8. Nina SimoneLittle Girl Blue​

I like Nina Simone a lot, and I think it’s something that was really awoken for people with that amazing documentary from a couple a years ago. Her piano playing is so fabulous, and she has a very strange voice – I don’t know of anyone who sings even remotely like Nina Simone. I was sold on her pretty early but I remember feeling like it was almost something to be hidden, because everyone around us thought she was really cack. I think that’s to do with how sentimental she is, and very theatrical, or over the top – she has these crescendos of emotion. 

Another example of that would be Daniel Johnston – it’s so direct and unadorned. I think people are more open to that now. That might just be to do with the fashion of being more open with your feelings. That feels like a bit of a trend – it feels like a positive one to me, but it does seem like there are fashions and trends in how we conduct ourselves emotionally and what’s acceptable and what’s not. Nina Simone strikes a chord with how things are now.