Sound Off Interview
 

I've got to give my man (if CAH will let me borrow him) credit. With very little prompting, he can work all of his speeches into a single interview, with rapid fire speed. All the host was saying was things like, "you're great, talk to me about that" and Lindsey would start rattling off compartmental-survival mode-Warner Bros. execs listening to Tusk for the first time phrases out of nowhere, making sure not to leave any out.

The things that stood out for me were:

1. When asked to talk about Fritz, he said that he played bass. Stevie wasn't really a lead singer so much in the band, just a vocalist. The keyboardist wrote all of the songs. Then he said that he and Stevie were not romantically involved at the time. They were just friends. Well . . . that's nice, but no one had even asked him!

2. When he inherited the money and bought music equipment with it, he said although it wasn't a large amount it also put him and Stevie in a position to not have to work, "for awhile." So, the way he said "for a while" with emphasis made it clear that the money didn't last them forever, but if you listen to Stevie, you'd think they never had any income at all except what she earned with her little hands. He brought money to the table when they started and at the end when he went on tour.

3. Instead of saying the "package deal" thing, he says that he told the band that they would have to take "my girlfriend" then he sort of cocked his head to the camera and smiled. The interviewer said that turned out to be a good idea and he agreed.

4. The interviewer said that Rhiannon was the first big hit off of the White album. I wouldn't necessarily agree. Lindsey didn't deny it. Hey, that stuff can be like a circus wheel. It changes all of the time. Sometimes, I can't help but feel that I'm wasting all of my time.

5. The interviewer said he loved Go Insane. Lindsey replied, "I do too." The interviewer indicated that GI was about his seven year relationship with CAH. Lindsey actually turned it around and made it sound like GI was about Stevie. Said breaking up with her, not getting away from her, compartmentalizing, walling up, having to produce her music which only helped her get farther away . . . He said GI was about all of that. I don't necessarily buy that. Like CAH, I do think most of it is about her, but I think it's interesting that Lindsey would spin it now.

6. Says he doesn't know if Gift of Screws was going to be the name of his solo album. He said that was a title, but some people didn't like it.

7. Interviewer asked if he started playing on a toy guitar and he said that he did, but after a year his parents bought him a three chord guitar. He listened to his parents music, because that was all they had in the house: adult music. But when his brother brought home Elvis, Patty Page went out the window. Said that they had a normal, Donna Reed household on the outside, then he'd go into his brother's room, play rock and that was what was going on behind closed doors, "under the skin."

The interviewer asked a lot of questions based on things he'd already read about Lindsey and just asked Lindsey to talk about that, rather than asking anything new. He'd tell Lindsey things about himself like, "You're a big fan of Laurie Anderson." And Lindsey would just nod sagely. If the guy had said, "You're a God!" Lindsey would have nodded and said, "hmm hmmm."

Michele

When was this interview?

It came on right before the HDnet concert tonight. I don't know when the interview was taped. It might have been done in January at the time of the concert. I'm unsure.

Michele

Great run-down of the interview. I laughed everytime he said: "left palette." haha

I'm especially glad you caught the "under the skin" line AND most significantly, the way he spun that question about CAH/Go Insane. When the question was asked: I gasped. . . I couldn't wait to see what he'd say; given the release of the book (I assume the interview was recent). And then it was all about Stevie. I literally felt like I had missed something in my shock over the question even being asked. That was INTENSE.

The other interesting aspect of the interview was the way the interviewer kinda skoffed at "Say You Will" (the title of which I don't think was ever mentioned, by the way) and Lindsey defended the album as being what he wanted it to be as a group album (rather than the solo album) and his usual thing about being part of a band (left-palette, right-palette), but I was disappointed that he didn't say: that album is great and everyone should buy it. :(

I guess Lindsey has compartmentalized CAH right out of his memory. If the interview was done at about the same time as the concert, maybe it was before the book came out. I guess it doesn't really matter. FM has known about the book for a long time now, so even if the interview was done in January, it could have been on Lindsey's mind when he answered the question. In fact, in his last Q & A when John talked about some of the lies that had been circulating about the band, I wondered if he was alluding to the book. Really, I can't think of any other negative comments being made about FM at all recently, to which John could have been referring.

Lindsey gave Keith some nice props.

I also like it when he corrected the interviewer as to where Rumours was recorded. He said that they went to the "exotic" Sausalito for that and added that their minds were probably exotic around that time as well.


Michele

I never thought Go Insane was about CAH. I felt he was talking about Stevie when the song was brand new and I would listen to it all the time. At the end of the song he sings(repeats) several times, "phony musician."

Oh no. Did we get another painting analogy? Cramming feelings into one corner of the room? Is his faith in cycles still intact? Sounds like I can skip the interview. :cool:

It looks like someone has shaken Lindsey's faith in cycles. He didn't mention those:laugh:

The interviewer was telling him that he's a great lyricist (well, thanks for noticing!) and said that his words were simplistic, but meaningful and he recited, "two kinds of people in this world, winners, losers . . . two kinds of trouble in this world. . ."

A non-rote thing that Lindsey said was that his lyrics were not romantic because he doesn't think his approach to life is particularly romantic. Actually though, I would disagree with him. I think some of his lyrics are romantic, have the idealism of romance. Even the way he interprets a song like Peacekeeper (which is not the way I hear the song) is romantic, in the sense that if you work together and persevere through adversity, you will prevail in life and in love.

Michele

For the line, "she's a lot like you" I thought it could go either way. I thought it could be about Cheri and Carol or about Stevie and Carol.

Michele

I'm sorry but I never hear him say "phony musician" at the end of that song(or in any part). I think you might be referring to the end of the song when he layers three vocals to the fade out. I believe he is only saying, "Go, Go" in the highest voice, "Go-ing Insane" next, and the lowest voice says"Go Insane" for the third vocal layer. I think it's funny how everyone hears something different in this when that's all there is to it. Someone should ask him a question about the lyrics at the end of the song. I"m sure he'd agree with what I stated. Sending the question on...

I don't think it would occur to Lindsey to call Stevie any kind of musician. "Phony magician," perhaps. Hmmm. In a heartbroken, drunken stupor maybe he thought to himself, "Just because she wears a top hat, that don't make her a magician!"
Michele

Yes. Certainly not in the way that Stevie works, by romanticizing the romanticism, like Lindsey once pointed out. And not even Stevie writes songs like Because You Loved Me, which is the other side of the romance coin, the fluffy side. I think Lindsey views his songs as more realistic and down to earth, whereas Stevie's songs, though taken from real life also, always have to have that extra dramatic pitch and are often layered with nice things to make them more hopeful and ~magickal~. A good example is Planets of the Universe, which she changed the words to because the original song was too harsh. That's something I think Lindsey would never do.

Absolutely. "Don't be afraid, love is the sweet surprise." and "All of our friends are God, and they all tell us how to paint our face. But there's only one brush we need, it's the one that never leaves a trace."

It also reminds me of his cover of Love Minus Zero/No Limit. I adore the speech he gave right before he performed it has AHI 2001, because I 100% agree. It's a song where the romance isn't laid on thickly, but if you look at the words, it's one of the most romantic songs ever.

Seeing how he probably worked on GI mostly throughout 1983, it's too early for it to have anything to do with Cheri. She didn't come into the picture until late 1984, after the release of the album.

I thought that was interesting too. He is totally spinning that, because in the liner notes for Go Insane it says "for Carol Ann." That album is about her and their ending relationship. My guess is after the release of CAH's book he is totally pissed at her, and he doesn't want to give her any press at all, JMHO.

Would everyone go and listen to the end of the song in head phones please. He never sings about a phony anything. If you hear this, please tell us the exact time in the song in which he does so. I've already sent this question on to Lindsey but I hope for the sake of other better questions he skips it cause to me there's no controversy over what he's saying.

I hear the same as you "Go, Go" "Going Insane" and "Go Insane". To be honest, I'd never listened for words in that part. I always just thought of it as his wordless stuff like the start of Eyes of the World. Now that you've pointed that out to me I think I like this song even more. :]