October 15, 2009
Today’s blog should be printed out and distributed in journalism classes across the country. If you are a journalism professor or perhaps you are in the editorial department of a major metropolitan newspaper, you have my permission to go to KUFO.com after the show and to copy and distribute this blog to your staff and students. That’s because today we’re talking about the sorry state of the interview, especially as it pertains to rock stars. I have two examples. One is something you should avoid and one, while a little staid and boring, provided interesting results.
Example 1:
Dave Mustaine was interviewed by Terrorizer Magazine in the UK and was asked the question, “Is Megadeth’s “Endgame” better than Metallica’s “Death Magnetic?” This is a terrible question. It’s like me asking who you love more, your mom or Jeffrey Dahmer while your mom is sitting next to you. Even if the answer was Dahmer, you’re going to say “mom” because she’s sitting right there. Mustaine is promoting a record, a record that he presumably likes quite a bit or at least one that he likes more than the one just put out by his former band mates. And even if he did think “Death Magnetic was better, he’s say “Endgame” because he wants you to go buy it. Regardless, Mustaine said,
“To me, one sounds like a record and the other sounds like a jam. Plus we have two lead guitar players. In Metallica you’ve got one and he ripped me off anyway. I used to have this thing that I was secretly pining over one day, getting up there and playing with them again. And I’m thinking, what song would I play? And how could I even stand it? I like playing with guys who can keep time.” Granted you got him to slam Lars and Kirk, but he’d do that without prompting. It’s like throwing a rock at a bee hive and expecting everyone to applaud when the bees start to swarm. Well yeah, what did you think was going to happen? It’s a wasted, obvious question. Try harder.
Example 2:
Now mind you, this isn’t exactly what I would call great journalism, but it resulted in a scoop and, more importantly it was intended to pull the artist outside his comfort zone. Buzznet just interviewed Rivers Cuomo and at one point did the whole free-association thing where they say a word or name and Rivers is supposed to blurt out the first thing that pops into his head. Again, this little crutch has been around for a long time, made famous by Barbara Walters and often results in bring answers, but, depending on what you throw at them, it can result in some good stuff. For instance, when this interviewer said, Katy Perry” Rivers said, “We’re writing together next week. Can’t wait!” Yes, Rivers Cuomo and the chick who looks like a slutty version of Zooey Dechanel are going to write poppy, hooky, quirky songs together and it will probably be great because Rivers has been writing pop songs for years and Katy has gigantic boobs so she automatically gets my stamp of approval. The music they write will be on her next record, not Weezer’s but if it works who knows what will happen in the future. And speaking of Weezer’s next record, the band’s iTunes Pass launched yesterday at the iTunes Music Store. Anyone who pays $19.99 will get weekly installments of new Weezer material between now and November 24, starting with the band’s cover of the Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go”. You also get the deluxe version of Raditude, as well as bonus tracks, live recordings, remixes, behind-the-scenes footage, and the video for “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To”. But that’s not all!!! According to Pitchfork.com, you can now pre-order the Wuggie on weezer.com. What’s the Wuggie? Why it’s a Weezer-branded Snuggie!