Charlie Priest's Top 5
Films
1. The Birds (1963)
I’ve always been haunted by this story of how a benign part of our everyday background suddenly changed its nature and started a war on mankind. I connected with the anti-Hollywood ending, too: we don’t always live happily ever after.
2. Freaks (1932)
Like I said to Jessica, this film has the best strap line of all time – Can a full grown woman truly love a midget? But also, it’s a film that portrays the ‘freaks’ as heroes – the baddies are the ‘normal’ people. That gives me comfort in moments when I realise I’m not normal, or even close to it.
3. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The original personification of class struggle and the workers rising up against their tormentors with apocalyptical results. Or something. There’s probably a deep meaning to it all but I just like the endless violence. Gives me a break from overthinking everything in my life.
4. Flatliners (1990)
In a world where nothing feels completely real, I find the question of what lies beyond death irresistibly intriguing.
5. Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Tilly and I always watch this together, and the sequels, when she comes over. It’s kind of our thing. I find Jack Black’s voice annoying after a while but somehow my niece connects me to the world somehow, like a mini-mop-haired anchor.
Fiction
1. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
I first read this when I was fifteen and just coming to terms with my disconnection from life, from people, although I didn’t know what it was back then. I can remember it vividly and the way that the possibility of a higher plain of existence gave me a kind of juvenile hope.
2. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Ahab’s obsession with revenge resonates loudly with me; I can see a lot of my brother in the fanatical ship captain. Impious and brutal, William saw white whales everywhere he went, renewing his mania and obsession with each kill.
3. The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
Serial killers and police detectives are kind of a big deal in our family and this is one of the best modern detective versus killer stories around.
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling
I resisted at first, but Sarah insisted I read the Harry Potter series. I loved it – best story telling ever, like she said. The Prisoner of Azkaban is my personal favourite but I included it in the list because it reminds me of how Sarah is always right.
5. The Firm by John Grisham
What lawyer doesn’t love Grisham’s twisted legal tales? And maybe not the Mafia, but I’ve acted for my fair share of bad guys…
Music
1. Bill Withers Lovely Day
This song reminds me of days at the Vyre when I was young, of Mum in the kitchen whistling along to the record player, of Dad in the garden, of Sarah studying – always studying – and William making bows and arrows for us to hunt trolls in the forest…
2. The Stone Roses Love Spreads
After my divorce, I worked in a bar for a while. I wasn’t sure why at the time but, looking back, I think I was trying to reconnect with people. The bar played this song at least once every night and the tune is permanently engrained on me. Also, I’m an atheist, so Jesus being portrayed as a black woman doesn’t offend me.
3. Jeff Buckley Hallelujah
I listened to this song over and over after my divorce from Dee. Not just because it’s a haunting tune but because the lyrics are about a love gone stale. The original was by Leonard Cohen and, although there’s a lot of religious imagery, it’s a song about faith in life, not faith in God.
4. Counting Crows Round Here
I could have picked any one of Counting Crows songs – they’re all fantastic and the lyrics are genius. I feel a particular affinity with the lead singer, Adam Druitz, who suffers from dissociative disorder, much like me. These are his words – “And because nothing seems real, it’s hard to connect with the world or the people in it because they’re not there.” Couldn’t have put it better myself.
5. Mumford & Sons I Gave You All
Lots of people come to mind when I think about this song, mostly people who I’ve let down: Dee, Sarah, William, Mum and Dad. But mostly I think about the Victims, the Ghosts in my head. I think about them, and how I betrayed them.
1. The Birds (1963)
I’ve always been haunted by this story of how a benign part of our everyday background suddenly changed its nature and started a war on mankind. I connected with the anti-Hollywood ending, too: we don’t always live happily ever after.
2. Freaks (1932)
Like I said to Jessica, this film has the best strap line of all time – Can a full grown woman truly love a midget? But also, it’s a film that portrays the ‘freaks’ as heroes – the baddies are the ‘normal’ people. That gives me comfort in moments when I realise I’m not normal, or even close to it.
3. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The original personification of class struggle and the workers rising up against their tormentors with apocalyptical results. Or something. There’s probably a deep meaning to it all but I just like the endless violence. Gives me a break from overthinking everything in my life.
4. Flatliners (1990)
In a world where nothing feels completely real, I find the question of what lies beyond death irresistibly intriguing.
5. Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Tilly and I always watch this together, and the sequels, when she comes over. It’s kind of our thing. I find Jack Black’s voice annoying after a while but somehow my niece connects me to the world somehow, like a mini-mop-haired anchor.
Fiction
1. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
I first read this when I was fifteen and just coming to terms with my disconnection from life, from people, although I didn’t know what it was back then. I can remember it vividly and the way that the possibility of a higher plain of existence gave me a kind of juvenile hope.
2. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Ahab’s obsession with revenge resonates loudly with me; I can see a lot of my brother in the fanatical ship captain. Impious and brutal, William saw white whales everywhere he went, renewing his mania and obsession with each kill.
3. The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
Serial killers and police detectives are kind of a big deal in our family and this is one of the best modern detective versus killer stories around.
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling
I resisted at first, but Sarah insisted I read the Harry Potter series. I loved it – best story telling ever, like she said. The Prisoner of Azkaban is my personal favourite but I included it in the list because it reminds me of how Sarah is always right.
5. The Firm by John Grisham
What lawyer doesn’t love Grisham’s twisted legal tales? And maybe not the Mafia, but I’ve acted for my fair share of bad guys…
Music
1. Bill Withers Lovely Day
This song reminds me of days at the Vyre when I was young, of Mum in the kitchen whistling along to the record player, of Dad in the garden, of Sarah studying – always studying – and William making bows and arrows for us to hunt trolls in the forest…
2. The Stone Roses Love Spreads
After my divorce, I worked in a bar for a while. I wasn’t sure why at the time but, looking back, I think I was trying to reconnect with people. The bar played this song at least once every night and the tune is permanently engrained on me. Also, I’m an atheist, so Jesus being portrayed as a black woman doesn’t offend me.
3. Jeff Buckley Hallelujah
I listened to this song over and over after my divorce from Dee. Not just because it’s a haunting tune but because the lyrics are about a love gone stale. The original was by Leonard Cohen and, although there’s a lot of religious imagery, it’s a song about faith in life, not faith in God.
4. Counting Crows Round Here
I could have picked any one of Counting Crows songs – they’re all fantastic and the lyrics are genius. I feel a particular affinity with the lead singer, Adam Druitz, who suffers from dissociative disorder, much like me. These are his words – “And because nothing seems real, it’s hard to connect with the world or the people in it because they’re not there.” Couldn’t have put it better myself.
5. Mumford & Sons I Gave You All
Lots of people come to mind when I think about this song, mostly people who I’ve let down: Dee, Sarah, William, Mum and Dad. But mostly I think about the Victims, the Ghosts in my head. I think about them, and how I betrayed them.