Minnie Driver Remembers Listening to Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’ During Her First Hangover
“I remember, I felt like it was a religious experience,” she said on an episode of VOLUME’s “Feedback.”
You probably know Minnie Driver is an actress. She earned an Oscar nomination as Skylar in “Good Will Hunting” and is currently starring in ABC’s new show “Speechless.”
But you may not know that she’s also enjoyed success as a singer-songwriter. Driver began writing music while in boarding school, and then she signed with a record company in 2001. She wrote most of the songs on her first album herself, one of which became a hit in the UK. The multitalented Brit joined VOLUME’s morning show, “Feedback,” to discuss her music.
Hosts Lori Majewski and Nik Carter asked what album or artist first influenced her to pursue a career as a singer.
“Well, the first record I bought with my own money was ‘Parallel Lines’ by Blondie, and I played it till it was done,” she said.
Driver also listed Neil Young’s “Harvest” as one of her major influences because she happened to hear it during her first experience with alcohol. She had gone to her first party when she was “around 15” at a house in the English countryside. The next morning, she had an experience that transcended music.
“I didn’t know what a hangover was, but all I wanted to do was lie on the sofa and not move, which is what I did, and someone put ‘Harvest’ by Neil Young on. I remember, I felt like it was a religious experience,” she said.
Once Driver gave the album a closer listen, she realized that she could recreate the sounds she was hearing.
“I started listening to the chords, and I realized I could play them because I had played music,” Driver said. “I sat down, and I worked out some of the songs, and I suddenly realized that, while it was hard to do well, it wasn’t hard to begin.”
