Finally answering interview meme...
I asked marasca to interview me for this meme ages ago, and then slipped into my recent non-posting phase. Finally getting around to it.
Here are the rules:
1 -- Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 -- I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 -- You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 -- You'll include this explanation.
5 -- You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.
1. Do you ever miss your lovely long locks?
Sometimes, but mostly not. Although I actually haven't gotten a haircut since you last saw me, which means its getting longish. Although not close to pony-tail long. I really need to get it cut... Mostly I like it shortish, though- it just seems to fit better these days.
2. If you could spend one night at band rehearsal with any band in the world, which one would it be and why?
This was a tough one. Probably The Arcade Fire. Not because they're necessarily the band I'd want to join the most, but because they tour with a huge number of people (I think the core band is 4 people but the touring group is like 10 or 12). I've never seen them live, as one person put it "when the french horn player gets in a fight with the 2nd violinist while the banjo player goes out back to smash his instrument on the ground while the group is playing a song, you know the band's kinda big". (despite this instrumentataion, they are a rock group, not a wierd symphonic outfit). Anyway, they sound like a lot of fun to sit in on because there's just all sorts of stuff going on and many people playing odd little parts. Whereas in a lot of other bands it would be hard to do anything without disturbing the balance.
3. You're exiled from the Bay area. Where do you move to?
Anywhere in the world? Probably Paris. I'd need to learn French, though. I've only been there briefly, but I absolutely loved it. Beautiful city, great shopping, great attitude about when things should be done (we were wandering around at 9:30-10 and everyone was out getting dinner, while even in San Francisco your dinner options start to drop sharply towards 10, and its definitely not the busiest hour). If I stayed in the U.S. (more realistic), I'd move to Manhattan. Its the ultimate urban experience and I'm fascinated by the place.
4. Tell me about a pivotal moment from your past.
Hmm... My recent pivotal moments are well-documented in my LJ already. I guess a past moment was when I realized that I really wanted to move to the San Francisco bay area even though I didn't have any job offers out there. My parents were initially not too thrilled that I wanted to turn down perfectly good job offers elsewhere, but were reasonably quickly convinced that getting a programming job in Silicon Valley in 1997 would probably not be hard :) Partially this was to follow more of my friends. Partially this was to avoid working someplace like Cleveland that I just couldn't see myself doing. And I think partially it was my way of working towards coming out- I figured San Francisco would help me decide if I was really gay or what. Any way I look back on it, it was a good move.
5. I'm already sick of the music I brought with me. What do you recommend I download from iTunes?
In no particular order, here are five suggestions (in keeping with the five interview questions :) Sorry if you actually have all of these already- some of them aren't all that obscure, but I at least checked that none of them are on that mix you made for your class)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "Fever to Tell"
Kind of like the White Stripes in terms of a spare sound (guitar and drums, no bass), but they're more punk and less blues. And with an awesome female vocalist. And a drummer who can really play the drums. The first half of the album is noisy and punkish- the later part is more accessible, and you may have heard "Maps" on the radio. The 5-track self-titled EP is great, too, but not on iTunes.
The Walkmen: "Bows + Arrows"
I'm not sure how to describe these guys. I like them a lot for the texture of their sound- they're primarily a guitar-driven rock band, but they have a keyboardist who plays a wonderfully fuzzy/growly organ sound that really gives it a different feel. Their first album is good, too, but I like this one best, especially the title track (you may have noticed it appearing more than once as the "Music" field on my LJ entries.
The New Pornographers: (any album)
This band is more happy-indie-pop than raw punk, and they're great at it. A bright thick sound with multiple guitars and keyboards and boy/girl vocals. "Mass Romantic" is the first album and contains probably my favorite song of theirs. "Electric Version" is the one I got first after seeing them on that tour. "Twin Cinema" is the latest and has perhaps the most wide-ranging sound- they've started mixing in some more quiet pieces. The last friend I introduce to them got into "Mass Romantic" first.
The Wrens: "The Meadowlands"
This album ranges from wistfully reflective songwriting to Pixies-like alt-punk. The bandmembers have all lived in the same house for more than a decade, and now that they're all turning 40 they suddenly find themselves indie rock darlings. The fact that they're older than most bands producing this kind of sound means their lyrical perspective is a bit different.
The Arcade Fire: "Funereal"
A unique band out of Montreal- you may already know them, as they've been getting a fair amount of airplay since before you left (at least on SF radio). Lyrics in english and french, a sound that's really not describable due to not only an odd instrumentation but an odd mix of styles. It took me a while to get into most of the album but I love it now.
Here are the rules:
1 -- Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 -- I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 -- You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 -- You'll include this explanation.
5 -- You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.
1. Do you ever miss your lovely long locks?
Sometimes, but mostly not. Although I actually haven't gotten a haircut since you last saw me, which means its getting longish. Although not close to pony-tail long. I really need to get it cut... Mostly I like it shortish, though- it just seems to fit better these days.
2. If you could spend one night at band rehearsal with any band in the world, which one would it be and why?
This was a tough one. Probably The Arcade Fire. Not because they're necessarily the band I'd want to join the most, but because they tour with a huge number of people (I think the core band is 4 people but the touring group is like 10 or 12). I've never seen them live, as one person put it "when the french horn player gets in a fight with the 2nd violinist while the banjo player goes out back to smash his instrument on the ground while the group is playing a song, you know the band's kinda big". (despite this instrumentataion, they are a rock group, not a wierd symphonic outfit). Anyway, they sound like a lot of fun to sit in on because there's just all sorts of stuff going on and many people playing odd little parts. Whereas in a lot of other bands it would be hard to do anything without disturbing the balance.
3. You're exiled from the Bay area. Where do you move to?
Anywhere in the world? Probably Paris. I'd need to learn French, though. I've only been there briefly, but I absolutely loved it. Beautiful city, great shopping, great attitude about when things should be done (we were wandering around at 9:30-10 and everyone was out getting dinner, while even in San Francisco your dinner options start to drop sharply towards 10, and its definitely not the busiest hour). If I stayed in the U.S. (more realistic), I'd move to Manhattan. Its the ultimate urban experience and I'm fascinated by the place.
4. Tell me about a pivotal moment from your past.
Hmm... My recent pivotal moments are well-documented in my LJ already. I guess a past moment was when I realized that I really wanted to move to the San Francisco bay area even though I didn't have any job offers out there. My parents were initially not too thrilled that I wanted to turn down perfectly good job offers elsewhere, but were reasonably quickly convinced that getting a programming job in Silicon Valley in 1997 would probably not be hard :) Partially this was to follow more of my friends. Partially this was to avoid working someplace like Cleveland that I just couldn't see myself doing. And I think partially it was my way of working towards coming out- I figured San Francisco would help me decide if I was really gay or what. Any way I look back on it, it was a good move.
5. I'm already sick of the music I brought with me. What do you recommend I download from iTunes?
In no particular order, here are five suggestions (in keeping with the five interview questions :) Sorry if you actually have all of these already- some of them aren't all that obscure, but I at least checked that none of them are on that mix you made for your class)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "Fever to Tell"
Kind of like the White Stripes in terms of a spare sound (guitar and drums, no bass), but they're more punk and less blues. And with an awesome female vocalist. And a drummer who can really play the drums. The first half of the album is noisy and punkish- the later part is more accessible, and you may have heard "Maps" on the radio. The 5-track self-titled EP is great, too, but not on iTunes.
The Walkmen: "Bows + Arrows"
I'm not sure how to describe these guys. I like them a lot for the texture of their sound- they're primarily a guitar-driven rock band, but they have a keyboardist who plays a wonderfully fuzzy/growly organ sound that really gives it a different feel. Their first album is good, too, but I like this one best, especially the title track (you may have noticed it appearing more than once as the "Music" field on my LJ entries.
The New Pornographers: (any album)
This band is more happy-indie-pop than raw punk, and they're great at it. A bright thick sound with multiple guitars and keyboards and boy/girl vocals. "Mass Romantic" is the first album and contains probably my favorite song of theirs. "Electric Version" is the one I got first after seeing them on that tour. "Twin Cinema" is the latest and has perhaps the most wide-ranging sound- they've started mixing in some more quiet pieces. The last friend I introduce to them got into "Mass Romantic" first.
The Wrens: "The Meadowlands"
This album ranges from wistfully reflective songwriting to Pixies-like alt-punk. The bandmembers have all lived in the same house for more than a decade, and now that they're all turning 40 they suddenly find themselves indie rock darlings. The fact that they're older than most bands producing this kind of sound means their lyrical perspective is a bit different.
The Arcade Fire: "Funereal"
A unique band out of Montreal- you may already know them, as they've been getting a fair amount of airplay since before you left (at least on SF radio). Lyrics in english and french, a sound that's really not describable due to not only an odd instrumentation but an odd mix of styles. It took me a while to get into most of the album but I love it now.