Director James Mangold is known for making movies about musicians, like Walk the Line about Johnny Cash and his recent release, the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. So what music has played a pivotal role in his life?
In a new interview with NME, Mangold shared the music that he considers the soundtrack to his life, and it includes Bruce Springsteen and R.E.M.
Mangold says the first concert he ever went to was Springsteen in 1980, just a few days after the death of The Beatles‘ John Lennon.
“I could only afford nosebleed seats but I was so thrilled to be seeing Springsteen, who was a hero of mine. Still is,” he says. “Honestly, the music sounded like s*** from where I was in the rafters, but just seeing him in real life, existing, standing there on the edge of the stage, it was thrilling.”
He adds, “Springsteen is a touchstone for me. There’s incredible economy of storytelling in his songwriting.”
Mangold also reveals that R.E.M.’s “It’s The End of the World As We Know It” is the song he can’t get out of his head, while “The Bare Necessities” from The Jungle Book is the first song he remembers hearing and Glen Campbell‘s “Wichita Lineman” is the song he wants played at his funeral.
Boston’s 1976 self-titled debut was the first album he ever bought, although he notes, “The best song is ‘More Than A Feeling,’ obviously. The album immediately goes downhill after that.”
And Cash also plays a part in Mangold’s soundtrack, with the director sharing that “A Boy Named Sue” is his go-to karaoke tune, mostly because he’s a baritone. He says he loves singing “anything by Johnny Cash,” noting “that’s in my range.”
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