John Waters

Legendary filmmaker, writer, and cultural provocateur John Waters goes record shopping at Amoeba San Francisco in this "What's In My Bag?" episode.  He talks about some of the best bad girl groups, including The Shangri-Las and The Donnas, plus '70s New York punk rock, a critically-panned movie soundtrack & more. You can see John Waters live this April for his 80th birthday on his Going to Extremes: A John Waters 80th Birthday Celebration tour.

John Waters' picks:
• Lisa MacKinney - Dressed In Black: The Shangri-Las (BOOK) 
• The Donnas - American Teenage Rock N Roll (CD) 
• Deborah Harry - Def, Dumb, & Blonde (CD) 
• Johnnie Ray - High Drama: The Real Johnnie Ray (CD) 
• Nico - Live In Reims Cathedral, December 13th, 1974 (LP) 
• Various Artists - Blank Generation: The New York Scene (1975-1978) (CD) 
• Various Artists - Joker: Folie à Deux [OST] (LP) 
• Chucky - 2026 Calendar (MISC.)
• Rowland S. Howard - Teenage Snuff Film (LP) 
• Luis Buñuel - Viridiana (VHS) 
• Chris Isaak - Mr. Lucky (CD) 

Featured Artist: John Waters

Producer/Director/Editor: Gabriel Wheeler
Executive Producer: Rachael McGovern
Cameras: Michael Cruz, Gabriel Wheeler
Audio Recorded by: Gabriel Wheeler
Assistant Editor: Patrick Emswiler

Watch John Waters' "What's In My Bag?" episode on Amoeba.com

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Hi, I'm John Waters, and I'm here at Amoeba Music, one of the greatest record stores in the world. I've got to go shopping everywhere, and it's overwhelming. At first, you think, help, help, there's so many things you want, but it's really well organized and you can find stuff in the staff is very helpful. I've been doing this all day where my friends have been shoplifting.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Mellow Mellow What makes one feel so star.

SPEAKER_02 0:29

I feel like I'm on Supermarket Sweep, that old show where you could get in a grocery store and buy as much as you want. So this is a book on the Shangri-Las, which I've never seen, but they were the best girl juvenile delinquents. And the Shangri-Laws are one of my favorite groups. I got to meet Mary Weiss, the last living one. Unfortunately, she died recently. She put out a great album by herself way later in life. She could really sing.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

And sing it over again.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

So the Shangri-Laws to me were the best. They weren't novelty records, they were just the best bad girl records ever. So I have stuff in here I don't know. I can't wait to read it.

SPEAKER_03 1:04

I'm sorry, I have you, the leader of the bag.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

So the Dhammas, I'm really trying. I I am the host of Mosswood Meltdown, which is a big punk rock festival in Oakland run by Mark and Amy Reback. And we want them to reunite and come. I knew them when they were like 15. They were in my house in Baltimore right when they first came out, when they were bad babysitters, and they were so good. So to have them come back together would be an amazing night. Debbie Harry, another one, she's Deborah Harry now, but this is her singing by herself, which she sang with a jazz passenger. She can sing all kinds of music. And I want her to come to Marswood Meltdown, too. She's a dear friend, she's in hairspray, and I don't have this CD.

SPEAKER_03 2:02

I want to make his phone head to toe.

SPEAKER_02 2:09

Johnny Ray, God, I wish I had met him. He was right after Frank Sinatra and right before Elvis in that thin little period of time. And he was deaf, gay, and cried in all his songs and got busted in a men's laboratory, and he can really sing. He cries and cries.

SPEAKER_03 2:28

And go baby and hurrah.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

Nico, my favorite, who I finally met in Baltimore. First thing she said to me is, Well, can can you get me some heroin? I said, No, I'm not a jazz musician. I don't have heroin. But then I said, Would you play at my funeral? She said, Yes, when are you gonna die? So I I always love Nico, and I've never even seen this album. So is it pricey? Oh, I'm using up my credit. It's 30 bucks, well worth it. This is the punk generation. I love them. And on here is the Dead Boys, who I really love. Steve Baders was in Polyester.

SPEAKER_03 3:15

Too late now, grandma. No candy meat!

SPEAKER_02 3:20

And who else is on here? Wayne County, who became Jane County, who is the fiercest trans punk ever, and she's still out there kicking ass, and she scares other drag queens. She's still really, really great. This is the soundtrack for The Last Joker, the most badly reviewed movie of the year, and they were wrong. It's really good. And the music is like songbooks, show tunes, and stuff. It's really a good movie and really a good album.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me, not like it's hurt me before.

SPEAKER_02 4:05

Chucky, you know, I'm I was in two Chucky projects. I was I played Chucky's father in the last TV show. The prototype. I created it and I was in seed of Chucky. Pete Peters, celebrities revealed. Jennifer, what did you see?

SPEAKER_03 4:20

What do you want me to draw you a picture? Would you? Somebody, give her a piece of paper.

SPEAKER_02 4:23

Chucky's my idea of a hot date. I think he's kind of cute. He's over 21 now. I can cruise a few. Roland Howard, I have a dear friend that's my youth spa that's really has good musical taste. I didn't know this singer.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

Another girl had caught my eye. She cried.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

Because of my youth spies, I now do know who he is, and you really need a youth spy to ever go shopping in Amoeba Records.

SPEAKER_00 4:55

Exit everything.

SPEAKER_02 5:02

VHS's, I still have one for porn I like. But this is Viridiana, one of the most great Bunuel movies that caused such a sensation when it came out because she hangs around with all homeless people and they raid a house and then they freeze in the exact portrait of the Last Supper in the same position, which made the Catholic Church go completely crazy. So every once in a while I just like to put this on and remember my Catholic roots. This is disgusting.

SPEAKER_03 5:44

Well, he's got a big one. What kind of talk is that? They're all photos of the mailman's units.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

I'm calling the cops. I love him. I like to see him. He's a really good performer, does rockabilly really nicely. So I don't have this album either. That's it. I feel like a lucky shopper here at Amoeba. The last time I was here, I was here for my Valentine's Day record, and I'll always remember. Huge line out the door. And one person waited in line the whole time, nude, and it was a straight guy, and he told me, I just want to sit on your lap and take a picture of it and give it to my mother for Christmas. So I always had really good experiences in Amoeba record, so I'm happy to be back.

SPEAKER_03 6:28

I can laugh when things ain't funny. Amoeba