Pogonology (the study of facial hair), rock n roll, country, folk, psych, psych folk, psych country, hip-hop old and new, freaky music, art rock, punk, new wave, disco, drone, pop, girl groups, soul, funk, r 'n b, blues, gospel, avant-garde, improv, afrobeat, lo-fi, electronica, jazz, bop, free jazz, skronkadelia, slocore, hardcore, Scottish literature, Russian literature, wry American novels, picaresque romps, travel lit, social and cultural history, comics, zines, Nouvelle Vague, Ealing Comedy, US indie films, mordant 70s US comedy, European cinema, Asia Extreme, Fender Jaguars and Jazzmasters, fuzz pedals, delay pedals, tremolo, art, Prague, Berlin, Krakow, Granada, Andalucia, Glasgow, the Brecon Beacons, the watusi, the mash potato, the jive, the twist, goulash, fine salami, noodles, tagine, aubergines, crispy pork belly, bau, peking duck, spanish olives, blue cheese, oatcakes and cheddar.
I'd like to meet:
Robert Wyatt performing Sea Song with Annie Whitehead and pals. It doesn't get any better than this.
Music:
Beach Boys, Can, Shirley Collins, Robert Wyatt, Brian Eno, Serge Gainsbourg, Jean Claude Vannnier, Captain Beefheart Velvet Underground, Deerhoof, Parliament/Funkadelic, Mingus, John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Ornette Coleman, Gay Against You, No Age, Herman Dune, Royal We, The Pastels, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Bill Wells, Mika Miko, The Minutemen, Animal Collective, Panda Bear, Fairport Convention, Joe Meek, Fela Kuti, Battles, Jeffrey Lewis, Scatter, Nalle, Fantomas, Arrington De Dionyso, Tinariwen, The Melvins, Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, Orange Juice, Hank Williams, Bowie, Roxy, Nick Drake, Flaming Lips, Giant Sand, Dylan, The Band, Bert Jansch, Public Enemy, Replacements, Teenage Fanclub, Lucky Luke, Sly & the Family Stone, Neko Case, White Stripes, Devendra Banhart, Kraftwerk, De La Soul, Vashti Bunyan, Sonic Youth, Pavement, Missy, Beastie Boys, Edan, Gillian Welch, The Stones, Talking Heads, James Brown, Alasdair Roberts, Belle & Sebastian, Springsteen, Company Flow, Dinosaur Jr, Nirvana, Husker Du, Sparklehorse, Neu!, Arcade Fire, Olivia Tremor Control, Blondie, Solomon Burke, Palace, Cat Power, Aretha, Otis, Caetano Veloso, The Congoes, Ibrahim Ferrer, Sun Ra, International Airport, SIlver Jews, Pipettes, The Fall, Incredible String Band, NWA, Wu Tang, Al Green, Gang Of Four, PIL, Loretta Lynn, Lemonheads, Scatter, Aerial Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Butthole Surfers, Foxface, Stevie Wonder, Holly Gollightly, Dusty Springfield, Scott Walker, SJ Esau, Jeremy Sleeping Jacket, Dirtbombs, Sleater-Kinney, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Delgados, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, Buck Owens, Napoleon IIIrd, Skeleton Bob, Hookers Green No1, Smoosh, Sparks, Lightning Bolt, Afrirampo, BMX Bandits, Big Star, Foxface, Ghostface Killa, The Meters, Konono No1, Tenniscoats, Kama Aina, Kazumi Nikaido, Lee Hazlewood, The Mummies, James Chance, Hidden Cameras, Six Organs of Admittance, Park Attack, Konono No1, Final Fantasy, Gang Of Four, Long Blondes, Magazine, PIL, Raincoats, Kinks, The Gossip, Charalambides, Espers, National Park, Louvin Brothers, Nina Simone, Life Without Buildings, Girls Aloud, Francoise Hardy, Jacques Dutronc, France Gall, Michel Legrand, Electric Wizard...
Movies:
Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, The Producers (the original natch), All About My Mother, Annie Hall, Crimes & Misdemeanours, Rushmore, Big Lebowski, Hedwig & The Angry Inch, Spinal Tap, Singing In The Rain, Purple Rose of Cairo, Weekend, A Bout De Souffle, Happiness of the Katakuris, Weekend, Vivre Sa Vie, Philadelphia Story...
Television:
.. width="425" height="350" ..Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, Sopranos, Larry Sanders, Simpsons, Buffy, Angel, Father Ted, Spaced, Six Feet Under, Mighty Boosh, Veronica Mars, Day Today, Brass Eye, Family Guy, Cheers, Frasier, The Office, Extras, Blackadder, C4 News...
Books:
Cervantes, Chaucer, Alisdair Gray, Truman Capote, Richard Brautigan, Haruki Murakami, Milan Kundera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, William Faulkner, Toni Morrison, F Scott Fitzgerald, Edwin Morgan, John Donne, John Kennedy Toole, Nabokov, Lester Bangs, Nik Cohn, Peter Guralnick
Heroes:
Musical: Jonathan Richman, Robert Wyatt, Wayne Coyne, Howe Gelb, Johnny Cash, John Peel, Shirley Collins
Literary: Edwin Morgan, Alisdair Gray, Kurt Vonnegut
Journalists: Lester Bangs, Peter Guralnick, Nik Cohn, Ian Penman, Paul Morley, Tom Hibbert, Neil Kulkarni, Stevie Chick, Sylvie Simmons, Tom Junod, Joan Didion, Terry Southern
