Thank you, New Noise, for publishing a video I’ve wanted to create for a while: “The Newlywed Game,” as played by rock-music spouses or significant others. Watch the husband and wife duo of 37 Houses take part in our inaugural edition of what we hope will be an ongoing series. Artist interviews are sorely in need of more levity these days, amirite?
Catch 37 Houses perform at Prototype on Mar. 15 in Paterson, NJ; and at Pete’s Candy Store in Brooklyn, NY, on the following day.
A funny thing happened when Robyn Hitchcock released his 12th studio album, Jewels for Sophia, in July 1999 and toured behind it: Quizzically, he decided to devote one of its songs to actor Gene Hackman, whose previously ubiquitous appearances in gritty crime capers from yesteryears had inexplicably slowed to a trickle.
Hitchcock latched onto Hackman’s fading presence like a mesmerizing curio one might find in an antique store, haunting him to the extent that he felt compelled to address it in song. (Hackman passed away this month at age 95, according to news reports from today, hence this homage of sorts.)
The lyrics to “Don’t Talk to Me About Gene Hackman,” which was unlisted on Jewels for Sophia, went like this:
I’ll have a warm bath I’ll have a bottle of wine I’ll put myself to bed And I’ll feel just fine But don’t talk to me about Gene Hackman
He’s got an evil grin He’s got curly hair And every time he smiles It means trouble somewhere So don’t talk to me about Gene Hackman
He’s in every film Sometimes wearing a towel And if it isn’t him You get Andie MacDowell So don’t talk to me about Gene Hackman
Don’t talk to me at all Don’t say hello You could be Gene himself for all I know
In Unforgiven He was totally mean But when he got his I really felt for Gene But don’t talk to me about Gene Hackman
I’ll have a cold shower I’ll have a bottle of pop I’ll get a dog named Laszlo From a Laszlo shop But don’t talk to me about G-E-N-E H-A-C-K-M-A-N Gene Hackman
Some fans regarded the song as Hitchcock at his quirkiest, while others dismissed it as irritating British wit. But in one of the first interviews I ever conducted, in the same year as Jewels for Sophia reached the CD bins at record stores, Hitchcock elucidated his train of thought while writing “Don’t Talk to Me About Gene Hackman.”
Here is an excerpt from my feature on Hitchcock for my old magazine The Creature; the full interview isn’t online yet:
“When asked why [Hitchcock] chose [to focus on] Hackman [in song], Hitchcock says, ‘Who knows? He appears to be in almost every film. I could’ve sung [about] Michael Caine, but it was more fun singing [about] Gene Hackman. I hope he doesn’t have me rubbed out or anything. I gather he’s quite genial. Have you seen the film Unforgiven?’ “
RIP Gene Hackman. Long live Robyn Hitchcock (who is 71, for those keeping score at home). And for that matter, long live 91-year-old Michael Caine too.
Well guys, here it is: The very best of the 29 installments of my Pet Sounds series for New Noise thus far. Cattle Decapitation’s vocalist revealing that his love for animals often brings him to tears? Doesn’t get better than this, metalheads. Thanks to Travis, Justin and New Noise!
Fifty bucks to anyone with the balls to tell these Seattle-bred, doom/sludge obsessives that they’re wrong. Read the full piece on New Noise‘s website.
Seattle stalwarts The Unfit occupy a distinct place in their home city. While it’s largely responsible for spawning the punk-rock sound that defines the band, the quartet are all but divorced from any music “scene” the city has—if it still has one at all. On Friday, The Unfit release their Disconnected LP, which collates four previous releases into one nifty, 10-song item. New Noise recently chatted with the sheepish, good-hearted frontman for the band, vocalist Jake Knuth, about what makes The Unfit so anomalous that they couldn’t have landed on a more apt moniker. Read the feature story here.
Spy frontman Peter Pawlak introduces us to Seen Enough, the Bay Area hardcore-punks’ debut EP for Closed Casket Activities and first collaboration with producer Jack Shirley. Read my feature on the red-hot band via FLOOD.
As part of The Bad Penny‘s new series called On Tyranny and focusing on how artists deal with living under authoritarian regimes, we’re dusting off an interview with Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe conducted on December 23, 2007.
At the time, Blythe—known more as a deviant class clown than a philosopher—was one of the only vocalists in metal or punk screaming unabashedly about the Gulf war and the crimes of George W. Bush.
Check out the prescient words of one of metal’s greatest frontman in this interview, originally published in unparalleled graphic novel/ rock magazine Royal Flush and now presented online for the first time.
In one of the first editions of a new FLOOD series explanatorily called “5 Questions,” Julia Kugel of Julia & the Squeezettes and The Coathangers reveals what fills her heart more than anything else: music instruction for kids. Read the full story here.
My Pet Sounds series on New Noise returns with a helluva comeback, showcasing one of the mag’s favorite bands (lovable legacy punks The Dollyrots) and their makeshift Noah’s Ark with chickens, two cats, a dog and three ghost shrimp. Read the full story here.
With the U.S. now unquestionably (pun intended) operating as an autocracy, The Bad Penny is launching a new feature series called On Tyranny, consisting of conversations with artists who are current or former residents of countries ruled by dictators (other than the U.S. and per the nonpartisan World Population Review). After more than a week of reflection, it became apparent that taking action and initiating this modest effort seemed like a healthier idea than giving up and obeying in advance.
On Tyranny, inspired by Timothy Snyder‘s book of the same name, is not intended to foster policy debates but rather facilitate artists who have lived under authoritarian regimes to educate artists who have not. With any luck, maybe some will discover ways to prepare, strategize, cope or simply find a sense of camaraderie as America’s new dictatorial regime targets artists, always one of the first groups to be assailed during times of right-wing political upheaval.
While we assemble our first proper installment of On Tyranny, here are some related articles that might catch your interest in the interim:
The Bad Penny (beta) 