“The best song played at a party is the one that makes people leave”: Sananda Maitreya’s Honest Playlist | Sananda Maitreya (Terrence Trent Darby)

The first song I fell in love with
“I Want to Hold Your Hand and It Loves You” by The Beatles is like my punk origin story. I was two years old and have no conscious memory of life before that. I can remember walking around our little apartment in East Orange, New Jersey, singing those songs.

First album I bought
I grew up in a conservative fundamentalist Christian family. Remember Footloose? It was just like that. No dancing, no movies, no recordings. My aunt bought me the book Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants by Stevie Wonder and I fell in love with Send Your Love.

The song to which I inexplicably know all the words
[Sings]: “In War and Peace, truth is twisted / The curfew gull just glides / On the four-legged clouds of the forest / A cowboy angel rides.” I learned Gates of Eden from Bob Dylan when I was very young. I was struck by the voice of an Old Testament prophet reincarnated in the modern era.

The song I play at karaoke
I was never drawn to karaoke. She talked to me about it in Japan, after drinking copious amounts of whatever I was drinking, getting drunk, performing “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” by Tiny Tim. Japan is amazing. I had a drink, and the next thing there were 30 people dressed as rabbits or Godzilla doing a dance routine.

Best song for sex
Get it in time. You need some extra motivation when you’re over 60.

Best song to play at a party
I Love Onions by Susan Christie. I always say that the best song to play is the one that makes people leave.

The song I secretly love, but tell everyone I hate
When you were a boy, there were certain things it wasn’t smart to admit you liked, like Barbra Streisand. I’m a big fan of the Carpenters, but I couldn’t admit it at the time, otherwise I would have found guys trying to beat the Carpenters.

The song that changed my life
I remember being 10 years old in 1972 and living in Daytona Beach. My cousins ​​lived two blocks down the road. One day, my mother received a phone call: they had something they wanted to show me. I cycled and they played me Fable by Stevie Wonder. It was one of those moments when your world changes.

The song that makes me cry
I’m more of a whiner than a whiner. I make others cry! If you’re in the right spirit, I’m So Lonely I Could Cry by Hank Williams, with the line: “And when I wonder where you are/I’m so lonely I could cry.” They called him Shakespeare Hillbilly.

The song I want played at my funeral
As a person of local origin, we do not believe in death. Death is a Western concept based on fear. We believe that the eternal soul exists in a temporary vehicle, and when that vehicle is no longer habitable, we move on. If I had to play music, I would insist on Beethoven’s Triple Concerto.

Sananda Maitreya is on tour until November 6.