John Harris is an old pal from our days in the music press. You might remember him from Sounds, the NME and Select (which he edited) and he’s been one of the mainstays of the Guardian ever since, writing mostly about pop culture and politics. When his son James was diagnosed with autism and, looking for ways to connect with him and help his development, John began playing him various types of music. The results were life-changing for the family and recorded in his moving and revelatory book ‘Maybe I’m Amazed - A Story Of Love And Connection In 10 Songs’. With autism, John points out, “you can see the trees but seeing the wood is harder”. This fascinating conversation involves …

 

… have we misread the eccentricities of John Coltrane or Van Morrison, Prince, David Byrne and Gary Numan?

 

… how many musicians are outsiders in an industry requiring them to be the opposite of what they feel capable of.

 

… how people with autism hear songs differently each time and “music is an endlessly replenishable source of wonder”.

 

… why so many lead guitarists are loners.

 

.. how James has perfect pitch and hears everything – birdsong, lawn-mowers, police sirens – as notes. And how music taught him to sight-read.

 

… vivid, unforgettable, emotional recollections of the moment you first heard records – in John’s case Sir Duke, Baker Street, Strange Town.

 

… “blokes in black denim jackets drinking Becks”: the allure of working for the West End rock press.

 

… “all records are novelty records when you’re young”.

 

… how 50-year-olds marvel at Spotify and 20-year-olds at vinyl.

 

… the artistic rise and fall of Britpop.

 

Order John’s highly recommended book ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maybe-Im-Amazed-Story-Connection-ebook/dp/B0D6B7H5NY

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