Anderson Cooper: “I Might Get a Mohawk”

The album that even my mom loved
Johnny Cash
At Folsom Prison
Columbia/Legacy, 1968
“I grew up listening to Johnny Cash. My mom [clothing designer and author Gloria Vanderbilt] used to play him all the time in the car. And this album is just great. ‘I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die’—the fact that he can get away with singing that in a prison, it’s pretty amazing. For some reason, the other thing my mom would play was Neil Diamond. She had the same song on a loop so it would play 10 times in a row. It was horrific.”

The album that drowns out sniper fire
The Clash
London Calling
Epic/legacy, 1979
“This always takes me back to high school and spending weekends in dingy rooms. Would I like to elaborate on that? I think it’s best if I don’t. On the road into Sarajevo, during the war, I used to put the Clash in the dashboard because you were exposed to snipers and you were just holding on screaming. The Clash seemed very appropriate. I’m sure Joe Strummer would have approved.”

The album that is great—but boring
Violent Femmes
Violent FemmesSlash/rhino, 1983
“I get bored of this very quickly—and a long time will elapse before I listen to it again. But it was my college album. I first heard it there and there was an aggression to it and an in-your-face aspect to it that I really liked. And I really loved the plaintive wailing of the singer. I was on the rowing team at college and I was obsessed with doing that. I was kind of lame.”

The album that we must thank the French for
Various Artists
Hôtel Costes 5
Wagram, 2002
“The Hôtel Costes albums are basically DJ CDs from this hotel in Paris. They’re very loungy, with this really interesting mix of old Marlene Dietrich–type songs but with a house beat. It is my attempt to unite us and the French! About a year ago I walked by the actual Hôtel Costes, but I was so intimidated by its coolness I didn’t even step inside. The CD is just far cooler than I am.”

The album that Dan Rather wouldn't like
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
Universal, 2004
“They’re my new favorite group. I’ve known the lead singer, Jake Shears, since before he was in the band—we met through mutual friends. He’s got a great voice. I listened to the Scissor Sisters in Baghdad for sheer escapism. I listen to music wherever I go, but I don’t think many anchormen do. I don’t suppose Dan Rather is a big Scissor Sisters fan. He would probably cop to Springsteen more, I think.”

The album that let me age gracefully
Stan Getz and João Gilberto
Getz/Gilberto
Verve, 1963
“This is a great bossa nova jazz album. And, like the Hôtel Costes album, it has that atmosphere of mature cool about it that I like. My hair started going gray very young, and I just couldn’t pretend to be a kid anymore. On the other hand, all through high school I had a Flock of Seagulls haircut. And I still think about getting a mohawk—but I’m not sure CNN would go for it.”

The album that is better than seeing a show
Ike & Tina Turner
What You Hear Is What You Get
Capitol, 1971
“Their rendition of ‘Proud Mary’ is just fantastic, and I particularly like it when she’s talking at the beginning about how they don’t do anything nice and easy—they do everything rough. There are a few live albums on this list, but I actually don’t like going to shows—I don’t like crowds and I never know what to do. Are you supposed to dance? Stand there? I just end up debating that for the entire show.”

The album from the coolest place on earth
Marisa Monte
Memorias Cronicas e Declaracoes de Amor
EMI, 2000
“She’s Brazilian. I think the biggest she ever got here was recording something with David Byrne. This album is just very much like being on a beach in Copacabana or Ipanema. I’ve spent time in Brazil, it’s one of my favorite places, and this really takes me back there. The country is this really interesting mix of cultures and ethnic groups. Brazil is the coolest place on the planet.”

The album that I don't understand
Radiohead
I Might be Wrong
Capitol, 2001
“I don’t know them as well as a lot of people do, but I think they have an interesting, different sound. I like to have a mix of different stuff on my iPod and they have a completely different sound from the other things that I would normally listen to. I don’t understand what he’s singing about all that often. But that’s OK. You know, Marisa Monte sings in Portuguese, so it doesn’t bother me.”

The album that I can't stand
The Who
Tommy
MCA, 1969
“I was always ashamed to say I didn’t like Tommy. I’ve only recently felt comfortable enough to admit it. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to the whole thing. I don’t get concept albums in general; there’s something about them I just don’t respond to. I don’t have the patience to listen to the whole thing. Maybe I have ADD or something. But I have nothing against the disabled—or pinball machines.”