SOUND AND VISION
From Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic best-seller and a soul classic to small-screen mobsters and the cheering laughter of an old friend, Alan Parks shares a few of his favourite things
THE BOOK I READ AGAIN AND AGAIN
The Stand by Stephen King, a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel first published in 1978 by Doubleday. I usually read it every couple of years and still enjoy it. It’s about a disease that leaves most of the world dead and the struggle between good and evil involving the few people that are left. I admit, it is maybe not the cheeriest book pick in these pandemic days, but it is a classic!
THE SONG LYRIC THAT SPEAKS TO ME
The best opening couplet of any song – the beginning of I Heard It Through The Grapevine, best sung by Marvin Gaye. “Ooh-ooh, bet you wondered how I knew, ’bout your plan to make me blue.” So simple, but so great.
MY FAVOURITE MOVIE SCENE
It has to be the opening scene of Apocalypse Now, the 1979 epic American psychological war film directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola. I remember going to see the film at the ABC in Sauchielhall Street when it came out and just sitting there, stunned. Helicopter noises, forests exploding with napalm, an upside-down Martin Sheen and music by The Doors. It has it all.
MY BOX SET BINGE
The HBO series The Sopranos created by David Chase. It’s still, for my money, the best TV series ever made. It focuses on the late James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano: a husband, father and mob boss whose professional and private problems land him in the office of a therapist. It’s as much the story of a family, and how their relationships change over time as, it is about the Mafia. It’s addictive viewing. Another series I have just watched is ZeroZeroZero, an amazing story about the mechanics of how drugs get to America. The music by Mogwai is great, too.
MY ULTIMATE DINNER PARTY GUESTS
Malcolm McLaren the former Sex Pistols manager credited with helping to form what became the legendary UK punk band. Tragically, he died aged 64 in New York after a battle with cancer and is buried in London’s Highgate Cemetery. He changed everything on the music scene and made music the most exciting thing in the world for me when I was growing up. I’d also invite the late Andrea Dworkin, the American radical feminist activist, writer and critic whose ideas seem to be more relevant every day. Finally, it wouldn’t be complete without my friend, John Niven, the author and screenwriter. He makes me laugh more than anyone.