fun House' if that makes any sense. It's not free in the sense that the drummer's going off, or everyone is going off at once. There's a deep groove but there's also looseness to it too."