To those who loved them, Glasgow, Scotland’s Delgados were the near-perfect blend of churning, indie-rock edginess and stirring, girl/boy vocals, wrapped in gasp-inducing orchestral arrangements that made time stand still. A tough act for vocalist/guitarist Emma Pollock to follow, you might think, when the band split amicably in 2006. And yet, Pollock’s ‘07 solo debut, Watch The Fireworks, wasted no time in identifying how crucial she had been to the unique sound of the Delgados. Three years later, the former physics major returns with The Law Of Large Numbers (Chemikal Underground), which goes down like a couple of dry martinis after a savory meal, welcoming you to Pollock’s expanding universe of sound. Pollock will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with her.
Pollock: I’ve never really been too actively interested in visual art or painting as such, but I have become increasingly aware of Alasdair Gray’s artistic work over the past few years. He is best known as the author of the book Lanark, which was eventually published in 1981 after 25 years in the making. Having not read the book yet, I am currently more aware of his painting: vivid block colours alongside incredibly detailed and quite bizarre line drawings and often accompanied by hand-written prose. These prints are at once timeless and modern, and I hope to get a few on the walls of our house before long. Video after the jump.
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To those who loved them, Glasgow, Scotland’s Delgados were the near-perfect blend of churning, indie-rock edginess and stirring, girl/boy vocals, wrapped in gasp-inducing orchestral arrangements that made time stand still. A tough act for vocalist/guitarist Emma Pollock to follow, you might think, when the band split amicably in 2006. And yet, Pollock’s ‘07 solo debut, Watch The Fireworks, wasted no time in identifying how crucial she had been to the unique sound of the Delgados. Three years later, the former physics major returns with The Law Of Large Numbers (Chemikal Underground), which goes down like a couple of dry martinis after a savory meal, welcoming you to Pollock’s expanding universe of sound. Pollock will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with her.
Pollock: I found out about Hunky Dory during my first job after leaving university. I worked for a music management company in Glasgow, and they managed a load of bands. And those bands introduced me to this album, in particular. I was absolutely taken with it from the off. The songwriting is just outrageously good—”Life On Mars?” being a particular favourite and “Changes.” Great songs but obviously made what they are by wonderful exuberant and confident performance, and outlandish and bold arrangements. The lyrics are also wonderful—a great example of the odd and off-kilter making complete sense in a pop-music context, providing it with yet another layer of interest to peel off and explore. Video after the jump.
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To those who loved them, Glasgow, Scotland’s Delgados were the near-perfect blend of churning, indie-rock edginess and stirring, girl/boy vocals, wrapped in gasp-inducing orchestral arrangements that made time stand still. A tough act for vocalist/guitarist Emma Pollock to follow, you might think, when the band split amicably in 2006. And yet, Pollock’s ‘07 solo debut, Watch The Fireworks, wasted no time in identifying how crucial she had been to the unique sound of the Delgados. Three years later, the former physics major returns with The Law Of Large Numbers (Chemikal Underground), which goes down like a couple of dry martinis after a savory meal, welcoming you to Pollock’s expanding universe of sound. Pollock will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with her.
Pollock: I think Sympathy For Lady Vengeance is the last of the Vengeance Trilogy directed by South Korea’s Park Chan-wook. I have seen the other two, Oldboy and Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, but this one resonated with me the most, possibly because I relate to the female lead character more easily (not sure what that says about me), but perhaps also because of the incredible development of persona that her character portrays as the film progresses and the contrast between the purity of moral standing and motive, with the absolute and uncompromising violence that we ultimately witness. Visually, the film is stunning, and the poster for the film inspired the cover of my first album just a little bit. The simple but effective use of colour, employed throughout the film to inform the lead character’s development as she embarks on her journey, gives Sympathy For Lady Vengeance a wonderful symmetry and final resolution. Video after the jump.
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To those who loved them, Glasgow, Scotland’s Delgados were the near-perfect blend of churning, indie-rock edginess and stirring, girl/boy vocals, wrapped in gasp-inducing orchestral arrangements that made time stand still. A tough act for vocalist/guitarist Emma Pollock to follow, you might think, when the band split amicably in 2006. And yet, Pollock’s ‘07 solo debut, Watch The Fireworks, wasted no time in identifying how crucial she had been to the unique sound of the Delgados. Three years later, the former physics major returns with The Law Of Large Numbers (Chemikal Underground), which goes down like a couple of dry martinis after a savory meal, welcoming you to Pollock’s expanding universe of sound. Pollock will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with her.
Pollock: Black Sheep, brewed in Wensleydale, is a wonderful ale that I discovered on holiday in the Lake District a few years back and buy as often as I can now. Can’t really describe it, but it has a real earthy taste and is quite distinctive. The story of how it came about is also worth noting. There’s a very successful brewery in the same area called Theakston that the Theakston family started many many years ago, but was taken over by bigger brewery Scottish & Newcastle in 1987. One of the brothers decided that he didn’t want to be part of the new takeover, and so he started Black Sheep on his own, using bits of traditional brewing kit that he salvaged from other breweries about to be demolished. Not sure if the brothers talk at all now. Video after the jump.
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To those who loved them, Glasgow, Scotland’s Delgados were the near-perfect blend of churning, indie-rock edginess and stirring, girl/boy vocals, wrapped in gasp-inducing orchestral arrangements that made time stand still. A tough act for vocalist/guitarist Emma Pollock to follow, you might think, when the band split amicably in 2006. And yet, Pollock’s ‘07 solo debut, Watch The Fireworks, wasted no time in identifying how crucial she had been to the unique sound of the Delgados. Three years later, the former physics major returns with The Law Of Large Numbers (Chemikal Underground), which goes down like a couple of dry martinis after a savory meal, welcoming you to Pollock’s expanding universe of sound. Pollock will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with her.
Pollock: Family classic or band classic? When Delgados were together, we used to play Risk on the Xbox on the tour bus whilst touring North America. I never won once, as fellow band members took it rather seriously, but I loved playing it all the same. As well as owning the Xbox version, I also bought a lovely 50th anniversary version with coloured metal artillery all beautifully presented. I found that in a shopping centre somewhere in the U.S. and just had to buy it when I saw it. Video after the jump.
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To those who loved them, Glasgow, Scotland’s Delgados were the near-perfect blend of churning, indie-rock edginess and stirring, girl/boy vocals, wrapped in gasp-inducing orchestral arrangements that made time stand still. A tough act for vocalist/guitarist Emma Pollock to follow, you might think, when the band split amicably in 2006. And yet, Pollock’s ‘07 solo debut, Watch The Fireworks, wasted no time in identifying how crucial she had been to the unique sound of the Delgados. Three years later, the former physics major returns with The Law Of Large Numbers (Chemikal Underground), which goes down like a couple of dry martinis after a savory meal, welcoming you to Pollock’s expanding universe of sound. Pollock will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with her.
Pollock: Rachel’s Music For Egon Schiele is an album that I keep on coming back to, years after I first discovered it. I can’t even remember now how I discovered it, but thankfully I did. It’s a completely unique album in my collection and one that occupies a very different space in my head. I don’t listen to a great deal of “classical” music as such, as I prefer a more contemporary sound, but sometimes you do come across a more classical instrumentation or arrangement which bends the rules and takes risks in the ways that more contemporary music does, and I think this album demonstrates that combination perfectly. I’m absolutely blown away by the writing of these compositions, the wonderful chord shapes and melodic progressions and absolute command that the music has as a result. It’s a very pure sound, very inspirational and devastatingly emotive to me. To write music this powerful, but in my case with vocal melody added, would be a real achievement for me. I went to see Rachel’s play once at the CCA in Glasgow. It was a very intense show. No one spoke for the entire performance. It was quite unforgettable. Read more about Rachel’s. Video after the jump.
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To those who loved them, Glasgow, Scotland’s Delgados were the near-perfect blend of churning, indie-rock edginess and stirring, girl/boy vocals, wrapped in gasp-inducing orchestral arrangements that made time stand still. A tough act for vocalist/guitarist Emma Pollock to follow, you might think, when the band split amicably in 2006. And yet, Pollock’s ‘07 solo debut, Watch The Fireworks, wasted no time in identifying how crucial she had been to the unique sound of the Delgados. Three years later, the former physics major returns with The Law Of Large Numbers (Chemikal Underground), which goes down like a couple of dry martinis after a savory meal, welcoming you to Pollock’s expanding universe of sound. Pollock will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with her.
Pollock: I’ve always been a great fan of James Stewart, especially in It’s A Wonderful Life, but I do think that Mr. Smith Goes To Washington is often overlooked by comparison, but deserving of much praise all the same. Directed by Frank Capra, the story concentrates on the tale of one man, a Boy Scout leader, who is selected to the Senate to replace the former senator who unexpectedly dies at a crucial moment. His character slowly has his ideals and purity of belief of the American political system turned upside down by the events that unfold around him. I love this film not just because it helped me understand at last what filibuster means in American politics, but also because Stewart is a real pleasure to watch, and the direction is really wonderful, especially the scenes with Stewart’s character repeatedly dropping his hat whilst getting flustered talking to a rather attractive young lady. Video after the jump.
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To those who loved them, Glasgow, Scotland’s Delgados were the near-perfect blend of churning, indie-rock edginess and stirring, girl/boy vocals, wrapped in gasp-inducing orchestral arrangements that made time stand still. A tough act for vocalist/guitarist Emma Pollock to follow, you might think, when the band split amicably in 2006. And yet, Pollock’s ‘07 solo debut, Watch The Fireworks, wasted no time in identifying how crucial she had been to the unique sound of the Delgados. Three years later, the former physics major returns with The Law Of Large Numbers (Chemikal Underground), which goes down like a couple of dry martinis after a savory meal, welcoming you to Pollock’s expanding universe of sound. Pollock will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with her.
Pollock: This dish is obviously synonymous with all things Scottish, but unlike the other famous “Scottish” items—kilts (my husband, a Scot, refuses to wear one unless threatened), shortbread (overrated, and certainly not something I would buy during the weekly shop), tartan (the last time I wore tartan, my father-in-law said I looked like I was in the Bay City Rollers)—I really do like haggis, neeps and tatties and eat it quite often. Just to clarify: Haggis is haggis (you don’t really want any more detailed explanation than that), neeps are turnips, and tatties are potatoes. It makes a really lovely meal, and we often invite bands recording at Chem19 around to the house to have some with us. We often serve them the vegetarian version, though, as some find the real thing a little scary. Video after the jump.
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To those who loved them, Glasgow, Scotland’s Delgados were the near-perfect blend of churning, indie-rock edginess and stirring, girl/boy vocals, wrapped in gasp-inducing orchestral arrangements that made time stand still. A tough act for vocalist/guitarist Emma Pollock to follow, you might think, when the band split amicably in 2006. And yet, Pollock’s ‘07 solo debut, Watch The Fireworks, wasted no time in identifying how crucial she had been to the unique sound of the Delgados. Three years later, the former physics major returns with The Law Of Large Numbers (Chemikal Underground), which goes down like a couple of dry martinis after a savory meal, welcoming you to Pollock’s expanding universe of sound. She graciously spoke to MAGNET twice when the recording hardware malfunctioned on the first attempt. Pollock will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week.
“Hug The Harbour” (download):
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced especially by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: The Lake Room is an online newspaper periodical that I’ve been publishing ever since I quit show business in the autumn of 2008. It’s an international website for high-class gawkers who like to surf the net. I invented the page so that people could get accurate information on Hollywood and as a platform to review new products that I personally endorse. From what I understand, it is a website that people view in secret, which I assume is because they must be masturbating to it. The Lake Room encourages people to stalk me, but that doesn’t seem to have any effect on my career. While I’ve never been involved in an Internet scandal, I probably will be soon if I continue to do this website. It is supposedly the top website that people go to. Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced especially by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: New York City is a terrific hub for posers and saps who be gettin’ real sentimental lately! The island of Manhattan has always been a trap for middle-class kids who are forced to live outside their financial means. Essentially, the city is a giant shopping mall, and the only reason I like it is because I’m ridiculous. If the average person spent five weeks in New York City, they would probably attribute some sort of magical quality to the place. However, people who grow up in New York don’t even believe in magic! Sometimes I pretend I’m a wayward traveler who comes from “the land of the big buildings,” but this is simply me being silly. My grandfather was born on a farm in Brooklyn where they sold marijuana in pushcarts. He’s now 100 years old and owns the last egg-cream stand in Brooklyn. I dream of opening up some businesses of my own in NYC, mainly a capsule hotel in Union Square and a vegetarian-cannibal restaurant in Nolita. Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: I used to live in Cornwall back in March. Kids there were scared of the impish gnomes called Tommyknockers. The whole World Wrestling Federation was brought to the town. The only food that’s decent in Cornwall is pasties, which are like tacos with handles. Interesting fact: The miners killed canaries. Cornwall is a mining county. The miners dug up tin and copper for their job. Interesting fact: Camelot and King Arthur are there still … but no more miners!! It was difficult to communicate with the Tommyknockers because they have their own filthy language. The Cornish blokes tried to secede from England because of their belief in pagan energy lines and magick and draegons. Sometimes I would take the crust from my pasty and throw it down into the mines where the Tommyknockers lived and they would eat the crust so fast it was truly awful. Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: If I die during this record-cycle, I hope that people will not try and pretend that I was a good person. Everything I did was because I hated God. When I wasn’t being an asshole to you directly, I was googling myself on the Internet like an arrogant prick. I only made music to make you feel bad that you didn’t have any talent. I probably bossed you around and paid you money just to do stupid things that amused me. If something good happened in your life, I didn’t care about it. At best it could be said that I did everything just to get laid, but the truth is that it’s because I was bored, and that’s worse. Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: My bisexuality started in the ninth grade when I blew 30 guys at a poetry reading. After that, I dated a girl from the Philippines with a face like badly baked bread. Her name was Rebecca, and she was bisexual as well. The most difficult thing about being bisexual is having gay sex and also how people bully you. My grandfather offered me $20,000 to stop being bisexual, but that’s like asking me not to be famous. Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: Girls With Attitude is a Canadian supergroup produced by Bill Murray. He wrote most of their songs when he was filming Groundhog Day 4; however, they weren’t released until Groundhog Day 8. In Groundhog Day 8, he has six girls with Natalie Portman’s character from The Professional 4. Basically, Harold Ramis directed it so that Groundhog Day 8 and The Professional 4 are essentially the same film and it bears both titles. In the movie, the six girls start a band called Girls With Attitude and they become one of the most popular bands each Groundhog Day, which keeps repeating throughout the movie. I love their song “A Great Time Is A Fun Time,” and I use it as intro music before I play a concert. I’ve hung out with Murray a little bit, and he gave me pretty good advice. He’s a nice guy who bought ethical mousetraps for my mom at the Museum of Natural History. I would like to do the soundtrack for Groundhog Day 9 or Weekend At Bernie’s 3. Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: People want to know what antifolk is, so: It’s a company started by Daniel Johnston that employs folk singers and rich kids. Everybody used to sing around the piano and do cover songs, but now that the Moldy Peaches are famous, the emphasis is on stand-up comedy and mime. Musicians like Ish Marquez and Turner Cody sing parody songs, spoofs and satires, while onlookers like Devendra Banhart from Little Joy throw coins into the tip jar. The biggest star is Adam Green’s wife Binki Shapiro, who is also a hostess there. Her uncle is novelty comedian Rick Shapiro, who has two or three gags that never get old. Occasionally, a newcomer like Daniel Bernstein, Darwin Deez or Toby Goodshank will get a chance to sing, but usually a big shot like Regina Spektor will grab the mic away and never give it back. Now that Seth Hebert from Dufus is gonna buy the club, we can only expect that it will be a shadow of its former glory before long. Psyche. Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: If Eva Green wanted to marry me, wouldn’t that be a strange coincidence? We would still be Adam and Eva Green, of course, but do you think that she would actually try to seduce me? I invited her to my concert once, but she probably thought that I wouldn’t be good. She is known for her bad manners, so I doubt that my parents would be enticed, because who needs people like that in your life? Still, I think it would be nice if we could have some private time to hold each other despite the fact that she might be annoying. Where would I take her on a date, you ask? I’d take her to Amsterdam, because that’s a good place to walk around where we could have some drinks. After I won her over, it would be night time, so she would probably give me a hand-job on a bench in secret. But the whole time, she would know how hard it is for touring musicians to keep a steady girlfriend, so there would be no pressure. Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: When people say that your girlfriend looks like she’s 16, that is a good thing! I often find myself getting all mixed up with Lolitas, though they are never truly underage. I don’t know if it’s because they are so compelling, or perhaps carousing with Lolitas appeals to my vanity. I can sometimes spend weeks pampering these little girls only to find out that they are nothing but twerps in the end. Essentially, a Lolita is predator who charms you with her appetite for sweets and her other kitten-like “eccentricities.” She’s looking to let somebody down, and do it in a sexy way. Note: Beware of grown-women who impersonate Lolitas, because they are gold-diggers. Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: I find myself trying to clean the scum off the streets. There is a class of people who are total scum. Sometimes they are in it for themselves, and other times they act as the executor of someone else’s master plan. Either way, when you walk around the city, you can witness these seedy scoundrels who prey on those who aren’t willing to put up the fight. I’ve had these scumbags curse at me for not getting excited when they fan their disgusting plumage at me. They come up to me when I’m trying to chill in Chinatown and start peacocking to my face. The other night, I got into a staring contest with some low-life who was doing a tough-love shtick while simultaneously trying to orchestrate a business deal with me. While I admire Jack Daniel for his great skill as a businessman, it’s funny to me that the biggest scumbags are corporate-exec types. This particular class of scum operates on such a low level that they will attempt to suffocate you with their pseudo-passions. Trying to approximate the vigor of an entrepreneur, they will chain you to a post and rape you for their bosses. They are high on head-pats, trapped in a dog-dream wherein the pet suddenly overtakes his master. It’s so hard to clean up the scum because it’s illegal to kill these people and they aren’t always criminals. There is nothing exciting about scumbags, however they can approximate the emotional cues that are commonly associated with excitement. Please remember that these bottom-feeders are rotten to the inner-core. The scumbag is essentially a person whose soul is a fart. Like the dragon who steals the princess and the gold, the scumbag will do anything to acquire and then protect things that they have virtually no use for. Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: There is a war between jazz and punk. People say that there are approximately 22 million jazz songs in the world, but as of 2010, it is considered fact that there are 23 million punk songs! So the crust punks say that the jazz songs are easier to write because the jazzers just make them up on the spot. But the jazzbos will quickly retort that the punk songs take no skill or talent to write. Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: My uncle Grahame drives a tour bus. He sleeps for five hours most nights. He never lets me take girls on the bus because he misses the old days when the drivers got more blowjobs than the band. Yesterday when I was on mushrooms, he came into the dressing room and I thought he was a cop. There came a time when we needed to take drugs across the Italian border. We kept the drugs in a jar of salsa, and the dogs couldn’t find it. It’s true that people don’t even know what tour buses are, so drivers are known as “road warriors” and it’s a secret society. The drivers are all comrades and Grahame even thinks that he has gypsy blood (i.e., he eats hedgehogs).
My Uncle Grahame’s Recipe For Hedgehogs
Bang the hedgehog on the head with a hammer
Cover it in mud like a soccer ball
Put a few rocks around it and set it on fire
Bake it until the mud is completely dry
Bang it off on a tree (the quills and fleas should come off with the mud)
Eat it. Enjoy.
Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Green: Firstly, I feel indifferent about the government, so you can imagine that I was surprised when Freedom Williams called out of the blue saying Obama wants to get me on the horn! Me and the government have had very little dialogue for the past few weeks, but still I am thankful that I don’t live in England, because their government is far worse than ours. God created America, I believe, in hopes that we could solve the drug problem. But I find it’s a hard issue to tackle when I’m constantly touring. I called Obama last month, and I said, “Why is President’s Day a national holiday when people don’t even get the day off work when they’re actually supposed to vote for the prez?” And he said, “Because the American government is imperialist toward its own people.” So then he fired off a list of pro-rated salaries, saying he gets paid so little for doing his job as president; for example, if he worked at a Boston Market in Honduras, he’d make half as much, but the quality of life there is better, he said. He said that the amount he got paid for being the prez was unconscionable. Video after the jump.
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New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit when Michael Cera and Ellen Page sang “Anyone Else But You” in 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics (“Jessica,” for example, is a particularly scathing number about Jessica Simpson) while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house (dubbed the Lake Room) in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of Green. Despite currently being on tour in support of the new record, Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week.
“What Makes Him Act So Bad” (download):
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“Castles And Tassels” (download):
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When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: I met Heligoats mainman Chris Otepka a long time ago when he was still just a fetus. I could almost make out fingernails, eyelashes and a vestigial tail tucked between two wobbly knees. So now that he’s mostly fully formed, we’ve taken to driving around doing pre-show afterbirth parties in honor of our mutual rising-ups. Oh yeah, and kind regards to Dan Efram. Video after the jump.
“Fish Sticks” (download):
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When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: My friend Mason from Nashville’s own Ole Mossy Face turned me on to this record. I love Kyle Field’s words, like a less fussy Will Oldham, so natural and loose. It’s like the other day when I was changing my baby girl’s diaper, a little speck rolled out, which I naturally assumed was baby poop, but instead turned out to be a ladybug.
“Fall Flood”:
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When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: I find it intense to think that only after we are gone from this earth does it return to the Garden of Eden. The earth is truly a living, breathing thing, and we are just parasites, consuming. Like a slightly larger version of the microscopic creatures that live off our dead skin and sweat, such are we upon this earth and now she’s running a fever so’s to hopefully kill us off already. And according to The World Without Us by Alan Weisman, how wonderfully relieved she will be once that’s done. Really, I find it all very exciting and beautiful, but no one ever wants to get into it with me at parties, so I keep it to myself. God bless us, everyone. Video after the jump.
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When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: I don’t think it gets any better than Nina Simone, and they truly don’t write songs like this anymore. Nowadays, the culture at large promotes self-empowerment and self-actualization, but I much prefer a song like this that comes from a more helpless and vulnerable place. A women’s studies major might take offense at this song, but to me it feels closer to some fundamental human truth. And it could just as well be a man singing, but not me. Though I couldn’t pull it off, maybe Michael Bublé could do it. Bublé! Video after the jump.
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When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: Every summer, my friend Peter Kayafas rents a car and drives around these United States taking pictures. He has a keen and compassionate eye for the discarded and forgotten things, like an old one-room church covered in kudzu or a declaration of love written out in stones along the highway. I collaborated with him on this book by turning part of a Walt Whitman poem he had given me into a song called “The Open Road.” (A CD of it comes with the book.) Lately, I’ve been much comforted by Whitman’s words: “Henceforth I ask not good fortune, I myself am good fortune. Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing.” Video after the jump.
“The Open Road”:
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When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: There’s a great radio show here on WRVU (Nashville) hosted by a kind-hearted Spaniard named Cowboy Anton. He speaks with the improbable accent of someone born in Spain attempting a Southern drawl and always plays the most exciting and obscure old country music. I first heard this song on his show and was just haunted by it. I always remember Slim Whitman from those old TV commercials that claimed he had sold more records than the Beatles and Elvis combined—or maybe that was Boxcar Willie, I’m not sure. Slim is kind of like a poor man’s Roy Orbison, I suppose, but I just love the steel-guitar solo on this song and the overall message of defiant resignation. Video after the jump.
“Keep It A Secret”:
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When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: It’s good and good for you—and also very good with eggs over easy.
Bean Salad By Eef Barzelay
2 cans of black beans
1 package of frozen corn
3 spring onions chopped
hand full of chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño chopped
10 radishes cut into chunks
1 tablespoon of olive oil
squirt of lime
salt and pepper to taste
Mix it all together, then chill it for a few hours.
When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: I discovered Londoner Matt Dillon and his band Windmill by accident on the MySpace. (Back when MySpace still mattered, shah.) I love his insanely high voice, and the songs just soar. Great words, too: “You screwed me over/Now screw me back in/But I don’t fit.” Also, when I was growing up, I sometimes wished I was Matt Dillon. Video after the jump.
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When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: Lydia Mendoza is sometimes referred to as “The Queen Of Tejano Music.” I just love her voice and her lively de-tuned 12-string guitar. She started performing back in the 1930s with her family and made countless records of mostly traditional Mexican songs. This song was recorded in the 1960s, I think. Maybe it’s because I don’t quite understand the words, but her music scares me, and so I pledge to never betray you, Lydia. Nunca, con todo me Corazon, porque no soy mal hombre.
“Olvidarte Ja Mas”:
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When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: I was a hapless teen going through my changes in suburban New Jersey when I discovered this show. The Young Ones was on MTV of all places, late Sunday night, and it really helped me get through the ’80s, which I did not love. Surreal, absurd and hilariously violent, they would make very British references—that I didn’t get—to things like “the complete memoirs of Donald Sinden.” Also, they always had live music like Motörhead. Video after the jump.
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When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: This is such a wonderfully fucked-up version of this great song. The production is so strange; there’s a bowed bass that sounds like they just forgot to mute it, and then somebody’s creaking around all over the place. Every time I go to make a record, I secretly hope it comes out like Big Star’s Sister Lovers. It was their last record and swings wildly with desperate ambition in the face of substantial public indifference. Read more about Big Star.
“Nature Boy”:
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When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: Jason Glasser and I started Clem Snide together in NYC toward the end of the 20th century. I would write the songs, then he dressed them up ever so sweet and stylish. Unfortunately, he moved to France with his young family around 2003 and was not involved in the band thereafter. He still plays music, but mostly he makes painting and installations, though I especially enjoy his sad and beautiful short films. We lived on Ditmars Boulevard in Queens, N.Y., for a time, back in the day. We ate a lot of olives and listened to field recordings from Papua New Guinea, and whatever he came home with—be it a red snapper, a Sarah Ogan Gunning record or just some broken-off chunk of back-alley flotsam—he always managed to turn it into Art. Video after the jump.
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