Samantha Morton: My Musical Obsessions

SAMANTHA MORTON'S ALL-TIME FAVORITE ALBUMS

Tom Waits, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
It makes me laugh. It makes me cry. It inspires me to no end. And there's this song ''Lie to Me'' in there that is just – and the video for that, if you watch it on YouTube — I get goose bumps even talking about it.

The Smiths, Rank
Gosh, it's very difficult to talk about the Smiths very articulately, because I'm pretty obsessed. I'm from North England, you know, and [Morrissey's] voice — I feel like it's very close to home. When you're younger, you really feel like they relate to you, and then you might not listen to them for a bit, but then when you go back and listen to them, they just take you over again.

Nick Cave, Abattoir Blues
His stories and his songs, they're like films. Your imagination goes absolutely crazy and you feel that you're there.

Twins, Garlands
There's something really ethereal and otherworldly about their music and it takes me on a journey. It takes me away. It's very important for me that I have a relationship with music that takes me out of myself, out of my reality.

Van Morrison, Astral Weeks
He has a timeless talent — that record will be forever in my heart and in my life. I feel like I'm 17 again every time I hear it — pretty special that it can do that.

Spiritualized, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
I feel their music — it puts its arms around me and makes me feel loved. It's a little bit like a religious experience, if you're Christian or whatever and you go to church and you feel the congregation. I think there's something about [frontman] Jason Pearce — he's like a classical composer to me. You listen to some of his stuff, and you're like, oh my God, I'm crying. I'm crying!

Squarepusher, Ultravisitor
This is kind of a funny one. I was struggling with what to put in this list, and I was thinking about the worst time of my life. I mean, hell on earth. We all have to have a time that's incredibly bad for whatever reason, that we have to get through. And I thought, okay, you have to make it through, and that album, bizarrely, was the thing that did it. It's kind of [like], "Thank you very much, Mr. Squarepusher." And I will say that it's just incredible music and eclectic and bonkers and everything, you know?

Boogie Down Productions, By All Means Necessary and Criminal Minded
I had a very tough childhood, and listening to [KRS-One's] lyrics when I was very little was like an education to me. His music and his attitude helped me make choices that were really good [ones] in my life. And I get really sad when nowadays rappers or huge hip-hop artists are just talking about women and guns and violence, you know what I mean? And I just think, oh, it's such a shame we don't have KRS-One being at the height of his fame now, because if we did, I know the world would be a better place.

Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues
I was about 18 when I got into them. I was living in New York, and I was drinking quite a lot and going out quite a lot, and there was this pub called the Cherry Tavern. They had the best jukebox ever. So I went out and bought the album. When I get married, it's going to be played.

The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses
I was listening to [them] around the same time as Boogie Down Productions. And it was like the opposite end of the spectrum. Obviously, they weren't hip-hop, but it was still working-class kids singing about their reality. And incredible musicians, young musicians, and their first albums really, really paved the way for some music.

Dirty Three: Entire catalog
When I'm writing or developing characters, it's so atmospheric. It's like angels making music.