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I can interview anyone if they like instead of offering myself up as an interviewee. I don't have a set format to speak of but you will be probed (not literally).
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I agree with you about learning German to understand their songs. Our German class in high school translated a lot of pop songs, and that *was* very fun. Say, have you noticed that there haven't been a lot of German hits recently? At least, none that have made it to the States! So here's a question for you, James. What is it about being Scottish that you like the most and the least? The few times I've been to Scotland, the rustic beauty and the age of buildings (and a dead seal on the beach) made a big impression on me, but it seemed like a very traditional kind of place because you are living surrounded by the relics of the lives of those who came before you. It seemed like it might be a difficult country in which to change anything. Is that true, or was I just seeing your country through tourist eyes? |
My interview with Janszoon (to be brushed up when it isn't quarter past 2 in the morning)
me: What brought you to Musicbanter? Sent at 12:17 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: That's a good question. I'm not really sure. Honestly I think at the very beginning I had plans to be one of those jackasses who tries to use the site to promote his own music but I abandoned that pretty quickly. me: And now look at you, a bold blue mod. jove.janszoon: Haha me: What would you say made you want to use it as more than a dumping ground for your own gain? Sent at 12:21 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: Probably the fact that I needed an outlet to chat about music. I had only been in Philly for a year when I signed up and all the people I liked to talk about music with be back in Chicago. Sent at 12:22 PM on Wednesday me: And was it a general vibe or can you pin point something where you said "hey many this isn't just a jackass farm talking about the top 5 on Casey Casum's top 100" Sent at 12:23 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: It's weird, when I first started posting I felt like I encountered a bunch of people who didn't really do it for me but I also ended up talking to Ethan, which was enjoyable. I didn't stick around though. I only posted very sporadically my whole first year on MB, it wasn't until sometime in 2008 that I really got sucked into it. me: So you first impression was that it was a jackass farm...good to know. You mention "back in Chicago" Was there a style or genre you discussed with these people back in the Windy City or was it as eclectic as it is here. here, of course, being MB Sent at 12:28 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: It was pretty eclectic. The friends I talked about music with back there were mostly my bandmates and all of us had/have pretty varied tastes. We all have a love for semi-electronic music though. me: Is that the kind of music you played? Sent at 12:31 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: Yep. It was very kitchen-sink kind of music. None of us had a set instrument that we played so we'd just pick up whatever we felt like and go. A lot of times we'd also be incorporating different kinds of sampled and sequenced loops into the mix or passing files back and forth by email between practices. Sent at 12:34 PM on Wednesday me: So you were the Spoonman Soundgarden sang about? Do you have a memory from that time, or a song you might say was especially meaningful? Sent at 12:35 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: Hmmm...I'm trying to think of what I was listening to at the time. I know we were all pretty into Grandaddy and the Flaming Lips and I think that informed our music to an extent. Sumday and Yoshmi were relatively new albums at the time and are definitely two albums that bring be back to those days when I listen to them. Sent at 12:40 PM on Wednesday me: How did you get mixed up in an operation like this? I'm going to guess you didn't grow up wanting to do a down-home version of Blue Man Group. Sent at 12:41 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: It just kind of evolved. At first it was just me and one friend of mine hanging out listening to and playing music in his livingroom. Then it was three people. Then it was four. It was a pretty casual thing. Sent at 12:45 PM on Wednesday me: Let me take it back a little here, what were some of your first experiences with music? As a maybe a Baby Zoon? Sent at 12:50 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: Ah, well, let's see... my dad's a musician and huge music buff so I grew up around a lot of it. Mostly 50s rock n roll and 60s country and folk. And then I got a lot of stuff from my older brother. When I was really little it was stuff like Pink Floyd and Rush but by the time I got to late elementary school and junior high it was stuff like Love & Rockets, REM, Jane's Addiction, Ministry, The Cure, Bob Mould, The Pixies, etc. Sent at 12:55 PM on Wednesday me: So you were that kid! Sent at 12:58 PM on Wednesday me: It strikes me as odd that those acts would be what you cut your teeth on, I've always seen you as someone who has at least one foot in the electronic grave, so to speak. You're fairly high profile in many a rap thread, and beyond this you have a thread, something to the effect of "50 albums to hear before your dead.", which has haunted my nightmares with that "nooo don't leave me loop." Was there a point you made the shift from 80's alt-rock to where you find yourself now? Sent at 1:00 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: I think I always liked music with an electronic element, it's just it manifested itself differently in the past, like that big fat synth at the beginning of Rush's "Subdivisions" for example. Plus I loved a lot of the new wave type stuff that was on MTV when I was a kid. "She's Blinded Me with Science" is still to this day one of my favorite 80s pop songs. They of course by the time I was 13 or 14 I was getting into NIN and Ministry which lead me to all the great electro-industrial stuff Wax Trax! Records was putting out that the time. Sent at 1:05 PM on Wednesday me: What records have come out recently that you would say might be in that same caliber; that might be something you're still into 15 years from now? Sent at 1:07 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: That's tough to say, I feel like my interest in different bands has become more transitory as I've grown older. Some semi-recent artists off the top of my head that I can image might stick with me though are Dalek, Liars, Man Man, Electric Wizard, Ufomammut, Burial, Mr. Lif and High on Fire Sent at 1:16 PM on Wednesday me: Why "transitory"? (if that's a word) Sent at 1:18 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: I think transitory is a word, isn't it? Maybe that's the Captain Morgan talking. Anyway, I just mean that I don't get as obsessed with single bands as I did when I was younger. I guess I've just reached some kind of realization that with the vast amount of music out there I feel like I'm missing out if I focus too much on one thing. Sent at 1:21 PM on Wednesday me: It could be a word, I was guessing you mean transient but lord knows. I'm no one to talk about effective communication. So given this statement you've just made, how does this factor into the art of album listening? Do you still listen to whole albums, do you only try a few singles? Is time a huge factor when determining a bands worth? Sent at 1:23 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: I'm definitely still much more of an album person than a singles person. It's just that I feel that I spend less time with albums than I used to. When I was younger I'd have every word memorized, now I don't focus on one album long enough to do that. Sent at 1:26 PM on Wednesday me: is that a direct result of a growing musical hunger, do you think? Or is it just old age and increased responsibility? Sent at 1:27 PM on Wednesday |
jove.janszoon: I think it's a product of growing musical hunger to be sure. The more I hear, the more I want to hear. But technology is also a big factor too. It's so much easier than it used to be to get a ton of music fast. Pretty much if you have a slight interest in something you can get a hold of it almost instantly whereas it used to be that you'd have to take a trip to the record store and, at least in my case, spend a couple hours perusing the racks.
Sent at 1:32 PM on Wednesday me: Ha! Would you like a minute to put a "back in my day" rant in here? Do you feel as if you're less likely to give albums a chance these days as opposed to what you might have given them in the past? Sent at 1:33 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: No, I think it's the reverse actually. Because music is so easy to get a hold of now I think I more likely to check something out on a whim than I used to. Sent at 1:35 PM on Wednesday me: Oh sure, but lets say the first 3 tracks don't do it for you. Do you listen to track 12? Sent at 1:36 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: Usually, yeah. I try to listen to every album I check out all the way through at least once. Sometimes I do start skipping around a bit if it's really not doing it for me though. Sent at 1:38 PM on Wednesday me: Is there a style you don't listen to very much, just something that never got its claws into you? Sent at 1:41 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: Probably modern R&B, by which I mean R&B from the 80s or later. I like the occasional modern R&B artist, like Jill Scott, but overall it's a style of music that bores the pants off me. me: and humorously, its heavily electronic. jove.janszoon: Sort of. me: The impression I get from it most times its the heir to the Disco style, very Producer heavy, not much in the way of substance, just sort of a dance number to keep the crowd moving Sent at 1:46 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: A lot of it is very centered on the vocals too and it often turns into what I perceive a the vocal equivalent of Steve Vai wanking away on a guitar. me: And now with Auto-tune What would the MB posters be most surprised to hear you're interested in? jove.janszoon: Musically? me: No, zoologically Yes musically jove.janszoon: Pandas. me: You seem like more of a fish kind-of-guy jove.janszoon: But seriously, I'm not sure. Maybe Billy Idol? I've been a huge Billy Idol fan since I was in my late teens, which was probably during the nadir of his popularity. Sent at 1:52 PM on Wednesday me: Should I ask how you felt about "scream"? Sent at 1:54 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: It was pretty good but there are a couple songs I like better on that album. That's said, it's easily his worst record. me: Old age can do that to people. So I've kept you now for ~ 2 hours. Is there anything you'd like to throw out there we haven't touched on? Sent at 1:57 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: Yeah, old age and heroin. Sent at 1:58 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: As far as something else we haven't touched on, I guess maybe it's the people who helped get me sucked into MB when I did first get sucked in back in 2008: Jackhammer, Urban, Right-Track, Minstrel (where ever he/she has gone), Mr Dave, you... and I'm sure there's a bunch of people who aren't springing to mind after several drinks here. Sent at 2:03 PM on Wednesday me: Minstrel...Not familiar. Must be a denizen of one forum only jove.janszoon: Minstrel was great low-profile poster. Really knowledgeable and very easy to talk to. Sent at 2:05 PM on Wednesday me: We lose quite a few great posters and I'm never sure why. I get that people leave, but to never check in once in awhile seems odd to me Sent at 2:07 PM on Wednesday jove.janszoon: Yeah, it's a bummer. Sent at 2:08 PM on Wednesday me: Alright man well thanks for chatting it up with me. I'm going to throw this up there. I'm hoping to get these things a little more directed. Maybe interviews about movements in music. If I can, I hope you'll come back for those. jove.janszoon: That sounds like a cool idea, let me know if and when you do it. Thanks for chatting! Sent at 2:11 PM on Wednesday |
Nice read - pretty insightful.
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Nicely done Big3. Some good questions and answers in there. Nice to get a bit more insight into...The Zoon! Well played chaps! |
I skim read it as I'm in a hurry, but it seemed pretty insightful and I learned alot about Jans that I didn't know before! I'm going to read it properly later/tomorrow :) and I'll edit this or something.
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