The first album I bought
Red Hot Chili Peppers – ‘The Uplift Mofo Party Plan’
“I remember going out and buying two albums with my own money: this one by Red Hot Chili Peppers and ‘Sailing The Seas Of Cheese’ by Primus. I heard them both first at Eat Concrete skate park in Omaha, Nebraska.”
The first song I remember hearing
The Four Tops – ‘Bernadette’
“My mum raised me on the oldies. We’d listen to KIOA, a radio station in Iowa where I grew up, and they’d play a lot of Elvis Presley and Motown. The Temptations and The Four Tops always seemed to be on.”
The first gig I went to
George Thorogood & The Destroyers – Iowa State Fair, 1985
“I was pretty young but I can remember a lot of people dancing to [his song] ‘One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer’. My mum played blues music like George Thorogood and Janis Joplin at home, so I was into it.”
The song that makes me cry
Tom Waits – ‘Day After Tomorrow’
“There’s many songs that make me cry, but this one can do it instantly. I made a film called Sweet Girl with my best friend Brian Andrew Mendoza, who was directing. I had to do a scene where I’m driving in my car after my wife has just passed. Right before we shot that scene, my friend said, “Mind if I ride with you?’, and then he plays this song in the car because he knows me so well. And yeah, I just lose it.”
The album I’ll never grow tired of
Ani DiFranco – ‘Living In Clip’
“I got into Ani DiFranco through my best friend, who’s now godfather to my kids. Listening to her for the first time blew my mind because she’s an amazing poet and, like, the OG independent [artist] who sold albums out the back of her car. If Tom Waits is my god, then Ani DiFranco is my goddess.”
The song I want played at my funeral
The Pogues – ‘Fairytale Of New York’
“It’s a Christmas song and I love the feeling of Christmas. But I love this song at any time of year, actually, because I just think The Pogues are amazing.”
The film soundtrack that changed my life
‘Basquiat’ (1996)
“Julian Schnabel’s biopic of Jean-Michel Basquiat had a big impact on me. My mum and dad were both painters, and Schnabel was a painter [turned director] making a movie about another painter. It just opened my eyes to so much art and music – I got into Tom Waits and The Pogues in a big way because they were on the soundtrack.”
The song I can’t get out of my head
Eazy-E – ‘Real Muthaphuckkin G’s’
“It’s funny, because I had something from the Gladiator soundtrack stuck in my head this morning, and I ended up infecting my friend with it. But then I played ‘Real Muthaphuckkin G’s’ on the drive over here, so that shit got stuck in my head. And it hasn’t left yet.”
The song that makes me want to dance
Bob Marley & The Wailers – ‘Could You Be Loved’
“Stevie Wonder‘s ‘Superstition’ makes me want to dance, but ‘Could You Be Loved’ is my favourite song to play when I dance with my kids. It just has so much weight to it, but also puts a smile on my face.”
The song I played in my ‘Supergirl’ trailer
Motörhead – ‘Ace Of Spades’
“I made a whole playlist for my character in the movie, Lobo. I would send songs to [director] Craig Gillespie and [producer] Peter Safran and be like, ‘This is his song.’ [Motörhead frontman] Lemmy is a big influence on Lobo, so the playlist starts off with ‘Ace Of Spades’. And then it’s got ‘Big Take Over’ by Bad Brains, ‘Kill Them All’ by Metallica, some Rage Against The Machine, Pantera, Ministry, Tool, Slayer and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Oh, and Black Sabbath, obviously.”
‘Supergirl’ is in UK cinemas now