Lenzie Moss
She Plays Me Like A Theremin
2012
This fella, aka Finley Macdonald, who’s been knocking around Glasgow since the ’80s, sent me this song he did. I can’t stop listening to it and thinking, ‘Who’d have thought this guy had a voice like that?’ He’s doing nothing that hasn’t been done before by anyone who’s heard the Velvets, but that’s the endearing charm and possibility of music – it doesn’t take much to do something slightly differently.
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The Blue Nile
Tinsel Town In The Rain
1984
I’ve listened to this song a few hundred times in the past couple of years while I’ve been making my film [musical drama God Help The Girl] and I never get tired of it – every line takes on a different meaning, you can see it like a film in your head. I’ll listen to it in 10 years and think, ‘God, I remember being stuck in that little box room trying to finish the frigging script.’ But it did its job.
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Cat Stevens
Harold And Maude
1971
I’ve always loved the film, but I didn’t realise how big a part the music played in it. Apparently, Cat Stevens and [director] Hal Ashby talked as if they were writing this little opera. Now I’ve actually made a musical film I can see how well they did it. When the drama’s done, Cat Stevens’ voice comes in and takes it to another place. When he first comes in with “Don’t Be Shy”, it’s a beautiful moment.
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Joachim Neander
Praise To The Lord, The Almighty, The King Of Creation
1680
When I’m alone with my wee boy, I’ve been singing old hymns to him. This is one of my favourites. Hymns work in the same way as pop music – I prefer the old ones, as they’ve been filtered down over the years. You’re looking at the “Yesterday” and the “Paint It, Black” of heaven. It’s the purest form of soul music.