I heard 'Nessun Dorma' in the kitchen at Coppola's with Raul Julia one night, and it changed my life, that particular Aria. I had never heard it. He asked me if I had ever heard it, and I said no, and he was like, as if I said I've never had spaghetti and meatballs - 'Oh My God, Oh My God!' - and he grabbed me and he brought me into the jukebox (there was a jukebox in the kitchen) and he put that on and he just kind of left me there. It was like giving a cigar to a five-year old. I turned blue, and I cried.
Tom Waits writes about
his 20 most cherished albums of all time in The Guardian. It's really worth a visit. I'm not very familiar with most albums but his passionate words are lovely and encourage you to check that stuff.
1. In The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra
2. Solo Monk by Thelonious Monk
3. Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart
4. Exile On Main St. by Rolling Stones
5. The Sinking of the Titanic by Gavin Bryars
6. The Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan
7. Lounge Lizards by Lounge Lizards
8. Rum Sodomy and the Lash by The Pogues
9. I'm Your Man by Leonard Cohen
10. The Specialty Sessions by Little Richard
11. Startime by James Brown
12. Bohemian-Moravian Bands by Texas-Czech
13. The Yellow Shark by Frank Zappa
14. Passion for Opera Aria
15. Rant in E Minor by Bill Hicks
16. Prison Songs: Murderous Home Alan Lomax Collection
17. Cubanos Postizos by Marc Ribot
18. Houndog by Houndog
19. Purple Onion by Les Claypool
20. The Delivery Man by Elvis Costello
