Big Brother & The Holding Company Music The Record That Changed My Life

The Record That Changed My Life: David Lynch on Big Brother & The Holding Company (1967)

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Up to a certain point, art is the satisfaction of personal vanity. That is part of its nature. Nevertheless, as I get older I find that simplicity is the most complicated and at the same time most worthwhile thing for me as an artist. In cinema, but especially in music. Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding and Janis Joplin – it is the great classics of rock-music that inspire me. Who long ago made me want to create something of value, like they themselves did, with imagination and a sense for timelessness. There is a reason for why these artists are loved by everybody: they hit a certain spot within us, their music is so powerful and uncorrupted.

As a kid I wanted to be like Elvis Presley, primarily concerning his looks and style- I only discovered the genius of his music much later. In this respect, Janis Joplin was more of an awakening experience. I was almost 20 when I watched her legendary performance with Big Brother & The Holding Company at the Monterey Jazz Festival on TV. The energy of this performance and Janis’ vocal power electrified me. Really, it was like lightning flashing through my body. Since then, I have always searched for music that triggered something like that inside of me. Mostly in vain. What comes closest is actually the first album by Big Brother & The Holding Company, one of the two that they recorded with Janis. A furios record although its over 50 years old. A monolith of passion, the essence of rock’n’roll. I keep it like a treasure.

by David Lynch

(Read about other artists’ album choices and reviews here)

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