118 • UNCUT • JULY 2019
PHOTO:
ElizabETH
WEinbErg.
inTErviEW: TOm PinnOck
Liz PhairFromPinkFloydtoMitski,theart-rocksinger-songwriterpicks
hermostaffecting records: “I love that youcanlivevicariously”THEVELVET
UNDERGROUND& NICO
THEVELVETUNDERGROUND &
NICOVERVE, 1967
I’vedecidedthatafterallthistimeeveryone’s
beenlabellingmeincorrectly,andI’mactually
anartrocker!Thisalbuminparticularis just
thetourdeforceofthatgenre.TheNewYorkart
scenespawnedsomereallygreatbands,butthisalbumhadeverything–
a greatname,multi-talentedmusicians,a vision,a drugproblem...It was
reverenceforexperimentalism,andI’vealwaysaspiredtothatandatthe
sametimefearedit,becauseit feltliketodomusicinthatwaycanoftenbe
the result of living in a certain way that isn’t always healthy or happy.MITSKI
BETHECOWBOYDEADOCEANS, 2018
Iwasreallyimpressedwiththisalbum,
andherwayofmixingthestructure,being
veryplayfulandsophisticated...kindof
usingindie-rockbuildingblocks,butbeing
incrediblydaring.I feellikeit usesclassical
elementsina jazzorinterpretivemanner,
puttingthemnexttoeachotherwithanindiebandandanindieproducer.
Mitskihitsalltheseoriginalnotes,andI’venotseenanyonedoanything
quitelikethat,andcertainlynotasunselfconsciously.I’velearneda lot
fromthisalbum,abouthowplayfulyoucanbebutstillbewriting a pop
song. It feels like this record has been around forever to me.Liz Phair plays Islington Assembly Hall, London, on June 4 and Gorilla, Manchester, June 5PI N KFLOYD
TH EWALL
HARVEST/COLUMBIA, 1979
Isawthemovie,andthatwasmyfirst
experienceofPinkFloyd.I wasinearly
highschoolandI wenttoseeit withfriends,
withoutanycontextorknowingwhatit
wouldbe.It wasa prettyoverwhelming,
socio-politicallychargedpieceofartfora littlesuburbanfreshman– it
madeanimpact.I honestlythinkit wasthefirsttimeI everthought about
World War II! That got me into the actual Floyd albums.LILNASX
“OLDTOWNROAD”
COLUMBIA, 2018
I’mobsessedwiththissingle!I’mobsessedwith
thefactit’soneminuteand 53 secondslongand
it’stheNo1 songinAmerica.I can’twrapmy
headaroundthat!It’ship-hopbutcountry,and
goodol’boycountryif youlistentothelyrics.
It’stheintersectionofa lotofworlds.It’sjustexciting– it feelslikewecould
becrackingopenanoldwayofdoingthingsandreallyfloodingintobrand-
newspace,a waytobecreativethatis lessregimented.It feels like the delta
rather than the river. I’m excited to see what comes next.VARIOUSARTISTS
JESUSCHRISTSUPERSTAR
DECCA/MCA/DECCABROADWAY, 1970
IwassoyoungwhenI heardthis,overand
overagain– myparentsplayedit a lotwhen
I wasprobablyaboutthree.It introducedme
totheideaofthealbumasa trueartform,
thatit canbeasencompassingasyouwantit
tobe,it canbea literalpieceoftheatre.I thinkthatalwaysstuckwithme,
theexpansiveandcontractivepossibilitiesofanalbum.It’sanelastic
artform.SoI alwaystryto cram as many facets of human experience into
every album I make.JONATHANRICHMAN
& THEMODERNLOVERS
JONATHANRICHMAN& THE
MODERNLOVERSB E S E R KLE Y, 1976
Igotreallyintothisalbumthisfallafterplaying
witha bandontourfora coupleofmonths.
I neededtorememberhowhonestlyrics
canbe,howutterlywithoutguile,without
self-consciousnessandpride...It’slikeanidiotsavantorsomething,the
absoluteplainestlyricsyoucanimagine.I cannevertellhowsincereor
sarcasticJonathanRichmanis beingatanymoment.Nothingsoundslikeit
still, it’s purely original, but it does have an ear to The Velvet Underground.MARIADELPILAR
“WAITINGONTHEBOYS”CASETE, 2019
Ireallylovethissong,andI enjoyplayingit for
myfriendswhodon’tunderstandwhyI findit
sospecial.They’relike,“Idon’tgetit,it just
soundslikepop.”It absolutelyis,butfroman
entirelydifferentmusicalscenetoourscene.
I lovethatmusiccanbelikefiction,thatyou
canheara storyina songandrelatetoit,almostlikeyoucanlive
vicariously.That’showI feltwhenI heardthissong.I becameobsessed
withit.I listentoa lotofrecentfemalepopartists;somepeopleliketowatch
baseballorfootballorwhatever their sport is, but I feel like young female
music artists are my sport.TINARIWEN
TA S S I L IANTI-, 2011
Thiswastheirfirstalbumthatcametomy
attention.There’ssomethingessentialabout- andI knowthisis over-romanticisingthe
albumcover– theideaofgatheringarounda
fireinthedesertonyourwayfromonecityto
another,playingmusicwithyourfriendsover
somesteamingtea;there’ssomethingthereaboutwhywealldothisinthe
firstplace.Forgetthebusiness,forgetthesingles,it’saboutmakingmusic;
it’saboutfillingupvastemptyspaceandmakinga warmspacearoundthe
individuals creating the music. I’d take this with me to a desert island.