Art/Design
francis bacon: my favourite of favourites — i have often felt that if i could create music that had as much power as his images then i would be artistically sated. his view as the world as chaos we just should make sense of hits me right in the heart. to see his work in the flesh is purely amazing and so strong. before him i really knew little about art and felt scant connection with it. he was the beginning for me and still continues for me…
lucien freud: one of bacon’s contemporaries and is still alive and painting. he does the most beautiful figurative paintings that bubble with humanity and reality yet are slightly distorted and full of life,taking them beyond realism.
tracey emin: one of the young british artists. she makes art from herself, from her life. for example one of her installations was her actual bed — a crazy torrid beautiful mess of stained sheets, vodka bottle, condoms, ashtrays and general bed paraphenalia. she also had a piece called “everyone i ever slept with” which was a tent emblazoned with everyone shhe had, well, slept with in the traditional sense and the sexual sense as well. it is a beautiful work and her books are also amazing and raw and sooo human.
sarah lucas: another yba (young british artist) great friend of emin’s — i have a self portrait of her emblazoned with “selfish in bed” another raw natural unpretentious artist. check her out.
the chapman brothers: two brothers working together, the first thing i saw was a huge room with glass cases that made the shape of the swastika,and in each cabinet there are scenes of jews, butchered and being pursued by nazi soldiers. they make bizarre cartoon images and figures and sculpture with penis noses and generally strange images.
ken currie: an amazing scottish painter who paints ghost-like images coming out of the darkness. he used to do big group scenes and now the images seem to be of a singular person. the song “float” at the end of golden state is inspired by a painting of his called “children’s wing.” the fragility of children and life…
tim webster and sue noble: they take piles of rubbish and by illuminating them these amazingly sharp images appear on the walls. truly amazing and unbelievably sharp images.so surprising. they also do wonderful, neon signs with poignant words on them. they made one painting called – “fuck the blackheads” and i know someone who owns it!!!!!…
jackson pollock: great american painter — hard crazy life but he reinventd painting in the 1950s with his particular style of drip and thrust painting. the shapes at first seem indiscriminate yet a pattern or emotion emerges. i like the black and white ones the best. there is also a film of his life. check it out.
jasper johns: “white flag 1955″ — painting everyday objects to take us back to what we routinely pay no attention to….careful.
jean michel basquiat: raw rugged graffiti paint beauty. there is also a film about him by julian schnabel, who is also or has been a very intersting painter from nyc.
arslan: russian figurative painter living in ny. i love his work and my favourite painting in my house is by him called “nude lying on a bed.”
Music/Bands
i’m just going to list favourites, because i think that to describe it begins to sound like a critic: Bob Marley, The Sex Pistols, The Pixies, Underworld, Leftfield, Tricky, Massive Attack, Bjork, The Jesus Lizard, Roots Manuva, Air, Sparklehorse, Shellac, Grandaddy, Low, Mercury Rev., At The Drive In, Wire, Tool, Eminem, DMX, Method Man, Rakim, Mos Def, Lauryn Hill, Stevie Wonder, Sonic Youth, The Breeders, Refused, Nas, nwa/dre, Snoop, Tupac, and eric satie.
Books/Writers
don de lillo: a great writer — read it all.
paul auster: an incredible writer, moon palace is my favourite book of all time.
ian mcewan: superb british writer,try any of his books. all weird all good.
jeannette winterson: claims she has reinvented language just like james joyce. her books are part fantasy part fiction part reality. a great mixture.
charles bukowski: “You Get So Alone at Times That It Just Makes Sense” probably my favourite book of poetry . his novels go quickly and he lived on his wits and with the style of one of the greatest loners of al time.i love him.read it all… ginsberg – my favourite of the beats see “howl” “kaddish” “white shroud” and on and on.
j.m. coetzee: disgrace is an amazing tense weird novel. a great great writer.
shakespeare: king lear rules.
sylvia plath: bell jar. poet and novelist — a woman who worked so hard to combine work and being a mother and wife and all that difficult/near impossible juggling she lived around the corner from where i live in london.she had a very hard life and committed suicide leaving two children behind. a sad tragic story which you should find out about…
Actors/Films
brando: his impact in film is legendary.on the waterfront onwards.
james dean:four films or so..four masterpieces. he never fades away.
montgomery clift:from the same time as james dean and for me just as legendary.
gene hackman:who began at the same time as the 3 above and is still working — a testament to talent and tenacity
marilyn monroe: we all love her right?
greta garbo: i fell in love with her early on.her silent films are also worth looking at to gauge her power and aura
harrison ford: wow i LOVE his work.he is so watchable and everything you want from a movie actor.
brad pitt: a big fave of mine from thelma and louise ,kalifornia,fight club…
susan sarandon: i once met her at an award show and she was amazing-she does no wrong!!!
robert de niro: a genius actor…enough said!!!!!!!!
sean penn: integrity from all pores.
daniel day lewis: my beautiful launderette onwards-we are proud of his work….
gary oldman, tim roth: the angry british!!!!!!!!!
kate winslet: i love her.
also i love patricia arquette: true romance-oh my god
dennis hopper: crazy art maverick intense workman
tom waits!!!!!!!!!!
vincent gallo: buffalo 66… wow just great
christina ricci: lovely actress.
helen mirren: great british actress.
that’s it for now. i need more inspiration…
john travolta: his career speaks for itself.
wow there is so much more to say and suggest, but that will do for now.
all this stuff is self taught and from the heart. i don’t want to come across as anything other than sharing a few parts of culture that i like. please treat this as a disclaimer from pretension!!!! the above people and lists just mean a lot to me. (i hope that in turn maybe [you] will provide me with stuff I should check out.