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My Favorite Things: Patrick Stump

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Welcome to the new weekly SPIN.com feature “My Favorite Things,” where musicians we love tell us about the things they love. This week: Patrick Stump, the Chicago-bred ex-frontman of emo-punk hitmakers Fall Out Boy, whose debut solo effort, the Truant Wave EP, just dropped online.

FAVORITE ALBUM: David Bowie, Low
“David Bowie’s Low is everything I want out of a record: It’s catchy pop; it’s disturbing and violent sexuality; it’s kind of funk music; it’s a confounding post-Fluxus movement drug opus; it’s absolutely high art and low art getting caught in bed together.”

FAVORITE NEW ARTIST: Janelle Monae
“I’ve been salivating for Janelle Monae’s debut album since I heard her gorgeously breathy voice on her Off the Wall-style single “Lettin’ Go!” She was already my favorite new artist before she put out her brilliant Metropolis EP, but on the heels of her epic Grammy performance, I imagine I’ll be hearing my favorite new artist on the radio constantly.”

FAVORITE SONG: Michael Jackson, “Thriller”
“The song that’s affected me the most profoundly is probably Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” or, more specifically, the couple seconds of instrumental break before Vincent Price starts ‘rapping.’ Somewhere between the higher register of the bass synthesizer and the muted guitar plucks is a sublimely thick dark funk that has never been replicated before or since.”

FAVORITE BOOK: The Zhuangzi
“Written by the ancient Chinese philosopher of the same name, the Zhuangzi is one long perplexing puzzle of a rambling collection of enigmatic short stories. It’s a strange feeling to laugh at a joke written by someone in the 4th century B.C.” (Bonus: Click here to read The Zhuangzi for free!)

FAVORITE TV SHOW: The Wire
“To the uninitiated: Get through the first three episodes of every season and it’ll start to bombard you with some of the sharpest writing ever committed to film.”

FAVORITE MOVIE: Ghostbusters
“I know every single word to 1984’s Ghostbusters.I’m not especially nostalgic for the ’80s as an era for film, but for some reason Bill Murray’s dry/arrogant charm and the strength of lines like, “Yes, it’s true, this man has no dick,” make Ghostbusters easily my favorite movie ever.”

FAVORITE FOOD: Shrimp Vindaloo
Vindaloo is a Goan-style preparation of Indian cuisine (I believe it was developed during Goa’s Portuguese occupation… or I might have just made that up). When it’s done right, it’s spicy as hell but indescribably comforting.”

FAVORITE RESTAURANT: The Himalayan
“There’s a Nepalese place in Niles, IL, called The Himalayan where I’ve had my favorite shrimp vindaloo as well as their excellent vegetable momo (like samosas mixed with potstickers), jhane ko dal (a lentil stew), and my favorite naan bread anywhere. Fun fact: this year’s Super Bowl featured a ham-fisted Groupon commercial where Timothy Hutton namedropped this place and offended China, Tibet, and Black Eyed Peas fans all in one fell swoop.”

FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH: Chicago
“You know when you’re in middle school and you say that you “Love” something, and some budding smartass says, ‘If you love it so much, why don’t you marry it?’ I’d so marry Chicago.”

FAVORITE QUOTE:
“I know my career is going badly because I’m being quoted correctly…” — actor Lee Marvin

WATCH: Patrick Stump, “Spotlight (Oh Nostaliga)”

https://www.youtube.com/embed/C5nC1yoTh3M