I am Stella McCartney. I'm here at Amoeba Music in Los Angeles
and this is What's In My Bag?
The first ones I was going to pick out were all Beatles, all Wings, so I'm not going to do that.
Neil. Mr. Young.
I was brought up kind of on Harvest, and stuff like that
and my mom took beautiful photographs of Neil.
so I always just remembered kind of looking at him as this sort of iconic, gorgeous young man
I think after Harvest, this is a really great one
One of the songs I love on it very much is 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart.'
Growing up in England, being half American
where I grew up it was really not heard of
and yet in my life at home, he was kind of the Holy Grail, so...Neil Young.
Tim Hardin I remember when I was younger
listening to 'Reason to Believe'
and I guess I listened to the...it was Rod Stewart, right?
that was kind of the one that was famous but Tim Hardin wrote it
and when I heard his original version of that song I was just blown away
by the sort of poetry of his work
Just so pure and raw and really back to the basics
and this album really kind of opened my eyes to the simplicity of music
just everything about that song in particular.
Ok, this is kind of weird. I feel like an 86-year-old.
My next one is Julie London
and I don't even know how it came about really I think it was probably my mom and dad
that sort of told me about her and made me listen to her
because I don't think that many people of my age group rock out to Julie London that often
It was always someone I wanted to be able to sing like
When I heard her vocals they were just so sort of sensual and warm
and just really straight to the point, and I think that
you don't find vocals like that anymore
She also has great breasts, which is always good.
'Cry Me a River' is, for me, an extraordinary song, and it happens to be the first song.
This album is probably on everyone's list.
My big memory of this album was, one day we were traveling as a family
and we got off an airplane and got into my dad's car, and he had this amazing sound system
It was sort of nineties moment, when sound systems in cars was a big deal
This album is one of the most pivotal albums, obviously for him, also
and it was a big influence for things like Sgt. Pepper
So I just remember listening to this on this incredible sound system in this car
and just...it blowing my brains, really.
And 'God Only Knows' makes me wanna cry, even saying the title, I actually wanna cry
because it is one of the most breathtaking songs, I think, ever written
and I do find it very emotional, it reminds me of my mom and I'm gonna cry now
but I'm not gonna cry because that would be ridiculous, so I'm moving on
Then again, Radiohead was something that we were all listening to
even though they're sort of an 80s/90s band
I think that they are kind of old and new, for me, they cross over
everything I've put down here, they're as strong as and continue to be
I feel like they're just so cool because they don't give a shit, and
they don't, y'know, they don't try to be anything they're not
They don't do gigs for cash, they don't turn up at anything
I love them, I love Thom Yorke, I think he's like a god.
'Creep' for me is one of the most wicked and yet, heartbreakingly beautiful songs
I don't know, I think it's one of the sexiest songs ever, actually. 'Creep.'
This is the new Grimes album.
I'm just a really big fan of her in general.
I just think she represents the kind of new generation of women that I want to see going forward
Y'know I have two young girls and I want them to be Grimes when they get big.
There's just a group of women in music and there are very few that are this kind of woman
I grew up with Chrissy Hynde, Debbie Harry
Strong, really opinionated women in music
in a man's world, I think, in that day and age
and I think Grimes is the next one, y'know?
She has something to say and she's strong, yet fragile
and just really talented, and really, I think, versatile in the kind of music she's representing
she's directing her own videos, she's just a big talent I think.
This, I think, is a great album. 'Girls and Boys' is brilliant.
I went to an art school called St. Martin's
and music and art and fashion were kind of really melting together very much in London
and this album has great memories for me, of that time
I'm a big fan of Damon's work
I think he's a brilliant musician that it's sort of really
been interesting watching him go into slightly more sort of classical work and more theatre.
Y'know, and I've really enjoyed seeing that progression for him.
Ok, I'm going to do a Wings moment
Y'know, this is, I guess where my mom comes in
For me, musically, everything about this album
I just think was so sort of genius
the fact that they did a little film, and this whole 'Band on the Run' thing
but the cast that they had
I guess, emotionally I'm obviously very attached to it, but just as a fashion designer
I look at it and I look at my mom and I think, my god, she didn't have any makeup on
she cut her own hair... what a free spirit
Like what women in that day and age would have the balls to go on tour with their husband
when it probably wasn't the first thing on her list of things to go and do
I just think, what a woman.
And then, on a musical side, I love all the songs on it but I guess they very much remind me of my childhood
because they're some of the first songs I heard over and over again as a kid
I have great respect for Wings.
This is Jeff Buckley.
Before this album came out I was at Saturday Night Live in New York
and Jeff came along, and from the moment we met we became really good friends.
My mom was good friends with his father and took beautiful pictures of his dad
This album meant a lot to me because, number one, it's an extraordinary album
and it was the first time I really heard the song 'Hallelujah,' and it kind of ripped my heart out
and sent up into the sky and then it plummeted down to earth and got squashed on again
When he was sort of promoting it, he did this tiny little gig on Denmark St.
which, in London, is the street where all the guitar shops are.
He played this little acoustic set of the album in a basement about as big as this room with like 20 of us
and so he kind of just sang it to us, and it was a real moment that I feel very priveleged
to have been part of and to have seen
because then after that it all sort of took off for him, and then I went to see him play bigger gigs
And then I end on...god this is getting so fucking sad, man.
Another person I really miss, that I cannot believe...which hardly anyone can believe
is no longer here physically on this earth is Mr. Bowie.
Hunky Dory. One of the greatest albums ever created.
I have this on vinyl, I can't believe I'm holding up a little pissy CD
as my end thing, this is wrong, it should be big, it should be bigger than this room
It's weird, y'know, I've been thinking about it a lot, and I haven't actually quite
come to terms with what to say about David Bowie, really
considering he just represented everything
Y'know, he was like
just a one-off creature
that we were so privileged to have seen in our lifetime
y'know, I feel completely...
honored to have actually known him. That blows my brains.
And this album is beautiful. All of his albums were, really.
My age group more was all the kind of Let's Dance and everything, and China Girl and all that, so
I don't know, what a beautiful soul.
So there you go, that what's in my...not the most uplifting bag you probably ever come across
Ok. I've got a happy bag. I can do my happy bag next time.