Political Spin: Joani Reid

What was the first record that you ever bought?

I’m really embarrassed to admit this, but it was Whigfield’s Saturday Night. It had a dance routine that went along with it. I remember I got it in Woolworths on Dumbarton Road in Partick. It was very exciting. I wish it were something cooler, but sadly not. 

What record will always get you on the dance floor?

There are quite a few, I have to say. It’s quite easy to get me up on the dance floor. My guilty pleasure, which never fails to get me up to cut some moves regardless of where I am, is old-school 90s dance anthems – The Rhythm of the Night, Mr Vain, Another Night, and such.

What is your karaoke song?

I tend to avoid karaoke at all costs. But if I have to, I like kind of angry women songs, so maybe Alanis Morissette, or if it’s at a political event it’s got to be Things Can Only Get Better by D:Ream. At Labour Party conference that’s just a standard.  

I also like anything from [Alan Morisette album] Jagged Little Pill, it always gets the girls singing at the top of their voices.

What song was your first dance at your wedding and why?

I am married but I didn’t have a wedding, and I don’t think I’ll ever have one. I’m not particularly romantic but probably something like At Last by Etta James. I think that’s the perfect first dance song and it was popularised at Obama’s inauguration but it’s a beautiful song and her voice is just sublime.  
I’ll go with that for my imaginary wedding.   

What songs do you want to be played at your funeral?

Sometimes people take a celebratory approach to funerals and wear funky colours. I do not want that, I want everyone all in black and women wearing veils, so I would need to have appropriate music alongside it like a requiem by Mozart or Verdi. It would need to be something that’s quite powerful.  

What song/music is guaranteed to make you cry?

It would most likely be classical music. Although, Zombie by the Cranberries I find quite moving. Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings – not the Tiësto version. Also, Allegri’s Miserere. 

What music would you always associate with your childhood?

My family is very split in two, you’re either a musician or you’re interested in politics in some way, so I grew up with real eclectic music. Growing up, when it was just my mum and me, she would play a lot of disco, Fleetwood Mac, James Brown. I still absolutely love James Brown, and there are a few songs that really take me back – Get Up, Dreams and Sara. Another one is Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones.   

Then there’s the stuff from my grandparents, who I spent a lot of time with. My granny is a classical music fan and my grandfather was a jazz junkie, but I’m afraid it didn’t translate into what I like now.  

What record do you absolutely hate but can’t get out of your head?

I have two kids who are three and five, so we play a lot of Disney songs and the Cha Cha Slide. Things like that really get stuck in my head.  

What record would you be embarrassed to owning up to having in your collection?

Hanson’s MMMBop. I was obsessed with them when I was younger. It was such a prominent part of my life for about a year or two that I could never get rid of it, and I know every lyric of that whole album. But it is quite embarrassing.  

What was the last band you went to see and who with?

My sister, Lizzie Reid, with my friends. She’s a singer-songwriter and she played at the Paisley Arts Centre last month. I also went to see my cousin’s band who are called Her Picture. I’m obviously very busy so I don’t get to see as much live music as I would like, but I try to go and see them whenever they’re playing in and around Glasgow. Outside of those two, the last band I went to see was Alabama Shakes before I was elected.