The synthpop veteran on Mark Lawrence's dystopian trilogy, a groundbreaking new album from Nine Inch Nails and the beauty of the Houses of Parliament
Gary Numan, a pioneer of synthpop, was born Gary Webb in west London in 1958 and topped the singles charts in 1979 with Are 'Friends' Electric? as the frontman for Tubeway Army. In the same year, he scored another No1 single as a solo artist with Cars, and a chart-topping album with The Pleasure Principle, followed by a succession of hits during the 1980s. His 20th studio album, Splinter (Songs From a Broken Mind) , is out now. Numan's UK tour starts on Thursday in Bristol and runs until 19 November.
Architecture
The Houses of Parliament
As we flew into London, we flew around the Shard. I was thinking to myself: "That is one ugly building." We also flew over the Houses of Parliament and they looked stunning. That style and era of architecture is absolutely beautiful. I don't doubt that the Shard is a phenomenal piece of architecture but, in terms of simple aesthetic beauty, it has nothing compared to something like the Houses of Parliament. It makes me sad that we will probably never see anything like that again.
Festival
Lollapalooza
It's a giant festival in Chicago. I'd not been before as we've only lived in America for about a year. It wasn't raining or muddy – a novel experience – and the atmosphere was so friendly: no bad vibes. It's in a fantastic place, right by Lake Michigan. They light up all the buildings in the evening and there's this beautiful skyline – you just wouldn't get it here [in the UK].
Book
Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
This is the third part of a trilogy and I have only just realised it's set on Earth, but in the future. Everything we are and were is forgotten, except for one or two people who find vague signs of it. It's brilliant; really vicious and heavy.
Music
Hesitation Marks by Nine Inch Nails
They consistently set a standard; they'll do something and it resets the bar. They've done it again with this album: very impressive and so different from what they have done before. It's very clever and their stage show was phenomenal.
Film
Prometheus
I have a soft spot for sci-fi but it's rare that you get a good sci-fi film that's terribly thought-provoking. I still think I've only just scratched the surface of what it's trying to say. I don't know if that's a good thing or not – it's probably just me being a bit thick. But I love the fact that, every time you watch it, you get more and more from it.
Art
John Martin
I'm not a big art person, but my wife took me to a John Martin exhibition at Tate Britain a while ago and we bought a print of a painting titled The Great Day of His Wrath. It's part of a series of three, all to do with the apocalypse. It looks like the world is turning in on itself, it's ferocious and fiery and massive. It's a very powerful thing. I've got it hanging in my house.
by Leah Harper via Music: Electronic music | theguardian.com
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