New Interview with Lindsey about Tusk

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

Lindsey was a huge Clash? fan. Even though Rumours was the biggest thing in the world, he insisted that Tusk was going to be 180 degrees different from Rumours. It's not punk, but songs like The Ledge and NTF certainly threw the Rumours listener on their ass.

Definitely. Lindsey’s attitude was punk-adjacent. He was listening a lot to The Clash and Elvis Costello. He was also, like many punk bands, deliberately thumbing his nose at slick studio polish and crass music biz capitalism. However, unlike the punks, Lindsey’s irreverence came from an existential nausea: he was tired of being affiliated with West Coast Rock, didn't want to “compete with Christopher Cross” (from an interview). Like many punks, he adored early rock-n-roll and garage rock, but he also was obsessed with The Beach Boys and elaborate Brian Wilson-style production methods. So half his Tusk songs are zany rock-n-roll parodies; the other are elaborate choral folk tunes. What all of his songs have in common is a decidedly anti-commercial stance and his prioritization of process over product.