"I was driving through Iceland listening to this song and it’s just really gorgeous. I think this is how people feel when they take drugs - they begin on this floating cloud and then it becomes a bit chaotic at the end. “It sounds like they were on drugs when they made it, but it doesn’t make me sad when I think about it, there’s something with it, it’s positive without making me vomit, which I really enjoy. Sometimes happier music is hard to listen to, because you can question as to why you aren’t as happy as the people in the song, but I like this song. “I discovered this song much later, after ‘Rez’. When I hear one song I don’t automatically go and find the whole album, I kind of stop and just have fun with that song for months - I get really patient with songs and I can listen to them for months. I saw that ‘Born Slippy’ was on the same album as ‘Rez’ and now of course I have the whole album and I have rave parties for myself, just me. “I also love to listen to this song whilst I paint, when I paint something without meaning. I’m full of opposites or coherent contrasts, one day I like to be at rave parties and then I like to be in forests. I like to see what the world has to offer me.”"

"I love weird people. The thing about voices is there's this idea, and this is my favourite thing about punk, is that I get really sad when people say they can't sing. That's not true. Anyone can be a singer. But when you hear Nina, she sounds like the exorcist. She uses all of her different voices. I don't even know another Nina Hagen record because that's the only one that ever really resonated with me. Playing that at Little Girls Rock camp [a foundation that funds and supports music education for young girls, of which Ditto is on the advisory board along with Tegan And Sarah and Kathleen Hanna], it blew their fucking minds. It blew their minds, and that is why I love Nina Hagen, and Yoko Ono, Diamanda Galas and Nina Simone because all of their voices are instruments. And her look! I met her and what did she say to me, "I didn't escape East Germany for nothing". Her story is phenomenal. It makes sense, because when you come from that kind of place you have to push the envelope because there's nothing to guide you. You have to make it up yourself and when you get to do that without pop culture references you get fucking Nina Hagen. It's so rare. I wonder what the next level of really untouched creativity will be? I wonder what that will look like? "

"This was also in the same house, and the second song that made me cry was on this album. I think it may have been 'Bedtime For Toys': it was a song about how some children didn't get any toys, and made me really sad that actually some children didn't get any toys at Christmas. It seems quite silly now, but it had that effect. Also, his version of 'Ave Maria'. It's an amazing album. It's not a particularly known album though. I had lunch years ago with Nona Hendryx and Vicki Wickham. They're very knowledgeable about Motown, as Vicki had produced Ready Steady Go! and was instrumental in bringing over the Motown sound - and even still calls him 'Little Stevie Wonder' - and they weren't even aware of the album. It just reminds me of a time when I was playing other people's records. My dad was a big country & western fan into Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline. There were also six or seven albums by Yma Sumac, which were very bizarre and had amazing covers, and I would think ""who is this?"". I think he may have got them through Reader's Digest or something. They were quite exotic things. And also there were singles like The Monkees' 'Daydream Believer' and 'Everlasting Love' by The Love Affair and '(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay' by Otis Redding. These were already there in the house, and it wasn't until..."

"It's such a beautiful record. What can I say? Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman from The Byrds did these soul songs like 'Do Right Woman', which was originally recorded by Aretha Franklin and they played it like a country rock song. Also, they took like 'Dark End Of The Street', which was written by Dan Penn, originally for the soul singer James Carr on Goldwax, a Memphis label, which they also recorded in the style of a country rock song. Country rock is often a dirty term, but to turn that into something else, that transformation was incredible. Gram's gentle, soulful voice completely slays me every time! I'm in love with Gram Parsons. I feel like I know him. When I hear him sing, his voice fills me up and makes me feel loved. Admitting that you're broken and sad that a woman left you, feeling vulnerable was rare in music, apart from maybe soul and blues. But rock music was so macho. Gram turned up and wrote these beautiful original songs. It's okay to admit you're weak, it's okay to admit you have a broken heart. A huge influence on me and Primal Scream. Also, when I got married to my wife Katy England, I had Alexander McQueen design for myself and my wife a suit with satin lapels and hemmed embroidery in the trousers and jacket with roses, in tribute to Gram Parsons."