The first song I remember hearing
Three Dog Night – ‘Joy To The World’
“I just remember being about three years old and singing it with my family. We listened to the radio whenever we went out in the car and that song played every hour or so. It’s a pretty cute memory, singing ‘Joy To The World’ with your family. I probably made up the words though because I wouldn’t have understood the lyrics.”
The first album I ever owned
Donna Summer – ‘Bad Girls’
“My Dad listened to a lot of Donna Summer in the car and we had ‘I Remember Yesterday’ at home but I think I asked for ‘Bad Girls’ as a Hanukkah present. I love that album so much. I’m obsessed with everything about it. It’s just so much fun to sing along with and every song is so sexy and fun.”
The first gig I went to
Gladys Knight & The Pips with B.B. King, O’Keefe Center, March 1973
“My parents’ friends took me with their son because they knew I loved music. We got there when B.B. King was playing, and everybody was screaming and singing – I had never seen adults act like that before. I had no clue what was going on but it was amazing. When Gladys Knight came on, I ran to the front with everyone else and she touched my hand. It was really special. It was quite a different experience to seeing Neil Diamond with my own parents, where everyone was just clapping and swaying.”
The song that reminds me of home
Harry Nilsson – ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’
“There were a lot of albums around when I was growing up and I loved exploring them all. My brother was into punk and rock groups such as Ramones and Yes, my sister was into Earth Wind & Fire and later, Morrissey. My dad loved Harry Nilsson and Harry Chaplin. ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’ just reminds me of him. It gives me such a warm feeling.”
The song I wish I’d written
Doechii – ‘Nissan Altima’
“It takes every Peaches song I’ve ever made and blows them all out of the water. The way she rhymes things, all the innuendoes – I’m just floored by it. I love music when people are being really direct with what they’re saying. I started making music because it didn’t feel like that was happening and now, there’s two generations of it happening.”
The song I can’t get out of my head
Kylie Minogue – ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’
“As soon as anyone says ‘can’t get out of my head’, I start going ‘la la la’. I’m not obsessed with Kylie or anything but love that song. It was such a moment in time, I love the sexiness of it and it’s really beautifully done.”
The song I can no longer listen to
Don McLean – ‘American Pie’
“I don’t think anybody can listen to that anymore, same with [Billy Joel’s] ‘Piano Man’. It just goes on and on and on. It was poetry at the time but now I can’t stand it. I also can’t listen to [James Blunt’s] ‘You’re Beautiful’. It’s got the worst melody.”
The song that makes me want to dance
Daft Punk – ‘Rollin And Scratchin’’
“It was hard to pick between this and Le Tigre’s ‘Deceptacon’. They both just get to my soul and there’s no way I can sit down when I hear them. I just adore the tension of ‘Rollin’ And Scratchin’’, it’s a song that has really inspired me. ‘Deceptacon’ is such a bop. It was such a cool moment in time too – Le Tigre, Miss Kitten, Chicks On Speed, Peaches, we didn’t know each other but we were all making a similar kind of electric punk, cunty music. It was a movement, even if we didn’t know it at the time.”
The song that makes me cry
Roberta Flack – ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’
“Even saying the name of the song gets me choked up. It should be a joyous song because it’s about the first time she’s seeing this beautiful face but her voice, the echo in the room, there’s just this heartache to it. You want to know what happened next. It’s so painful but so beautiful.”
The song I do at karaoke
Kate Bush – ‘Wuthering Heights’
“There are so many songs I do but I nail that one every single time. It makes people’s eyes pop out of their head and they get very confused, which is fun to watch. I love karaoke, especially power ballads from the ‘70s and ‘80s – Tina Turner’s ‘Private Dancer’, Heart’s ‘Barracuda’, Pat Benatar’s ‘Love Is A Battlefield’, Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’ and anything by Celine Dion. Basically anything that’s cheesy and heart wrenching.”
The song I want played at my funeral
Prince – ‘Purple Rain’
“I don’t really have one but I thought ‘Purple Rain’ would be fun. I’m a big Prince fan and people can wave goodbye to me and sway as it plays. Plus it goes on and on which gives people a chance to be emotional and dramatic. I guess people will want to play ‘Fuck The Pain Away’ as well, which I wouldn’t be mad about at all. I still love that song.”
Peaches’ new album ‘No Lube So Rude’ is out February 20
The post Soundtrack Of My Life: Peaches appeared first on NME.
