"Let’s go with Jaws. I saw Jaws when I was about… I must have been nine years old. Of course, at the time it was the most terrifying film I’d ever seen. It kept me awake for days. It kept me afraid of the ocean for a while. It had me afraid of lakes in Nebraska, in case there were sharks there. I was nine years old. But there are so many amazing things about that, on a historical level. That was the very first film that opened nationwide on the same day. As far as I know, prior to that, they would roll out films big cities to smaller ones, coast to coast. But this opened worldwide, which ushered in the era of the blockbuster. So it was groundbreaking in that regard, and of course, that is something that defines the entire movie industry today. The interesting thing is that, 43 years later, the film holds up exceptionally well. The characters feel as fresh and original as they did so long ago. So well directed. The history of the making of the film and how challenging it was for Spielberg, and the broken shark and all of this, and all of the changes he had to make — none of those challenges are reflected in the quality of the film. So to me, that’s a fabulous, fabulous film."

"The first time I heard this was in 2012. I remember we were driving down the Great Ocean Road in Australia, the sun was out and hearing this, it was such an amazing song. And subsequently learning what it was about, or so the story goes, I don’t know whether it’s true or not but it’s an affecting story, which is the line ‘I couldn’t say it to your face, but I won’t be around anymore’ is about him either telling a lover or a friend that he’s HIV Positive and that his days are numbered. “Aside from it being an amazing song, I always think as a lyricist you want to be having conversations that you can’t have, that you’re too scared to have. If you’re making yourself uncomfortable then you’re doing something right, because there’s an incredible catharsis that comes with that. It really puts my issues into perspective, it is all relative, but it’s an amazing song and I think to be that honest and to be that authentic is an amazing thing and that’s when I always connect to music, when it’s doing that. “In the last few years Arthur Russell has had a real resurgence and that interest in him has snowballed. He had a million clubby projects and there’s a lot of his stuff that I don’t connect with, but the more direct, vulnerable stuff I really like. There’s the Love Is Overtaking Me compilation, it feels like a ‘Best of"