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vilainde
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Niue
7444 Posts |
 Posted - 02/16/2010 : 22:44:33
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For some reason I didn't read this article until today (although I'm pretty sure Carl posted a link to it). It's a great interview from last year, which talks about Minotaur, Grand Duchy, The Golem, and pot (not the forum member). I paste it here in case it disappears.
It makes me sad that Manta Ray is Charles' least favorite Pixies track though.
http://www.phawker.com/2009/06/08/coming-attraction-qa-with-black-francis/
<<BY JONATHAN VALANIA Set the Wayback Machine to 1988. I’m a college radio DJ stranded in the middle of Pennsyltucky. Entranced by the naked boob on the cover of Surfer Rosa, I slap it on the turntable and…the Pixies had me by the first 10 seconds of “Where Is My Mind?” and never really let go. Shortly thereafter I got a gig working for a Pennsyltucky daily. They asked me one day if I wanted to interview some guy named Black Francis from the Pixies. Would I? Man, this was a dream come true! I could finally learn the WTF of lyrics like, “He bought me a soda, he bought me a soda/ And he tried to molest me in the parking lot.”
When I got him on the phone, he was no doubt bone-tired from endless touring and weary of answering stupid fanboy questions. He insisted I call him Charles and pretty much refused to give me a straight answer to any question, especially when it came to Kim Deal. “Who cares?” he’d say. “We just try to make cool rock music.” I remember thinking: what a dick.
Twenty years later, I call him up and we talk about dope, minotaurs, his favorite Pixies song, Samson & Delilah, makin’ babies, breakin’ kneecaps, the soon-to-be announced Doolittle 20th Anniversary tour, why the 80’s won’t die and his least favorite Pixies song. Afterwards it occurs to me that Black Francis was right all along. All that soap opera jive? All that he said/she said bullshit? What does it really matter in the end? Especially when the only thing worth remembering is this: If man is five, then the Devil is six and God is seven. Or to put it another way, the Pixies were just four kids from Boston trying to make cool rock music whose monkey died and went to heaven.
PHAWKER: We’re doing this interview ostensibly about the Minotaur box set so the first bunch of questions will be Pixies related I hope that’s cool with you.
CHARLES THOMPSON: Yeah.
PHAWKER: So first of all, let’s start with why is it called Minotaur?
CHARLES THOMPSON: I don’t know. Is it some sort of bull that we’re talking about?
PHAWKER: I think the Minotaur is sort of half man, I guess, half-bull—yeah.
CHARLES THOMPSON: So yeah that seems like an appropriate kind of image for the Pixies you know kind of surreal, you know, animalistic, you know, strange it’s definitely true the kind of imagery that Vaughan Oliver has presented as a representation of the band. And he’s the only person outside the band that I would allow kind of to represent this band, so to speak. No one else has done that, it’s always been him. This is his title.
PHAWKER: This is essentially all the studio recordings in sort of a superior acoustic version with new artwork. There’s no actual new songs, correct?
CHARLES THOMPSON: No new songs and there’s nothing remastered either. We decided not to do that either. We wanted to stand by the original recordings as we released them. That was our artistic statement.
PHAWKER: On this day in 2009 if I asked you out of the blue what’s your favorite Pixies song?
CHARLES THOMPSON: Probably “Gouge Away.” It’s the chord progression—it’s a five-chord chord progression. Well it’s not five chords I take that back it’s only three chords actually but played in a five-bar pattern. So that kind of non-square vocabulary essentially I have strived for and if I can get away with it without sounding awkward I think I can really pull it off. And that song really pulls it off. The only difference chord-wise between the choruses and the verses of that song is in the verses there’s a chord that switches from a minor to a major so there’s a subtle difference between the two but essentially the same root note. There’s something nice about that that I really like; I like the subject matter. It’s a song about Sampson and Delilah you know, that’s Old Testament. I felt that subject was appropriate for a rock and roll song. Especially since rock and roll was born of blues and gospel music.
PHAWKER: Now there’s a reference to marijuana in that song. Samson and Delilah were stoners?
CHARLES THOMPSON: The story of Samson and Delilah is when he finally meets the end he’s held captive by the Philistines and they have a party for three days so they just party for three days with him chained up. I don’t know what the Philistines were smoking when they had a three-day party — if it wasn’t marijuana, I’m sure it was something else. I think that the first peoples to have smoked marijuana were the Mediterranean people or the Italians. It’s not that unknown in that part of the world. I mean, fuck, that they were partying for three days.
PHAWKER: Back in The Pixies you were known as quite the avid pot smoker and I’m wondering if you’re still a fan and what your feelings are on legalization or the possibility that it may be happening sometime soon.
CHARLES THOMPSON: You know I have mixed feelings about it. I love the way that it smells, but I don’t smoke it anymore. I never wrote a song under the influence of it or did anything of value under the use of marijuana other than parallel park. I don’t necessarily recommend it as a lifestyle for anybody. I think that a lot of people are probably able to do things in moderation, but I’m not that sort of moderate person which is why I had to stop smoking. I couldn’t even buy it in moderation. I thought ‘oh I think I’ll buy some pot’ and instead of a little baggie, I bought a couple of pounds. It wasn’t really serving me in any positive way. I don’t think it set me down a path of self-destruction, it was just inhibiting me in a way so I just got it out of my life. I don’t know. Other people certainly have had positive experiences with it, and I don’t think it should be illegal per se. It seems a little ridiculous to make it illegal considering how prevalent it is.
PHAWKER: Can you recall the last time you smoked marijuana?
CHARLES THOMPSON: I don’t think I remember. Probably six or seven years ago. I think I was smoking a little bit of it mixed with tobacco, in the European fashion. Even in that time it wasn’t like I was baked out of my mind. Frankly, it was the tobacco that was getting me more messed up than the marijuana. I realized I wasn’t craving the marijuana, it was the tobacco I was craving — so I just stopped. I was just like ‘What am I doing? I’m not 25 years old anymore.’
PHAWKER: What would be your least favorite Pixies song?
CHARLES THOMPSON: Maybe that song “Manta Ray.” I don’t hate it or anything. It was a little too sing-songy or something. It sounds like a kids cartoon theme song or something. It doesn’t really appeal to me. When I write
a song I sort of just go with it, I don’t really fight it. I just kind of see it through to the end.
PHAWKER: There was talk of the Pixies recording a new album back in 2007. And it’s unclear to me whatever came of that.
CHARLES THOMPSON: Me too. I don’t know what came of that; I can’t say it’s a hot topic of discussion and I can’t say that it’s not a topic of discussion either.
PHAWKER: So you’re saying it hasn’t happened yet but that’s not to say it might not happen down the line.
CHARLES THOMPSON: If it happens, it happens. I won’t say it’s consuming my life because I got five kids to worry about.
PHAWKER: Are there any plans for the Pixies to play live in the near future?
CHARLES THOMPSON: We are playing shows throughout the year.
PHAWKER: In America?
CHARLES THOMPSON: Yeah. I mean things haven’t been booked but things are being discussed within these borders. And it’s our 20th anniversary of the Doolittle record. So we are doing some Doolittle shows where will be playing all of Doolittle plus b-sides. We have a surprise but I don’t want to give away the surprise: Wwe’re putting together kind of a themed show. It’s kind of what has happened with a lot of rock music that’s been around for a while and the people that made it are still performing. So when you play your old music fans sort of like that — ‘oh I get to go see my favorite band and they play my favorite album in sequence!’ It’s sort of a customized show.
PHAWKER: So that’s the plan: Play some gigs where you play the Doolittle album from beginning to end and all the b-sides from that era?
CHARLES THOMPSON: Correct.
PHAWKER: You know it’s kind of funny, I interviewed you for the first time when Doolittle came out and I was just beginning in rock journalism. Man, I can’t believe it’s been 20 years!
CHARLES THOMPSON : Oh my gosh that is really funny! That is bizarre. We did an interview 20 years ago. Gosh, am I the same person or do I sound totally different?
PHAWKER: You’re a little different. Back then, I think you were tired – it was when you guys were breaking huge and I think you guys had been on the road forever. I think I asked a lot of really stupid fan boy questions — you know the kind of ‘What’s it all mean?’ questions that you didn’t seem too interested in answering. Looking back I think you were right.
CHARLES THOMPSON: I apologize.
PHAWKER: I apologize for my stupid fan boy questions. So we’ll call it even.
PHAWKER: So tell me about this incident last year you were trying to do a play out in a public square in Dublin and you got arrested?
CHARLES THOMPSON: I orchestrated on my tour that I would go out and do a ‘pre-core’ — my little pun on the notion of encore — and I would appear in the city streets on an agreed upon time and place and announce it on the Internet. But in Dublin it was like a party and it just sort of spiraled out of control for about half an hour. It was kind of ridiculous, like I was Prince or something. I mean half the people there didn’t even know who I was. They were just like, “What’s going on man? What’s all the hoopla about?” So I kind of got kicked out of there because I was blocking traffic. It was sort of surreal and sort of unexpected.
PHAWKER: And you were going to do something similar in London but the cops thought a similar reaction would happen?
CHARLES THOMPSON: Yeah they thought the same thing was going to happen which I don’t think it would have. I guess they were worried about traffic control.
PHAWKER: That always makes the authorities nervous when large groups of people suddenly gather.
CHARLES THOMPSON: They were worried they’d have loads of cars crashing into buses and buses crashing into the crowd of people standing in the middle of the street — all for some guy playing a song on an acoustic guitar.
PHAWKER: So let me ask you about Grand Duchy, which is a collaboration between you and your wife Violet Clark — by the way, the tracks that I’ve heard sounded pretty cool. There’s a great quote about the project from you that I read somewhere, something to the effect of “She loves the 80s and in the Pixies we were trying to kill the 80s.” Being someone that was around during the 80’s I understand that notion, and have a harder time understanding young people’s fascination with that time. I mean, I was there, it wasn’t that cool. Do you find that today’s hip young people fetishize the 80s and you just wonder how could they care?
CHARLES THOMPSON: No, that sort of the way of pop culture, especially on the rock side of things. I mean look at classical music – I don’t know what I’m talking about here – the classical music probably never really..it changed very slowly, from what I understand. Now we’ve got this music format that for some people coincides with fashion which changes at least ever year. But the music really has its roots, doesn’t it? I would imagine there are a lot of things that are similar about the rock music today and rock music in 1967. There’s probably more similarities and than there are differences. It’s hard to create something that is totally new. These days, I embrace the notion of being derivative, I embrace nostalgia. Also, irony is a big part of vocabulary in pop culture. Like you said, it’s about turning another time period into a fetish and turning something uncool into something cool — just because enough people say it is.
PHAWKER: This notion of originality must be incredibly frustrating to people making rock music in 2009, given how hard it is to create something new that isn’t derivative. But if you take rock music and look at it as folk music
where it’s sort of the whole point to take what’s’ come before and sort of reinterpret it, I think that can be very liberating creatively.
CHARLES THOMPSON: That’s a good point. Of course, poor old Jimmy Page and Bob Dylan got a lot of
shit over the years for kind of stealing from other performers, from other songs, and not really getting any credit where credit is due. While that’s true but that’s kind of not all of the information. What I feel like doesn’t really get mentioned enough is that’s sort of what was going on in the folk scene in the 1950’s; they all wrote their own
songs; they just kind of changed other people’s songs it a bit and made them their own. Those guys, all the Bob Dylans and Jimmy Pages are from that generation so for them it’s just kind of like second nature. Having said that, they became quite tuned into the concept of intellectual property and having copyright. And of course someone like Bob Dylan, you know, he sort of popularized the concept of writing your own song and tune. It was a different world back then, it was way more cut throat back then; all those guys had hard-ass managers — not that I’m accusing of them being criminals or anything, it was just a different world.
PHAWKER: They were knee breakers.
CHARLES THOMPSON: Yeah, knee breakers.
PHAWKER: Back to Grand Duchy. I know you’re playing the Siren Festival are there plans to do a full-fledged U.S. tour?
CHARLES THOMPSON: Well we’re going out in July and we’re doing about six or seven shows. We would love to do more but we have logistical challenges; we have five children and also have the one who plays keyboards in the group, with the drummer’s wife who is six months pregnant. We’re kind of just playing a little bit here and a little bit there.
PHAWKER: There’s an awful lot of pro-creation going on there Charles.
CHARLES THOMPSON: Well, the human race must continue.
PHAWKER: Are you planning to do more of this Golem project; I know you did this San Francisco project where you played live with the film—are there plans to do more of that?
CHARLES THOMPSON: We’re at least going to do a little box set with all the music and a DVD of the movie and a really nice booklet. It won’t cost as much as Minotaur and it won’t be as extravagant as that either. We’re moving slowly on it; unfortunately we lost one of our members, guitarist Wayne Jarvis passed away earlier this year so he’s a big part of the sound of the record. So when the record does come out of course we’ll get offers to play shows.
PHAWKER: Can you explain the Golem soundtrack project for those not in the know?
CHARLES THOMPSON: The San Francisco film society does a thing every year where they ask artists to compose a score for one of their films so the one that I did was the score for Golem in 2008. So I did a whole record based around the film; it was part rock and roll album and part score. That’s how we got the job done.
PHAWKER: What advice would you offer to anyone now starting out in a rock band or getting into this business?
CHARLES THOMPSON: C’mon in, the water’s fine. Enjoy the fun.>>
Denis
"Can you hear me? I aint got shit to say." |
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pot
> Teenager of the Year <
Iceland
3910 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2010 : 01:51:41
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quote:
Originally posted by vilainde
For some reason I didn't read this article until today (although I'm pretty sure Carl posted a link to it). It's a great interview from last year, which talks about Minotaur, Grand Duchy, The Golem, and pot (not the forum member). I paste it here in case it disappears.
Yeah no it wasn't me he smoked, I'd have remembered that!
Interesting what he says about the tobacoo messing him up more. This is exactly the experience I have had with that stuff, and why I don't touch it anymore. If he was smoking joints in Europe it was probably rolled with some really crap quality rolling tobacco like drum so it's no wonder he didn't feel good after. They are supposed to extract the tar of out rolling tobacco, but they don't because they don't really care if people get lung cancer. I used to buy mine from a local tobacconist who used to buy in special pipe tobacoo and then run it through a machine to make purer for smoking in roll-ups, and this is what he told me. There is as much tar in one rollie than there is in a 20 pack of full strength cigarettes.
So I just stick to the green, when I can get it. Sutff's good for you, and non-addictive. I don't get this idea that you have to be 25 to smoke it though, this is a notion that stems from societies prejudices about it I think. Smoking it does not impair my ability to do anything, in fact it enhances it. The only thing that impairs me is people's attitude towards it. |
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Arm Arm Arm
* Dog in the Sand *
1037 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2010 : 20:48:00
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| Thanks for posting, this is a great interview! |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2010 : 22:05:44
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| I don't remember posting that, Villy... I'm such a link hog! Yeah, pity he's so down on Manta. |
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misterwoe
= Cult of Ray =
Greece
675 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2010 : 19:52:08
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the whole European style of smoking still baffles me. I was told that smoking without tobacco would "burn my brain."
actually, just last night i had a dream i was partaking, and my mother-in-law was in the room, and she got the hint and left so i could smoke with my friends.
i wish the former part of that dream could be an occassional reality. I don't have enough friends here.
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eyes burning |
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Levitated
= Cult of Ray =
Chile
652 Posts |
Posted - 03/02/2010 : 14:11:01
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| very cool interview indeed! |
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joe FITZ of molly BANG
= Cult of Ray =
USA
349 Posts |
Posted - 03/03/2010 : 08:35:24
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Great interview!! my favorite part
"Well, the human race must continue."
hahaha!
should be the next album title. |
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Don Eduardo
= Cult of Ray =
Australia
403 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2010 : 18:23:39
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Another cool interview. Forgive me if its already on here somwhere:
http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2010/03/tlobf-interview-black-francis/
TLOBF Interview :: Black Francis
Posted on 08 March 2010 by Jude Clarke
Black Francis, Frank Black, Charles Thompson: no matter what you call him there’s no denying that he’s an affable alt-rock legend. Jude Clarke spoke with him on his recent promotional visit to the UK, and found herself discussing sex, love, ghosts and holiday homes with the the Pixies front man and solo hero while he sipped a pre-prandial glass or two of wine in a London hotel room.
The first thing I was going to ask you was – has it been a long day? Have you been doing press stuff all day?
Yeah, since about 11am.
And is it okay? Do you enjoy it, or is it a necessary evil?
All depends on who I’m talking to. And what is it – is it the questions? No, it isn’t the questions, because I can tell you: the most delightful interviews I’ve ever had is when I’ve been talking to some journalist who’s asked me the ten most basic, general questions you can possibly imagine, because maybe they’re old people and they’re writing for a real magazine or newspaper, and they’ve been doing it for forever, y’know, and that’s what they have to ask. But it’s not about the questions, it’s about the connection, it’s about whether or not they can have a conversation, it’s about my ego and whether I have to fence or not, that the journalist is actually listening to what I’m saying or trying to understand whatever I’m saying, even if it’s just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. It’s about a connection thing, so when you have a good connection you’re kinda, like, “wow, that’s great man, I love being a musician” y’know? – and when you have a bad connection with someone it can feel like shit, it sucks.
Oh no! No pressure for me there then… I’ll try and make it a good one. How long are you over here in the UK – just a few days? Are you doing any dates or is it just the promotional round?
It’s just a press junket, I mean, I’m not doing any performing other than radio gigs.
Do you know the UK well, you must have been over here a lot, I guess?
Yeah, this is, like, my 22nd or 23rd year of coming over here and doing this sort of thing.
I’m interested in hearing more about The Golem. Could you tell us a bit more about the project? It looks incredible in terms both of the concept and the whole packaging thing…
Well, the San Francisco Film Festival has a programme where they ask a music artist to do a so-called score for a silent movie, and then they have the artist come in during the festival and perform the score at a screening of the film. So I did that a couple of years ago. How I wrote the score was I basically booked a recording studio and hired a band and made a record, and performed this record while the movie was playing. Now there’s this kind of release that I’m doing from my website that is sort of a box set with various recordings: live and in the studio and the film with the synched soundtrack to it.
Writing something to accompany a film must be very different – the timings, making it absolutely fit in with the moving images etc?
Yeah, I would say so… But it’s a silent film. It all depends on what your perspective is about film-making. Much as I love film, I came from the naïve position initially, that would be, like, “oh, yeah, it’s a film, so you’ve got to serve the film and be precious about it, y’know: you’ve got to have a score like you would see in a contemporary film. And whatever criticism I have read thus so far of my particular score (and it’s not the first time there’s been a score for the film: there’s been lots of scores for this film) is coming from that naïve place, that you can’t distract from the film, that you have to serve the film. That is not how the Film Festival approached it. They came to me with a more historically accurate proposition. They said “look, back in the day, when some movie would be performing” (and I knew this, actually, but I’d forgotten, cos I’d read books about Fats Waller, you know…) “.. the movie would be playing and a local musician, or a local band would just perform. They would perform their repertoire.” Maybe they would serve a film somewhat, but it wasn’t like they were sitting there creating music for every moment in the film, and trying to play music that was appropriate for the film. They were just playing their repertoire.
So it would be like a gig, with a film projected behind it?
Exactly. And going to a movie back in the day was a much more raucous affair. So when I learned that I was, like “ah, okay – so I can just do my own thing, I can have a raucous affair, right?” and they said “yeah, just do what you do”. And that’s what I did! I do what I do. I’ve seen a few people comment on it, going, like “Well, I don’t know if it’s really serves the film, it’s a little bit distracting, blah blah blah blah” but they don’t understand. The whole purpose of the music being created was to perform it at a screening. I had been given licence to be – not anachronistic, or to try to come up with some precious, keyboard-heavy maudlin kind of manipulative score that we see so often in a modern film. My job was to be who I am and provide some sound in the room.
Did you choose the film, or did the film festival people pick it because they thought it would suit you?
I don’t know. They gave me the choice of two films and so I chose The Golem because I think I had heard of it, or I had at least heard of German Expressionism, so I thought that would appeal to me.
Obviously, what you’re mainly over here to talk about is the new album, NonStopErotik.
Yes but there’s no pressure! I’m mean, that is what I’m doing but I’m more neutral about “the campaign” and the concept of “the campaign”. I have given up on that and I’m much happier just being a musician, or an artist or whatever. This is my life. You wanna talk about the present? Great. You wanna talk about the past? No problem. You wanna talk about the future? No problem. It’s not even the case that keeping everything focussed on “the campaign” is the best way to sell more records. You know what? You’re not going to sell more records, especially in the case of a cult-ish artist. All you’re going to do is get them in the paper, and that’s alright, but it’s got nothing to do with numbers. I’m taking more the long view.
And also, I guess, unless you’re a brand-new artist, which clearly you’re not, you don’t produce one piece of work in a vacuum. It’s all about the context of what’s been before and hopefully what’s coming after, etc?
Absolutely.
Photograph by Wendy Lynch
So, the new album. I’ve just had a couple of listens to it, on a stream, so forgive me if I’ve not got a very detailed grasp of it yet. What I loved about it, though, was the combination of the really erotic with the really romantic. Particularly “When I Go Down On You” and the title track (“NonStopErotik”). They’re both at the same time blunt and to-the-point lyrically, and still sounded like hugely romantic songs.
Yeah well I think that I’m kind of a romantic person. I’m also a very kind of sexual person. I guess we all are in one way or another. Even people that are so-called “asexual” people then their asexuality is kind of sexual. I think it would be doing the whole subject of sexuality a disservice if I just said “okay, I’m going to do this record called NonStopErotik and I’m just gonna sing about penises and vaginas” and that’d be it, like that’s all there is. I think that’s just cheap or something, it’s not really the whole story, is it, it’s more complex than that. It’s more poignant than that. So um… To me, the biggest, grandest songs are those two that you mentioned, “When I Go Down On You” and “NonStopErotik” so I think out of deference to romantic love I made those two songs on the one hand very sexual and graphic but also, on the other hand, that’s not really the point of the songs. The punchline is, sort of, love. Or taking solace or haven in the comfort-zone of lovemaking, and romantic love being, like “well, I can’t figure out the universe, and I can’t figure out life, but I have this, and that’s what’s important”.
Well, that song’s going on a romantic mix-tape for my husband…
[laughs]. Well thanks!
Can you tell us the story of how the album was recorded? The press release talks of ghostly goings-on in the studio.
I think that most musicians would agree with me that when you go to old recording studios especially, there is an element of legacy. There’s all these great records that have been made there before you, before your time. That already puts it into this kind of museum-slash-mausoleum-slash-romantic, if you will (I know a mausoleum isn’t very romantic, but…)… do you know what I mean? It’s like the life, and the death and the echo and everything is all there, and so you’re kind of moved by that. And then also, I think musicians would agree that those old buildings, with all that energy going on are kinda haunted places. If you talk to the engineers and the people that clean the building, they’ve got some creepy stories to tell you, or they can’t stand being in there late at night. Musicians would also agree with me that we all have our own personal experiences of that. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been in the studio late at night, just me and one engineer, or I’m all alone in some big giant room with the microphone and the lights are low and it’s late at night and you’re tired and suddenly you just feel, like, “wow, I just wanna get the hell out of here”. It’s creepy as hell. Or scary or at least just otherworldly. You start to feel the “other side” or something, and you just want to get out of there. You get to feel like the place is haunted, and then if you go to some of these older studios also there will be the actual anecdotal material: “oh yeah, if you’re here by yourself you’re going to hear these kinds of noises… or things will move around…” or whatever. Or, in the case of one of the studios I was at on this record, if the session’s going good and you’re making good music basically they leave you alone, but if you’re doing shit, that’s when all the light shenanigans start.
It’s a religious atmosphere too, when you go to these old studios. If you go into a studio, and that’s where Nat King Cole recorded it kind of humbles you. It humbles you on the one hand, but also it emboldens you, you’re like “you know what, I’m here because I’m fucking cool, just like Nat King Cole, and I’m going to do a good job, just like Nat King Cole”.
So it inspires, as well as humbles?
I’m inspired and validated.
This is all interesting and particularly relevant too in the light of the current campaign to save Abbey Road studios. Have you heard about that?
Yeah sure, I’ve been following it. We tried to get in to Abbey Road on this record actually. I think initially they were already booked and then, um, my finances changed, they got more complicated because I involved some other people, but it was our first choice. I was at Ocean Way in L.A., so when I get to London where should I go? Well, Abbey Road: that’s the top of the heap, right? We didn’t end up going there, but we went to another wonderful place, with history and legacy and ghosts.
You also get a similar kind of vibe in some venues too, I think.
Yeah, for sure. I think the only time I’ve ever really experienced a ghost was in a pub that had music. I was there very late, with a bunch of other people and I didn’t actually want to get out of there, but let’s just say that my friend that was there with me had to accompany me to the toilet every time I went, because of the ghost that was there. I just couldn’t be by myself.
Thinking specifically about the release you are putting out at the moment, and more generally about your hefty back catalogue, how do you feel generally about reviews? Do you read them? Do you care about them? Do you dismiss them?
Oh, kinda all of the above, to be perfectly honest with you. I’ll pontificate a bit more, but can you just hold for 30 seconds?
[Charles takes a comfort break]
Sorry – I was having a glass of wine, and I had to “use the facilities”.
That’s alright, as long as a ghost didn’t get you…
So anyway, sorry, where were we? Reviews. Sometimes I’ll ignore ‘em, sometimes I’ll read every word, sometimes I get angry about them, sometimes I don’t give a hoot. I try to subscribe to that opinion “Whatever gets you in the paper”, you know? Really, who cares what they say, as long as they put your name and your picture in there, you’re ahead of the game. That’s what I tell myself, and I guess I think that there’s a lot of truth in that.
Generally do you read much music stuff on the internet, are you a big web-head?
Not really. I go to the BBC News website, including the entertainment section, and I hang out a bit on the Facebook and there’s this folk music website that I go to and not much else. I enjoy Wikipedia if I want to quickly learn about some historical thing or person. I’m like “Oh, I never heard about that” and then I’ll go check it out and give myself a crash course on something. I enjoy the research aspect of it. For a songwriter like me who’s into esoteric information it’s wonderful, cos it doesn’t matter what time of day it is, I can just kinda go “Well, I’m going in this direction but I need to find out something.. I need some titbits, I need something…” I don’t know what it is I’m looking for but I’ll just go onto the internet, Wikipedia or Google searching. It’s just the random nature of that kind of searching too [that’s interesting].
So how do you keep up with current music, and hear about new bands? Do you listen to much new music, or what sort of things are you listening to at the moment?
Nothing really new, or at least, not by new artists. I don’t do very well on the new artists category. Part of that is a function of my age, and part of it is a function of how much time I have to devote to that, and part of it is a function of how many wonderful artists there are who aren’t new artists, that maybe their reputation precedes them. I feel a certain amount of pressure or curiosity to check out that thing I haven’t checked out yet, that famous thing that everyone’s always talking about, when I haven’t actually heard it yet. So you end up checking out a lot more of that stuff than the “new hot thing”. There’s a lot to sift through.
What are your thoughts on the changing formats in which music is consumed – from vinyl thru CDs, MP3s and now streaming things like Spotify? What’s your take on that as a musician – has it had any impact in how you create, or think about your music, or is it more something that’s relevant for the end consumer?
I think it is more a matter of consumption. I think artists always survive a format change, and they happen from time to time. They don’t happen, like, every day, but they’ve happened in the past and people will go on listening to music, and people will go on and continue to make music. I guess I’m not that concerned about it. I mean, does it affect my life in some kind of way, maybe sometimes even in a financial way? Sure, but when isn’t something affecting you financially? There’s always some factor that you’re fighting against if you’re dealing with art versus commerce professionally, if that’s your gig (and it’s mine). You’re always grappling with these kinds of things, internet or no internet. On some level it doesn’t really feel any different to me, it just feels like I’m always having to scrap somebody about my art, because they represent the business side and I have to fight with them, or make compromise because ultimately I need to have my own freedom, and I need to make money. You’re always kinda battling that.
That’s a constant thing, isn’t it, not just for musicians – for all kinds of artists.
Right. It’d be interesting for someone to write an article about the internet and how it is affecting different forms of art – how it affects the artists. Recorded music versus paintings versus writing versus film making.
So we’ve spoken a bit about the promotional and recording aspects of what you do. How about touring – do you enjoy recording or playing live more?
Um… I don’t know, it’s pretty much right down the middle for me. Both have their less-than-glamorous aspects I suppose, but yeah, I really enjoy both.
Okay, so the obligatory Pixies question, then… What’s coming next for the band? Are you planning on doing an album this year?
No, we haven’t formally decided to do anything…
So it’s “wait and see” is it?
As usual.
Nothing scheduled?
Unfortunately not.
What do you think about the legacy of the band, and what (and how) they influenced in their wake? How does it feel having been so influential?
I get asked this a lot, and I always kinda grapple with the question. I think it so hypothetical, or such an abstraction. Do I feel glad that other people liked me or whatever? Yeah, of course. I’m validated. I’m happy because I have validation: I have received a pat on the head! But what do I do with that? Well, I can’t do anything with that, except sort of “be in a good mood”. It doesn’t really give you licence to do anything different. Maybe it gets me in the door at a few parties or something: I’m a somebody, let me in! But otherwise, for me, there’s not a lot to say about it really. That’s just part of being an artist. If you’re a real artist then chances are, if you have an audience, then chances are that some of those people in the audience are artists, or want to be artists, so they take a few cues from you. That’s how I got into it. No surprises there. I always feel a bit awkward about making a statement about my greatness.
If you hadn’t been a musician, what do you think you would have been, or do you think you would always have ended up doing music in some capacity?
I think that was decided upon either by the Powers That Be or at a very very very very young age – something sort of clicked. From my point of view I have always been that; that’s who I am. Even before I was technically doing it, that’s who I was. I wasn’t going to maybe be a fireman or a teacher or be a train engineer.
So you recently produced the Art Brut album (Art Brut vs Satan). How was that for you – have you done much other producing?
Yeah, a couple of times. I thoroughly enjoy it because I’m hanging out in a studio while they’re making a record. It’s not something that I pursue: I’m not a “producer” in that sense of the word where that’s all I do. I’m an artist: that’s what I pursue. The band approached me and asked me to be their producer.
I’m nearly done now, so you’ll be able to get back to your wine.
It’s gone now. I think I should probably drink some water and freshen up for dinner with the record company this evening, and not be, like [shouts] “Hey, I’ve been drinking all day!”.
So what’s next for you? Are you going back home after this?
I’m going to go do some research in France – potentially a new town to live in for my happy little family. Directly in the centre. I have a meeting with an immigration lawyer, and so that’s what I’ll be doing for the next four or five days.
Well have a good evening, and a great trip. Thank you very much for speaking with me.
The pleasure was all mine. Thank you.
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danjersey
> Teenager of the Year <
USA
2810 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2010 : 20:42:47
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Don Eduardo, thanks for this.
I love that Frank brought up Fats Waller. |
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Grotesque
= Cult of Ray =
France
777 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2010 : 21:08:10
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This could have been a new thread : "Not so cool interview".
But thanks anyway. The explanation of the Golem not being a modern soundtrack is quite enlightening. I remember Bunuel was puting some records of spanish folklore while the first screening of "Un chien andalou", and it certainly didnt follow EXATLY the action. The idea of beeing straightly faithfull to what's happening on the screen must be just in modern cinema, especially influenced by the earlier Disney's soundtracks (snow white and co), with that kinda Wagnerian orchestra that puts into notes every single movement of the characters. As a modern audience we're tremendously influenced by that and everything that doesnt backup the action seems like a mistake at first look. |
Edited by - Grotesque on 03/10/2010 21:15:13 |
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danjersey
> Teenager of the Year <
USA
2810 Posts |
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vilainde
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Niue
7444 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2010 : 21:29:39
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Well I sure did enjoy the penultimate question! Thanks.
Denis
"Can you hear me? I aint got shit to say." |
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danjersey
> Teenager of the Year <
USA
2810 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2010 : 21:37:05
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| yeah thanks, you've got some Gaul |
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Cool interview
