Matt Pond PA‘s The State Of Gold is of a piece with the singer/songwriter’s previous work in its tension between plaintive longing and earnest a ffirmations. Paradoxically, it’s a confident album about having doubts; it looks outward as well as inward. Pond will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on him.
Pond: I met Harry Dean Stanton after playing a show at the Troubadour. I’ve only ever wanted to meet two people in this world: Mr. Stanton and Mr. Neil Young. The way they both capture and convey the spare beauty of deep emotion blows me away. In the bright flurry of last call at Dan Tana’s, I awkwardly reached through his drunken entourage to shake his hand. I told him what I’d always wanted to tell him. “Sorry for bothering you, but I just wanted to say that Paris, Texas was one of the most beautiful movies ever made and it’s a true honor to meet you.” On beat, his eyes sleepily rose from his beer and he said, “Thank you. Those were the good years.”
