Mark Kermode – Movies, modern lovers and Mark Knopfler

What does Britain’s most famous film critic listen to in his spare time? Perhaps predictably, the odd movie soundtrack gets mentioned today! But that’s about all that’s predictable…

Find the Spotify playlist here

Hello and welcome to this episode of All About The Music, where I sit down with Mark Kermode — film critic, broadcaster and, I’m proud to say, a musician mate of mine. Mark’s taste is wonderfully eclectic, stretching from the 1930s Blues that he and his father could bond over, through skiffle to the political punk of Gang of Four and Mark’s formative years.

The eclecticism only grows as we get to movies. Who else could pick Mark Knopfler’s superbly evocative Local Hero soundtrack, alongside the bold, boundary-pushing composition of Mica Levi and Anna Meredith’s Nautilus, which has been brilliantly described as the “sound of a panic attack”?

And whilst it’s Dire Strait’s main man who leaves Mark with goosebumps, it’s the American Jonathan Richman who almost reduces him to tears. I encourage all of you to take a full listen to Jonathan’s 1979 number “The Morning Of Our Lives” – it really feels quite unique.

Follow Mark: https://twitter.com/kermodemovie

Featured artists & tracks:

• Washboard Sam – “Who Pumped The Wind In My Doughnut?”

• Lead Belly – “Rock Island Line”

• Gang of Four – “Ether”, “I Found That Essence Rare”

• Mark Knopfler – “Wild Theme”, “The Ceilidh & The Northern Lights”

• Mica Levi – “Love”, “Monos”

• Anna Meredith – “Nautilus”

• Jonathan Richman – “The Morning of Our Lives”, “Roadrunner”