The guitarist lets us into his cultural life, from his love of David Hockney to making his friends watch a Joan Didion documentary
By Jake Helm.
Gated article - removed:
My favourite piece of music
For a long time now, it’s been My Goal’s Beyond by John McLaughlin. Like his work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, it is in a genre entirely of its own. It’s unquantifiable and makes me feel a certain way, no matter what happens in the outside world.
The lyric I wish I’d written
“You’re going to reap just what you sow”, from Perfect Day by Lou Reed.
The instrument I wish I’d learnt
Piano. I can play it, but only in amateurish fashion. I should say though there are guitar players who play the piano nicely like Neil Young, Paul McCartney and David Bowie. They play it as a means to an end and do wonderful things with it. But I would like to be a few levels up from there.
The music that cheers me up
Any good pop music, which by definition usually means contemporary. There are things from my past that of course make me feel good. But there’s something about hearing music that’s fresh, upbeat and represents the modern world — it makes you feel that everything is OK.
I’m having a fantasy dinner party, I’ll invite these artists and authors
Gary Oldman, Muhammad Ali and certainly Marilyn Monroe.
And I’ll put on this music
Spirit Power: The Best of Johnny Marr.
Overrated
I don’t tend to like shitting on people, but Mamma Mia!, for God’s sake, or We Will Rock You or any of those sorts of musicals. How did it get to that? We’re supposed to go along with the idea that they’re good. What was Meryl Streep thinking she was doing starring in that film, and Julie Walters? What were they thinking? There are a lot of things culturally that we’ve just gone along with and they really must stop.
Underrated
Blindboy Boatclub, the artist and musician from Limerick, is best known as one half of the Irish comedy hip-hop group the Rubberbandits. He’s amazing, has such an interesting way of thinking and also hosts the brilliant series The Blindboy Podcast too. One of the best books I have ever read is his Topographia Hibernica. I can’t recommend him or it enough.
My favourite author
Aldous Huxley. People would assume I’m thinking about Brave New World orThe Doors of Perception, but I’m actually referring to his work after he moved to the United States in the second half of his life. His essays and lectures are even better than his earlier work. I rediscovered him in the Nineties and he is my actual hero. Everything you read of his is an education.
The book I’m reading
Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson. It’s a trip, moving around from style to style. The novel is loosely based on Greek mythology, but set in modern times. It’s relatable and super interesting. PJ Harvey introduced me to Carson, an intriguing cross between an essayist and a poet.
The book I couldn’t finish
The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley. Just couldn’t do it.
The book I’m ashamed I haven’t read
Ulysses by James Joyce. It just sounds so hard going. I love the idea of it and feel genuinely bad that I haven’t read it, but I do also feel like I know so much about it already. I admire it enough, without feeling the need to put myself through the hassle of reading it.
My favourite film
Sergio Leone’s film Once Upon a Time in America. When it was first released, I went to see it a few times and decided then it was the best thing I’d ever seen. I recently saw The End We Start From, starring Jodie Comer. It’s so good. Amazingly, I came away from it with this feeling of triumph of the human spirit. It says a lot about what it means to be human and what we fundamentally need, which is compassion, connection, love and understanding. And Comer is just so believable in the role.
The box set I’m hooked on
I’m rewatching Nurse Jackie. There’s so much good stuff out there that whenever I occasionally revisit old, great stuff, you forget how much it stands up. I like anything Edie Falco is in. I also have just rewatched the documentary Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold. I’ve watched it at least three times and whenever someone comes to my place that hasn’t watched it, I watch it with them.
My favourite TV series
It has to be Mad Men. One of my friends is eagle-eyed and noticed that when they put an album on a turntable, it has the correct label from the Sixties. That’s crazy.
The film I walked out on
There are loads, often stuff I take my kids to see and they don’t even notice I’d left. I didn’t enjoy Baby Driver — I didn’t like the music in that at all.
I wasted an evening watching
Manchester City play in the Champions League final in 2021.
The last movie that made me cry
These days I can cry at almost anything so I can’t remember.
The place I feel happiest
Running around Brooklyn, over the Williamsburg Bridge. Or around Portland, Oregon. Whenever I’m at those places, I always run unless I’m injured. I’ve done a lot of things in my life, but nothing quite beats that.
My guiltiest cultural pleasure
Cheese and onion pasty, chips and peas. Anybody who says that’s not a culture doesn’t know what they are talking about.
If I could own one painting it would be
We Two Boys Together Clinging by David Hockney. Any of his work would be a dream to own. Even the iPad stuff is beautiful. I went to see David Hockney: Bigger and Closer at the Lightroom and it was great.
Johnny Marr’s Spirit Power tour starts at O2 City Hall, Newcastle, on April 2; Spirit Power: The Best of Johnny Marr is out now; Marr’s Guitars is published by Thames and Hudson, johnnymarr.com
Q&A via The Times.
Regards,
FWD.
(Emboldened by FWD for clarity).
