Do we LEARN anything from McCartney interviews anymore?
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We diehard fans probably have a plethora of questions that we'd ask Paul if we had the awesome opportunity to do so. These days -- whenever I watch profiles or read interviews with Paul -- it seems like the same periods continually get overlooked -- the '80s and '90s, thorough discussions of his solo albums (other than the promotional press-rounds), Wings, setlists, the Costello collaborations... Granted, there's always the occasional anecdote that I hadn't heard before -- usually Beatle-related -- but are we really learning anything anymore from McCartney interviews? What are some of the better interviews you guys have read/seen?
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I've learned that Paul was in a group called the Beatles, who apparently were quite a good band from what he says, that apparently he tried pot once or twice, that he plays live shows every once in a while, and that...well, that's about it from interviews from the past 10 years.
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audi:
We diehard fans probably have a plethora of questions that we'd ask Paul if we had the awesome opportunity to do so. These days -- whenever I watch profiles or read interviews with Paul -- it seems like the same periods continually get overlooked -- the '80s and '90s, thorough discussions of his solo albums (other than the promotional press-rounds), Wings, setlists, the Costello collaborations... Granted, there's always the occasional anecdote that I hadn't heard before -- usually Beatle-related -- but are we really learning anything anymore from McCartney interviews? What are some of the better interviews you guys have read/seen?
Years ago McCartney did interview with Rolling Stone magazine and I believe it was almost 100% about the making of CHAOS with Nigel.
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yankeefan7:
audi:
We diehard fans probably have a plethora of questions that we'd ask Paul if we had the awesome opportunity to do so. These days -- whenever I watch profiles or read interviews with Paul -- it seems like the same periods continually get overlooked -- the '80s and '90s, thorough discussions of his solo albums (other than the promotional press-rounds), Wings, setlists, the Costello collaborations... Granted, there's always the occasional anecdote that I hadn't heard before -- usually Beatle-related -- but are we really learning anything anymore from McCartney interviews? What are some of the better interviews you guys have read/seen?
Years ago McCartney did interview with Rolling Stone magazine and I believe it was almost 100% about the making of CHAOS with Nigel.
audi:
... it seems like the same periods continually get overlooked ... thorough discussions of his solo albums (other than the promotional press-rounds)...
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The more "enlightening" ones I've ever seen were from mags like Musician (when it still existed) and Guitar Player - I still have them laying around the house and will reread them every so often. Actual musician talk, which is what makes it nice. A quick Google dug up a copy the GP interview if you're interested (and haven't already seen it): http://www.macca-central.com/macca-archives/guitarplayer.htm But as you say, Audi - we don't get many like that anymore.
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Yes, I found that new David Frost interview really irritating. One interview I did enjoy reading recently was from back in 1982, where he's quite frank and open about quite a lot of stuff: http://willybrauch.de/In_Their_Own_Words/mccartney1982_01.htm
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Holly Days:
The more "enlightening" ones I've ever seen were from mags like Musician (when it still existed) and Guitar Player - I still have them laying around the house and will reread them every so often. Actual musician talk, which is what makes it nice. A quick Google dug up a copy the GP interview if you're interested (and haven't already seen it): http://www.macca-central.com/macca-archives/guitarplayer.htm But as you say, Audi - we don't get many like that anymore.
Favorite parts: "Q. When did you get a 5-string bass? A. I was doing some jams in London that eventually turned into the Russian album, and one of the people who kind of volunteered to come along was Trevor Horn, the producer. I didn't know it, but it turned out that he'd been a bass player; I just knew his work as a producer. So he showed up with a Wal 5-string, and I just loved the extra string, the extra depth I'd been noticing on some records. I went to see Peter Gabriel, and there was always that [makes a low growling sound] somewhere in the show, and I was wondering where they were getting it from. Half the time it was the synths. But I noticed bass players getting that noise, and when Trevor showed up with the Wal, I said, "Oh, I like those." In fact, Linda bought it for me for my birthday. Q. Did you use it on "Figure Of Eight"? A. Yeah. And there's a real low bass on "Rough Ride." It's doubled with synth. "We Got Married" is nice and low, too, and in the show it kind of shakes your booty. Q. What about "My Brave Face"? A. That's the Hofner. Q. How does it feel to switch back to the Hofner after playing the Wal? A. I think it's great..." ____________________________________________ "A. ... But I don't necessarily want the bass to stick out more than anything else on the record. I want it to be probably about third on the record: Voices should be first; guitars and drums should be second; and then you should kind of get a feel of the bass. Q. But on a number like "Silly Love Songs," the bass is louder than anything. A. Now, that is the opposite of what I just said, because that is the bass in your face. And that was really just because we were making a dance record on purpose. I had been accused around that time of singing too much about love. I said, "Hey, wait a minute! It's the best thing!" Love definitely beats hate, and it's definitely kind of cool, at least in my book. But it can be perceived as sort of soppy. So I wrote this song, and asked, "What's wrong with silly love songs?" I wrote it out on holiday in Hawaii; I just had piano and chords, and I then wanted to have a melody on bass. We really pushed the bass and drums right out front. But it drove the song along quite nicely. Pushed it hard. We wanted to make something you could dance to, so you had to. ..." ____________________________________________ "...Q. You played with Carl Perkins on "Get It." How did you two get together? A. I rang him up, and he was in the States playing clubs. We met him in the very early days with the Beatles, and he was a good old friend, such a down-home boy. I love Carl-he's so great. I'll tell you a story about Carl; I don't think he'd mind me telling this. We were recording in Montserrat, and a musician friend was sailing around the world on a yacht-a bit of a tax dodge, I think [laughs], and he sailed into Montserrat and came to see us. He invited us to his boat. There was this British naval crew piping us aboard this spotless yacht. Carl was really impressed with the buffet and the champagne, and the way it was all laid out. He came over to me and said. "Paul, where I come from they call this shittin' in high cotton." It's one of my favorite expressions. After that, we recorded "Get It," and at the end both of us are laughing, and that's the joke we're laughing at. We had to cut it, because otherwise we'd have never gotten it played on the radio. ..."
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audi:
Holly Days:
The more "enlightening" ones I've ever seen were from mags like Musician (when it still existed) and Guitar Player - I still have them laying around the house and will reread them every so often. Actual musician talk, which is what makes it nice. A quick Google dug up a copy the GP interview if you're interested (and haven't already seen it): http://www.macca-central.com/macca-archives/guitarplayer.htm But as you say, Audi - we don't get many like that anymore.
Favorite parts: "Q. When did you get a 5-string bass? A. I was doing some jams in London that eventually turned into the Russian album, and one of the people who kind of volunteered to come along was Trevor Horn, the producer. I didn't know it, but it turned out that he'd been a bass player; I just knew his work as a producer. So he showed up with a Wal 5-string, and I just loved the extra string, the extra depth I'd been noticing on some records. I went to see Peter Gabriel, and there was always that [makes a low growling sound] somewhere in the show, and I was wondering where they were getting it from. Half the time it was the synths. But I noticed bass players getting that noise, and when Trevor showed up with the Wal, I said, "Oh, I like those." In fact, Linda bought it for me for my birthday. Q. Did you use it on "Figure Of Eight"? A. Yeah. And there's a real low bass on "Rough Ride." It's doubled with synth. "We Got Married" is nice and low, too, and in the show it kind of shakes your booty. Q. What about "My Brave Face"? A. That's the Hofner. Q. How does it feel to switch back to the Hofner after playing the Wal? A. I think it's great..." ____________________________________________ "A. ... But I don't necessarily want the bass to stick out more than anything else on the record. I want it to be probably about third on the record: Voices should be first; guitars and drums should be second; and then you should kind of get a feel of the bass. Q. But on a number like "Silly Love Songs," the bass is louder than anything. A. Now, that is the opposite of what I just said, because that is the bass in your face. And that was really just because we were making a dance record on purpose. I had been accused around that time of singing too much about love. I said, "Hey, wait a minute! It's the best thing!" Love definitely beats hate, and it's definitely kind of cool, at least in my book. But it can be perceived as sort of soppy. So I wrote this song, and asked, "What's wrong with silly love songs?" I wrote it out on holiday in Hawaii; I just had piano and chords, and I then wanted to have a melody on bass. We really pushed the bass and drums right out front. But it drove the song along quite nicely. Pushed it hard. We wanted to make something you could dance to, so you had to. ..." ____________________________________________ "...Q. You played with Carl Perkins on "Get It." How did you two get together? A. I rang him up, and he was in the States playing clubs. We met him in the very early days with the Beatles, and he was a good old friend, such a down-home boy. I love Carl-he's so great. I'll tell you a story about Carl; I don't think he'd mind me telling this. We were recording in Montserrat, and a musician friend was sailing around the world on a yacht-a bit of a tax dodge, I think [laughs], and he sailed into Montserrat and came to see us. He invited us to his boat. There was this British naval crew piping us aboard this spotless yacht. Carl was really impressed with the buffet and the champagne, and the way it was all laid out. He came over to me and said. "Paul, where I come from they call this shittin' in high cotton." It's one of my favorite expressions. After that, we recorded "Get It," and at the end both of us are laughing, and that's the joke we're laughing at. We had to cut it, because otherwise we'd have never gotten it played on the radio. ..."
Now this is so much better than the "normal" McCartney interview.
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illwobble:
Yes, I found that new David Frost interview really irritating. One interview I did enjoy reading recently was from back in 1982, where he's quite frank and open about quite a lot of stuff: http://willybrauch.de/In_Their_Own_Words/mccartney1982_01.htm
Which begs the question, is it the fault of people who interview McCartney or is it he places too many restrictions on what he can be asked. I understand the personal stuff like his divorce being off limits.
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illwobble:
Yes, I found that new David Frost interview really irritating. One interview I did enjoy reading recently was from back in 1982, where he's quite frank and open about quite a lot of stuff: http://willybrauch.de/In_Their_Own_Words/mccartney1982_01.htm
Hmmm... even then, he wasn't ready to say, once and for all, that Wings was permanently over and done. Otherwise, he is quite direct in this interview.
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yankeefan7:
Now this is so much better than the "normal" McCartney interview.
Isn't it? Certainly one of the best, which is why I still think of it so fondly after 22 (gawp!) years.
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Holly Days:
yankeefan7:
Now this is so much better than the "normal" McCartney interview.
Isn't it? Certainly one of the best, which is why I still think of it so fondly after 22 (gawp!) years.
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walliebaby:
I've learned that Paul was in a group called the Beatles,.....
Tried to google it, and apparently it's German slang for p*n*s
strange name for a group. 
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Short answer: No. Long answer: It depends on the publication. It's pretty much pointless to read his interviews with a mainstream publication. His answers are all canned and rehashed Beatles stories -- i.e., boring. The only decent interviews with Paul are the Q&A's he's done with alternative magazines: 1. Pitchfork: On Ram http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/8854-paul-mccartney 2. Drowned in Sound: On Ram * Part 1: http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4145012-paul-mccartney-discusses-songwriting-and-ram-with-mansuns-paul-draper * Part 2: http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4145016-paul-mccartney-discusses-his-inspirations-guitars-and-ram-with-mansuns-paul-draper-part-2 3. AV Club: On Memory Almost Full http://www.avclub.com/articles/paul-mccartney,14120 4. The Quietus: Check His Machine * http://thequietus.com/articles/06417-paul-mccartney-interview * http://thequietus.com/articles/06426-paul-mccartney-interview-2 5. LA Weekly: A Fireman Inteviewed http://www.laweekly.com/2009-01-15/music/paul-mccartney-the-kristine-mckenna-interview/ 6. His NPR interview about KOTB is pretty good, too, but he drifts off sometimes into mentioning songwriting with John (again). And all of those interviews have focused on his solo reissues or solo work. When he goes into Beatles mode, as he does in some of those interviews, those journalists brought him back to the subject. It must be an insecurity thing; it's like he thinks he has to, for some reason, like they don't want to hear what he has to say on his own so he feels he has to play the Beatles card. On the other hand, I kinda wish he'd STOP giving any and all interviews for a good long while. After a bad summer, it feels once again like he's way overexposed -- the interviews he just did in advance of the Live Kisses show in the UK, the Hillsborough single, The Dandy comic, the letters he just sent this week to the UN on Meat Free Monday that are getting press attention today, the big 12/12/12 concert next week, then Saturday Night Live. It's too much. Why does he feel he has to be everywhere all the time? Just take a breath, Paul. And, I don't know, record some new music for a change. He doesn't seem to realize that LESS IS MORE sometimes, and that people get irritated by too much publicity like this. But then I suppose that "less is more" has never described our Paul.
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Michelley:
... 3. AV Club: On Memory Almost Full http://www.avclub.com/articles/paul-mccartney,14120 ... And all of those interviews have focused on his solo reissues or solo work. When he goes into Beatles mode, as he does in some of those interviews, those journalists brought him back to the subject. It must be an insecurity thing; it's like he thinks he has to, for some reason, like they don't want to hear what he has to say on his own so he feels he has to play the Beatles card...
I agree with your point for sure. A cool portion from the link, above: "AVC: Are there any songs of yours that you think deserved to be bigger than they were? PM: There's quite a few, actually. I like? There's one called "Daytime Nighttime Suffering," which I think's really cool. One called "Waterfalls," I think is nice. In fact, somebody had a hit, a few years ago, using the first line, "Don't go jumping waterfalls / Please stick to the lake?" And then they go off into another song. It's like, "Excuse me?" AVC: TLC ripped off Paul McCartney? I had no idea! PM: I think so. AVC: When one of your songs comes on the radio, what do you do? Sing along? Turn it off? PM: I listen. It's just a great feeling, man. I mean, it's like you're a kid again. In fact, it happened just the other day. I was in London, and "Dance Tonight," the lead track of the new album, came on, and I rolled down the windows and almost started shouting at this lady, "Hey! That's me! On the radio!" I resisted, but I wanted to. I thought she might think I was being a bit stupid. But I very nearly did it. That's still the feeling I get. AVC: You still get that charge? PM: Why not, man? Yeah, it's great. "They're playing it on the radio!" We love the radio."
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audi:
Michelley:
... 3. AV Club: On Memory Almost Full http://www.avclub.com/articles/paul-mccartney,14120 ... And all of those interviews have focused on his solo reissues or solo work. When he goes into Beatles mode, as he does in some of those interviews, those journalists brought him back to the subject. It must be an insecurity thing; it's like he thinks he has to, for some reason, like they don't want to hear what he has to say on his own so he feels he has to play the Beatles card...
I agree with your point for sure. A cool portion from the link, above: "AVC: Are there any songs of yours that you think deserved to be bigger than they were? PM: There's quite a few, actually. I like? There's one called "Daytime Nighttime Suffering," which I think's really cool. One called "Waterfalls," I think is nice. In fact, somebody had a hit, a few years ago, using the first line, "Don't go jumping waterfalls / Please stick to the lake?" And then they go off into another song. It's like, "Excuse me?" AVC: TLC ripped off Paul McCartney? I had no idea! PM: I think so. AVC: When one of your songs comes on the radio, what do you do? Sing along? Turn it off? PM: I listen. It's just a great feeling, man. I mean, it's like you're a kid again. In fact, it happened just the other day. I was in London, and "Dance Tonight," the lead track of the new album, came on, and I rolled down the windows and almost started shouting at this lady, "Hey! That's me! On the radio!" I resisted, but I wanted to. I thought she might think I was being a bit stupid. But I very nearly did it. That's still the feeling I get. AVC: You still get that charge? PM: Why not, man? Yeah, it's great. "They're playing it on the radio!" We love the radio."
Although r&b girl-group TLC did have a huge hit called "Waterfalls," I think the interviewer mentioned them in error. I think Paul might've been talking about another artist who ripped off the first line. TLC's doesn't have a line about the "lake."
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Michelley:
... 5. LA Weekly: A Fireman Inteviewed http://www.laweekly.com/2009-01-15/music/paul-mccartney-the-kristine-mckenna-interview/ ...
When it comes to The Fireman, Paul absolutely can do no wrong.
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audi:
Michelley:
... 5. LA Weekly: A Fireman Inteviewed http://www.laweekly.com/2009-01-15/music/paul-mccartney-the-kristine-mckenna-interview/ ...
When it comes to The Fireman, Paul absolutely can do no wrong.
Yep, this is the Paul I admire most these days. Not Paul trying to live up to the The Legend -- but Paul being an artist creating something new.
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Michelley:
On the other hand, I kinda wish he'd STOP giving any and all interviews for a good long while. After a bad summer, it feels once again like he's way overexposed -- the interviews he just did in advance of the Live Kisses show in the UK, the Hillsborough single, The Dandy comic, the letters he just sent this week to the UN on Meat Free Monday that are getting press attention today, the big 12/12/12 concert next week, then Saturday Night Live. It's too much. Why does he feel he has to be everywhere all the time? Just take a breath, Paul. And, I don't know, record some new music for a change. He doesn't seem to realize that LESS IS MORE sometimes, and that people get irritated by too much publicity like this. But then I suppose that "less is more" has never described our Paul.
Totally agree. Paul's over-exposure is killing his reputation with the general public. I've noticed a real swing against him this year among the people I work with, simply because he's in their faces ALL the time -- invariably embarassing himself. I remember when I became a fan in the mid-80s, a Paul interview or TV appearance was a real rarity, and as such was an "event" -- generating magazine front covers and high TV ratings. But now it's just, "jeez, not McCartney AGAIN!" Even I feel a bit like that, and I'm a devoted fan. There was a time I would devour every single word in his interviews and religiously record all his TV and radio appearances, sometimes going to absurd lengths to do so. But now, as often as not, I give them a miss or quickly skim through them, because he hardly ever says anything interesting or new any more - it's all Beatles, Beatles, Beatlezzzzzzzzzzz. And we can blame the interviewers partly for that, but Paul is fully complicit in this approach.
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Granted, daytime tv is inherently "lite," but I still roll my eyes when I hear Ellen Degeneres ask Paul: "How did you meet John Lennon"?
