This is SOUND ADVICE, a weekly destination for playlists curated by Interview’s friends, enemies, and lovers. Over the past few weeks, we’ve gathered playlists from Tinashe, Role Model, and Holly Humberstone. This week’s installment is brought to you by Scout Willis, whose buttery, blues-tinged ballad “Over and Over” just dropped yesterday. Moody and atmospheric, much like her last release, the eponymous 2022 album, Scout LaRue Willis, it’s a continuation of her lifelong passion for songwriting—from her childhood immersion in showbiz to her teenage band ventures. In this exclusive playlist, she gives us a taste of what she has on repeat and reveals her all-time favorite musical nepo baby.
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Where do you dance? Oh, literally everywhere. I walked into an art show once and someone screamed across the room, “Oh my god you’re the girl I see dancing around the Silverlake reservoir every day!”
What song is your national anthem? “You Sexy Thing” by Hot Chocolate.
What’s your earliest musical memory? My dad showing me the Coasters and performing “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” with my sisters at my parents’ dinner parties.
Best movie needle-drop: The iconic, running kiss moment from Practical Magic.
Best setting to listen to your new single? In the car driving home from successfully having the conversation you feared you might not be brave enough to have, on a contemplative walk where you realize that everything is actually going to turn out amazing, getting ready to go out.
Brat Summer: yay or nay? Oh, absolutely.
Who are your style icons? Leandra Cohen, Paul Newman, Blanco Miro.
Drop your hair routine: Okay, I’m gonna let you in on a few secrets. First and most important: I sleep with a sock on my hair every single night to keep it from getting tangly and breaking when I brush it. I try to only wash it once a week if I can, I always double shampoo and then put a Manuka honey hair serum on while it dries. Last pro tip: I take a vitamin that is basically a compound of different organs (I know, but trust me) and it makes the hair go INSANE. (Paleovalley organ complex—not gonna gatekeep, babes).
Do you play any instruments? Guitar and a little piano.
What song reminds you of your hometown? “Go Through Sunday” by Jim Ford or “Ray of Light” by Madonna.
What song on this playlist are you listening to over and over? For a while, it was “Whatever’s Inconvenient” by CMAT, and then it was “Please, Please, Please.” This year I’ve made a new playlist for every month!
What song on this playlist makes you cry? “Ojos Del Sol” by y la Bamba, because it’s how I imagine morning in the kitchen with your lover ought to feel like and it’s so tender!
Who’s your favorite music nepo baby? 100% Nancy Sinatra!
Who is in your musical coven? Fiona Apple, Patsy Cline, Ted Lucas, Lana del Rey, Cher, Andrew Bird.
Which member of your family has influenced your music taste the most? My papa, he was constantly showing me music.
Favorite venue you’ve played at? There was this teeny tiny, wonderful little ramshackle venue in Ojai that I played a few years ago that I still think about! Everyone was gathered around me sitting on the floor and it felt very Sound of Music. I love shows like that, so intimate and special.
Favorite decade of music? Late ’60s.
What song do you wish you wrote? “In Dreams” by Roy Orbison.