Part two of our interview arrives from Munich, the next stop on the band’s European tour in support of their new album, Loyalty To Loyalty. This time around, Nathan shares his thoughts on author David Foster Wallace, the pitfalls of a musician re-recording their own songs and the emerging culture of isolation in America.

Antiquiet: Where are you now? 

Nathan Willett: In Munich now. Normally I find it impossible to write when people are talking all around but this German chatter is steady background noise.

Antiquiet: Always interesting to get a glimpse of the other end of a world-traveling conversation. You said in the first part of our interview that you listen to dub on the road- I often hear dub referred to, but I’m not familiar with the intricacies of the art. What draws you to it?

Nathan Willett: Watch the movie Rockers as a fun start. “The intricacies of the art” is well put, I have always enjoyed the sound but known nothing about the history and had been timid to dive in. The simplicity of bass lines and delay uses from The Clash to Radiohead are all there, so I guess it’s this vast library that you have to enter into with timidity. I’m just beginning.

Antiquiet: Where does a song begin for you?

Nathan Willett: When it feels right.

Antiquiet: What phrase or word do you use entirely too much?

Nathan Willett: The word ‘Plans.’ I had to cut it out of songs on the new record. I think because I lived my life without plans until this band. Sort of ironic.

Antiquiet: What’s your biggest rock n roll indulgence?

Nathan Willett: Led Zeppelin!

Antiquiet: I dug your stripped cover of Electioneering (big Radiohead fans over here). I’ve seen you cover Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell, Fiona Apple, etc. Any songs you’ve heard lately you’d like to work over, CWK style?

Nathan Willett: I like covers. Those ones we did when we didn’t think anybody would actually hear them so they are pretty crappy. But I guess covers should reflect something about the artist that is more for them than for the audience. Immediate songs I would like to cover: The Smiths’ London. Talking Heads’ Mind. The Specials’ Stereotype.

Antiquiet: St. John never seems to lose its potency as a huge fan favorite. It seems to take on a different personality at your shows. I’ve heard a few different live versions you’ve done- do you have a favorite way to play it?

Nathan Willett: The guys in Elvis Perkins In Dearland play trombone sax and clarinet. We have toured with them all through Europe and US and every night the song became a totally different thing. The recorded song itself became a sketch for what it became on those tours. It was a joke how crazy it got.

Antiquiet: Also, you said the recorded version of St. John became a sketch of what it would develop into onstage. Any ideas on how you’d want to record the song if you were putting it down now? I ask this because I’m fascinated by the idea of a recording being a snapshot of a song as it’s in transition to becoming something else. Most often, when bands I love re-record their favorites, the end result is a terrible self-parody, so it’s a sticky subject to begin with.

Nathan Willett: You nailed it. It’s the crux of writing a song and recording it live and quickly. That’s what we have always done. Never over thought. So the obvious down side is not knowing what it will become with time but what it can never be recorded. A song from our first EP called Quiet Please is one of our favorite songs that we thought about re-recording for Loyalty but we didn’t do for the exact reason you said, which is the gross feeling of copying yourself. The recorded version of it is kinda boring and flat. But live, it is an epic with a 2 minute intro that evolved spontaneously. So that’s a perfect example of the tragedy of spontaneous recording mixed with an ethic of no re-recording.

Antiquiet: I was inspired by your words about David Wallace, and as I begin to discover a general sense of his philosophy, I’m hoping that his torch is carried. The concept of honest interaction, basic communication and a real human experience seems to become more and more saturated in complication with the advancement of technology that, ironically, is being designed to assist us in “social networking.” When we were kids, we played with other kids. We called home on our friends’ house phones, but phones sucked, and we wanted nothing to do with them. These days, however, kids have 700 facebook friends and the hottest new cellphones, but sit alone in their rooms each and every day. How does a parent balance that out, without shunning progress? It seems to me that one of our greatest obligations is to nurture the craving for human interaction, and not submit to the trappings of distraction and synthetics.

Nathan Willett: Agreed. I was on a plane and watched a documentary called Growing Up Online. I am 29. I think my age is the very last to not have grown up with the internet. Myspace culture was abhorrent to me. It was awesome for Cold War Kids’ exposure; it’s always strange as a musician to have people tell you they love you, but it’s a whole different level online. People express themselves in constant hyperbole.

I watched it when I was student teaching at South High in Torrance. Friendship was about quantity; quality was a mystery to these kids. It’s the culture of consumption that worked it’s way into (as you said) a previously sacred bond. I was just re-reading that book The Four Loves C.S. Lewis. It’s incredible how far we are from the classic Greek idea of friendship. Wallace seemed to mourn this inevitable disconnect in his writing. He is smart enough to not blame technology itself, but to look at our weird human tendency towards competition and self-loathing. (Oblivion’s Good Old Neon explores that stuff in a terrifying way.)

I just got married and my wife was home schooled most of her life. Our upbringing is polar opposite. She was raised eclectic with close friends and family all around; performing in plays, traveling, expressing herself openly. Coming from divorced parents and being largely raised by my peers, I consider myself real lucky to have anything figured out. I was hurt by that.

When, I think about kids… It’s hard to not want to find a remote town in Washington and let ‘em grow up playing with a couple of wood blocks, using their imagination.

Related Posts

• Road Journals: Cold War Kids, Part One
• Steal This Album
• Oasis Should Start Digging
• Cold War Kids’ Loyalty To Loyalty

There’s plenty of reason to call Kanye West an asshole; the guy’s as peacockish and egomaniacal as they come, and he makes no apologies about it. The multi-platinum rapper / producer went way beyond comparing himself to the greats in a recent interview, planting the flag on what he considers his place in music history: “I’m doing pretty good as far as geniuses go,” he said. “I’m going down as a legend, whether you like me or not. I am the new Jim Morrison. I am the new Kurt Cobain. They feel like, ‘Yo, he’s got a God complex, because he said if they wrote the Bible again that he would be in it’. Duh, yeah, I would be in it. I feel like I’m one of the more important people in pop culture right now. The Bible had 20, 30, 40, 50 characters in it. You don’t think that I would be one of the characters of today’s modern Bible? And people have their own forms of bibles now. It’s a new day and age…”

Needless to say, the biblical babble is a load of self-fellating bullshit. But regardless of how you feel about his attitude and bloated sense of self-worth, he’s damn good at what he does, and he’s milked ten Grammys out of three albums to prove it. Like it or not, Kanye’s bound to be remembered as one of the biggest artists to emerge on this side of the millennium. His latest release, 808s & Heartbreak, is just one more reason why.

With 808s, West finally steps outside his own comfort zone to make an album that flips a proverbial bitch on the life’s-a-party theme laced throughout his previous offerings. Makes sense, since he had to come to terms with the fact that the beautification hysteria he spent three albums celebrating might come off a little heartless, given that his mother died last year of cosmetic surgery complications (hence the deflated heart balloon cover art).

In addition to an orchestral assault of strings, piano, synths and animal sounds on the album, Kanye’s traded out his ego-tripping hip-hop flow entirely and replaced it with, well, robot singing. And when I say entirely, I mean entirely. He doesn’t rap on the album. At all. 808s & Heartbreak is an auto-tune overdose that takes some getting used to, especially if you’re still burying your inner suburban white kid and your only reference for auto-tune comes from accidental stops at the R&B station on your FM dial.

On first listen, I couldn’t hang. I skipped through the tracks, looking for Touch The Sky Part 2 or a blazing split spit session with Nas, but there were none to be found. I kept my hopes up till the very end, and as a fan of Kanye’s buttery flow I couldn’t have been more disappointed to realize that the only actual rapping on the album comes from Young Jeezy on the otherwise decent and cinematic track Amazing. Furthermore, to add a layer of bullshit to the let-down, the aforementioned verse includes the line Standin’ at my podium, I’m tryin to watch my sodium. Now, I know it’s just one line in one song, not everything has to be lyrically immortal, but when that one line is the only semblance of rap on the record, there’s just no excuse for that kind of weak nonsense.

The guy said in damn near every interview he’s done over the past few months that 808s isn’t for the fans, so I didn’t give it much thought when I moved on to something else. I didn’t listen to it again for a day or two, and was so ambivalent about it I thought about skipping a review entirely. That is, until I found myself unable to get the stomp chorus to Love Lockdown out of my head for the hundred millionth time since first hearing it a few weeks back. Sometimes in those situations, you’ve gotta just go to the source and let it run its course. I did just that, and let the rest of the album play out, listening without pretense. And something was different. It started making sense.

The minimalist opener Say You Will makes it clear right off that a new playbook is in the game. Over six minutes of uncharacteristic pensive hoping over synth tinklings and an ethereal backdrop. At six and a half minutes long, half of it without vocals, it’s no mistake that our introduction to 808s & Heartbreak is a sharp departure from the slick suit of jet-setting cockery we’ve come to expect from Kanye.

Welcome To Heartbreak’s already got me wondering what the hell I was thinking the first time around. This track is damned epic, another sparse instrumental backing a lyrical reflection on the family life West has thus far sacrificed to be a megastar. Moving through a series of comparative circumstances (He said his daughter got a brand new report card / And all I got was a brand new sports car / Dad cracked a joke, all the kids laughed / But I couldn’t hear ‘em all the way in first class), Kanye shares his second-thought regrets at his emotional isolation, trying to shake off those pesky human tendencies to be driven by love and family.

The chorus line (And my head keeps spinnin’ / I can’t stop having these visions / I’ve gotta get with it) is the kind of insanely addictive hook that reminds us why the man’s got such an ego in the first place: the hooks he comes up with aren’t just song anchors- these are barbed little moments of sickness that are bound to do laps in your head for years to come.  That’s what Kanye’s best at (besides ego stroking, of course), and he thankfully doesn’t abandon

The 808 in the title is, obviously, a nod to the Roland TR-808 drum machine which sounds nothing at all like an actual drum kit. The percussive synthetics are a good fit, however, particularly on the ridiculous-hooked Robocop. The latter’s a clever letter of complaint to an overbearing girl, who can’t accept that there’s just some shit she’s not going to know about the man. The cello and chopping strings breakdown is a delicate and refreshingly funny moment of sunlight on an otherwise highly cloudy record. You spoiled little LA girl / You’re just an LA girl / You need to stop it now.

Not every track is a trend-setter. The tribal chorus and big beats of Amazing features a verse by Young Jeezy, but like I said, he should’ve brought his A game or stayed the hell out of it. Lil’ Wayne makes a good impression at first, but ruins everything with kiddie bullshit lines like You think your shit don’t stink / But you Mrs. P.U. Come on.

The most familiar-styled track on 808s, Paranoid, meets the fans halfway with the closest thing to West actually flowing that you’ll find on the album. The production is Neptunes-ish, and the 16ths keep things clipping along at an optimistically quick pace.

The understated big-beat ballad Streetlights is another leap forward into prog-pop, with building percussion, female backup vocals and a pulsing central melody featuring some of Kanye’s most humbled lyrics to date. However, if I hear him sing about life being unfair one more time, I’ll never listen to his shit ever again. If Kanye’s life is unfair, sign me up for a heaping dose of misery.

Arguably best track of the album is Bad News, a strings-rich cheater track with 10,000 megawatts of heartfelt sadness, having discovered that he’s on the losing end of a love affair. While I’m waiting on a dream that’ll never come true / Are you just gonna keep it like you never knew / When’d you decide to break the rules? Cause I just heard some real bad news…

This is one of those songs that will outlive the hits and lock in the skeptics (except those confused, cynical hit-hunters who can’t find any samples to slobber on) in the weeks and months to come. As with the rest of the album, the strengths here aren’t in some slick delivery stuck to multilayered tapestry hung on a wall of sound. It’s the simplicity of the songs, the stripped but potent arrangements that are the real highlights on the record.

Coldest Winter is a jarring dose of tear-jerking brilliance, a speaker-pounding gut punch that’s more potent than anything Kanye’s approached yet in his career. Written for his mother Donda, who died last November, the line Memories made in the coldest winter is undoubtedly a reference to the season of sorrow that set the stage for this new direction in his artistic development.

The version of the album we got closed with a bonus track, a live, mostly-acapella “freestyle” about fame and some ridiculous bullshit about money not buying happiness. Do you think I would sacrifice real life for fame? he asks, and that’s a damn good question, regardless of the rhetorical intent.

The final words of the album- A wise man once said, ‘You’ll find your way’- aren’t there by mistake. Nothing the guy does happens by accident. Kanye’s taking a well-timed moment to clear out his baggage, because he’s carved out a big enough persona to take a sharp left without throwing his career off a skyscraper in the process. 808’s and may be a self-declared piece of genre-defining pop art, but don’t call it a reinvention; he’s not gonna be a slow-jam sad robot crooner forever.

Pop art’s been done, sure. But it’s never been done Kanye style. And on 808s and Heartbreak, with the help of a little humility and introspection, he raises his own game much more than people are going to grasp for some time yet. But that’s OK. He’s not going anywhere.

808s & Heartbreak
November 24, 2008
Rock-a-Fella / Island Def Jam

1. Say You Will
2. Welcome To Heartbreak
3. Heartless
4. Amazing
5. Love Lockdown
6. Paranoid
7. Robocop
8. Street Lights
9. Bad News
10. See You In My Nightmares
11. Coldest Winter
12. Pinocchio Story

Related Posts

• Crawl Away And Die
• Even With His Pants On, Busta Rhymes Is Blessed
• Seventeen Years And Twelve Bucks Later…
• The Game Has Talented Friends, But He Still Blows

The band’s effectiveness may be, at least in part, thanks to the fact that Anselmo has been through more shit than just about any other musician I can think of. The story starts familiar enough; Anselmo was born to an alcoholic, abusive father in a rather dangerous part of New Orleans. At fourteen, he accidentally burned his family’s house down. Hey, we’ve all been there, right? Well how many of you have been dead? Phil has, thanks to a heroin overdose in Dallas in 1996. Meanwhile, three discs in his lower back had ruptured from years of irresponsible show antics. He defiantly kept this news to himself out of stupid pride, and rather than subject himself to barbaric, debilitating surgery that would have involved splitting his belly wide open, removing all of his guts, and operating on his lower spine from the front- replacing missing bone and cartilage with chunks of his own hip- He continued to perform. As bone scraped bone and nerve damage worsened, Anselmo soldiered on quietly for ten years, with the aid of a back brace and prescription methadone, eventually replaced with a muscle relaxant called Soma, that, as Phil said, “makes you retarded.”

In 2004, Anselmo’s longtime friend and Pantera bandmate “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott was killed; shot three times at point-blank range in the head onstage while performing with Damageplan, while a very public, very verbal dispute raged on in the magazines between Anselmo and the Abbotts. And then Hurricane Katrina wiped Anselmo’s hometown off the map.

Philip Anselmo, like many musicians, is as talented as he is troubled. While he insists on being the indestructible machine all men should aspire to be, as fans we’ve been sincerely concerned for his well being, especially after seeing some of his recent interviews. However, when the man called- on time- Thursday, to chat with us during some downtime on Down’s tour with Metallica, we found him to be a personable, genuinely down to earth dude, and he helped us set the record straight and put some things in perspective.

Antiquiet: So where you at? Houston?

Phil Anselmo: Yeah… Sitting in Houston.

Antiquiet: How’s everything going?

Phil Anselmo: Good. it’s different [here], the stage setup is very different… It’s circular… so you know, everybody’s split up. but the tour is going very well.

Antiquiet: You’re finishing it up right? Got three more dates?

Phil Anselmo: Houston, Little Rock, and New Orleans, yup.

Antiquiet: I don’t mean to dredge up old bullshit, but I want to talk about something you’ve encountered firsthand. When you had that beef with Dime and Vin, us fans got the word through fuckin’ Metal Hammer and the music journalists, who of course tend to… you know, pull the juicy quotes out, to keep the circus going, to get attention, to sell magazines.

So let’s say things were different and the journalists minded other business, and you guys had space to work it out on your own. Do you think things might have turned out differently?

Phil Anselmo: Well… it’s kind of a moot point here. But if you’re talking in… imaginary terms, if you’re talking what ifs, theoretically, yeah. Rex and I actually talk about it a lot and we know… Pantera could have kept going.

The interview that sparked off everybody’s imagination… Little to everyone’s knowledge, the guy who asked me that- it was supposed to be off the record- he asked me straight out what would happen if [we] got into a fight- a physical thing. First of all, that never would have happened. Second of all, theoretically, once again- obviously, I would have the advantage over them. So I put it in a [certain] way, like a million motherfuckers do every day- boxers, et cetera- you know, they say they’re going to do terrible, horrible things to each other, and then after everything clears, they shake hands and hug each other and it’s done.

But if things are put as an absolute, and it’s just black and white, it’s just read and it’s taken that way, and it’s very unfortunate that it was. Because, as I’ve said before, Pantera was a mighty force man.

Antiquiet: Damn right.

Phil Anselmo: And not only do I miss those days, and Dimebag and Vinnie, and the whole crew, and the whole vibe, and the pride that was behind it, and the validity that was behind it- as I’ve said before, Rex and I… We always said that we would have all of us gotten into one room and argued and screamed… And a lot of it would have been my fault, but at the time I was a wounded duck. I needed back surgery so bad, it was pathetic. And I’ve uh… I’ve made some bad choices.

Antiquiet: I’ve gotten into beefs with my friends and shit, people I grew up with, and it’s one thing to have it out with people you love-

Phil Anselmo: Yeah, but not in front of the entire world.

Antiquiet: Yeah, see that’s what I’m trying to get at man. ‘Cause I figure when you’re talking through other people, when the whole world is watching, and putting their two cents in, it’s gotta make it harder to keep shit together.

Phil Anselmo: Well yeah, it does. But… (long pause) It’s done with, and that’s over.

Antiquiet: Alright. So, speaking of the media and magazines… Maybe you don’t give a shit about this, but Rolling Stone just published their list of the top 100 singers of all time. I was pissed to not see Layne Stayley on there at all.

Phil Anselmo: Now, let’s get it straight, today’s top 100?

Antiquiet: It was of all time, and I mean it had a lot of people who- I love, but- who weren’t as great vocally as some folks who got left off…

Phil Anselmo: I didn’t make it on the list did I?

Antiquiet: (laughing) No, and I mean that pissed me off too, but I know you were a big fan of Layne’s… And Mike Patton wasn’t on there-

Phil Anselmo: That’s ridiculous.

Antiquiet: Ann Wilson wasn’t on there…

Phil Anselmo: Ha! Well you know, that’s just one magazine’s opinion, and you know, let ‘em take it and run with it. But you know, it’s an absolute fuckin’ blasphemy that Layne Stayley didn’t make it, and Ann Wilson, and Nancy Wilson as well, are amazing singers. Was David Bowie on the list?

Antiquiet: Yeah, Bowie was on there…

Phil Anselmo: Of all time? …Was Nina Simone on there?

Antiquiet: Yeah… They got her. Aretha Franklin was number one.

Phil Anselmo: Aretha Franklin number one? I don’t know about that.

Antiquiet: So man, I’ve gotta ask you about something. We’ve seen some interviews with you recently, that honestly made us worry about you. Sometimes you seem out of it, and some of the fans are saying you’re back on the drugs, some are saying it’s medication. So do you just want to set the record straight?

Phil Anselmo: I never heard that I was back on drugs, that’s fuckin’ ridiculous. That’s fuckin’ stupid. But fuck everybody, really. I’m livin’ my life, I’m doing exactly what the fuck I want to do… I’m not out to fuckin’ impress, I don’t give a shit man. And people- I mean look, I’ve been… gay, my neck’s been broken from stage diving, I’ve been everything- a satanist, a white supremacist…

Antiquiet: (laughing) Yeah, I know man. Well, I ask ’cause I worry. As a fan. I don’t wanna see you go anywhere, I want my fuckin’ kids to see you live one day.

Phil Anselmo: I’m fuckin’ stronger than fuckin’ most fuckin’ men my age. And I don’t even drink.

It’s just… after back surgery, you never know, one day is a good day, shit- you can have a good week- and then, there’ll be a weather change or some shit like that, and you might go through some pain. Pain, pain, you know it’s… Me and pain are intimate. But through physical therapy, and yoga, and pilates, and all this shit [I've learned how to] make the pain at least tolerable. You stretch that fuckin’ shit out man. You get up off your ass and fuckin’ get up and- every day- set thirty minutes aside, and fuckin’ stretch that shit out and it changes the whole fuckin’ day.

Antiquiet: You getting by without painkillers? Or do they still have you on that brutal Soma shit?

Phil Anselmo: I’m on one drug, and it’s called Lyrica. And what that does is it’s an anti-seizure medicine. And a lot of people are on this drug who have sciatic pain, or pain like I have- which is sciatic, but it’s from after the surgery, sometimes when the nerves reconnect, they reconnect wrong. And that was my case pretty much.

It’s three times a day, and I’m sick of that shit too. I’m tired of all this crap. But it does help, it quells the pain, just a little. You can always feel it though, there’s numbness in my left foot since the surgery. But the stretching and all gets the blood circulating, and blood circulation an incredibly important fuckin’ thing.

I also box like ten rounds a day when I’m at home, hitting the bag, and just working on things. So… You can’t do that sorta thing loaded, or back on the drugs or junk or whatever. So let all the fuckin’ naysayers fuckin’ take a walk in my fuckin’ shoes. They can be sweating and saying I give up, after ten minutes of my workout.

Things are so much better though. I could tell- directly after surgery I could tell- that the doctor had fixed what was killing me for so long. He fixed it. Three ruptured discs, you know? So anyway, I sit here with titanium in my back, telling you that the more work you put in, the better you’ll feel. However, it’s still, three years later, a day to day thing. It really is. You know, a turn of the weather, or a drop in pressure, God knows. You know… It is what it is though.

Antiquiet: So with Housecore Records, are you using the internet in your strategies?

Phil Anselmo: Yeah, yeah yeah… We have to. It’s taking over, you know? Music in itself, the business of music is really really different. And you know, with the economy the way it is, money’s tight for everybody. But shit, we’ve got some really great bands, and some great New Orleans bands that are jumping on board like Crowbar and Eyehategod, and some new bands like Haarp, and… man, Evil Army from Memphis Tennessee, they’re fucking ripping. They’ll be coming out with a full-length hopefully pretty soon.

Antiquiet: Is Housecore doing well, are you breaking even, staying up?

Phil Anselmo: Really, we’re slicing our own throats. But I know what it’s like to be trapped in… any type of record deal that has you sign a seven album deal or a six album deal, and it’s exclusive, and they own every fucking song that you write. You don’t have a goddamn (laughing) you know, you don’t own your songs. And all that shit’s bullshit. And Housecore remedies all that. We’re really for the bands. It’s for the artist. We’re more [benefactors] honestly.

Antiquiet: What are your Housecore bands up to?

Phil Anselmo: Arson Anthem would be fun to tour with if I had the time… And maybe I will have the time eventually, in the next year or so. But… The first Christ Inversion [album] came out recently, on October 28th. See, stuff like that, that was done in ‘94. That was like in between Pantera tours, and I could never release that, but now I can… And Christ Inversion had done two albums, so the second album will probably be released next year sometime, after a lot of remastering. And also, we’re putting out Soilent Green with Glenn Rambo, the original singer. I saved all the demos, and rebooted ‘em up… and it’s absolutely listenable.

Antiquiet: Oh yeah, I love them, I had no idea they had hooked up with you guys…

Phil Anselmo: They’re a Metal Blade band- today they are- but we got the okay from the coolest guy on earth, Mr. Slagel, and he doesn’t have a problem with it. It’s a good idea, and the rest of the guys in the band want to do it, so it’s cool.

Antiquiet: How does the band feel about people who download your records?

Phil Anselmo: Ahh, you know. It’s today’s way. And it’s miserable, and it sucks. And it’s really not… (long pause) I don’t know, in life, I don’t know what’s fair or not.

Antiquiet: Well, I mean to me, these are the kids that fifteen years ago would have been trading tapes out in the parking lot before the show.

Phil Anselmo: Oh, I’ve done all that. Shit, I was doing that. I still fuckin’ tape trade. Me and Fenriz [of Darkthrone] send each other shit, you know, all the way from Norway to America. He sends me all kinds of shit… Anyway, to me, you know, I used to go, if I had money, to buy the vinyl, instead of anything.

Antiquiet: Yeah, I still buy vinyl.

Phil Anselmo: I’ve got every fuckin’ thrash motherfuckin’ record, whether on tape, or on vinyl, or on whatever. And not just thrash, but everything… from god knows when, 60s, 50s, to some of the present.

Antiquiet: You give a shit about politics at all? [I ask this as Phil starts taking a piss.]

Phil Anselmo: Slightly. I’ve got my own mindset. I’ve got my own beliefs… There’s a lot of people who are on the same page politically, and it’s very clear, a lot of the changes that need to be made. But honestly… I hate to use the words too late when it comes to a lot of things… But you know, this is not every school, this is not every city-

[At this point, Rex walks in and asks a question. Philip tells him he's "doing an interview, taking a piss," and then, unfortunately, loses his train of thought. So there's a pause while the tape rolls on piss hitting porcelain. Katie Couric, eat your heart out.]

There’s a lot of people on the same page. So we all need to network together, to speak our ideas, and have a voice. A prominent voice, and a face, that says, to our President- look, this is fucked, this is wrong, this is fucked, this is wrong. We can do things better, this way. And it’s a number of topics that would just take too long to get into at this point in time…

Antiquiet: This new guy we got says he’s going to listen to us, and hear our voice. Do you believe it?

Phil Anselmo: No. I don’t. I don’t really believe anything until I hear it and see it. And, this guy is brand new, and you know… There’s an air of him… being a breath of fresh air, something different, something new. But honestly, I believe intently in the fact they just put up- whoever wins the election is just a [talking head] and there’s a big brother behind the scenes, people who are definitely on an agenda, that some of us can see, and some of us can’t.

Antiquiet: Do you feel the the government was responsible for the Katrina disaster?

Phil Anselmo: As far as the repair, and as far as afterwards- yeah, fuckin’ a- the aftermath? I don’t blame them for Katrina, but I blame them for not taking care of their fuckin’ own people, their own fucking country, when they spend billions on other countries. Come now. Katrina took out fuckin’ three states man. Not just New Orleans.

Antiquiet: Jim Van Bebber and Mike King filmed a bunch of shit on Down’s tour through Europe.

Phil Anselmo: Yeah, we’re slicing this, slicing that as it goes… It’ll come out for sure. The uniqueness of it is the fact that we had gotten back together… I was six months out of back surgery… Which is pretty outrageous, and that’ll show you how hard I fuckin’ did work… And you know, it was our first time ever in Europe. And in Europe… people just… They’re very hip motherfuckers over in Europe.

Antiquiet: They love their metal.

Phil Anselmo: They love metal. They do, and music in general- they’re very knowledgeable. And we have a rabid following there. I think my voice has definitely improved since then- it was our first tour back and I was still breaking in the chops if you know what I’m saying… But it was very significant, so that will be the angle on it, figuring it’s two fuckin’ years old… But It’ll be fun, because it’s a Jim Van Bebber film.

Antiquiet: Name a band people should know about. We’ll look ‘em up, and we’ll cover ‘em, because Philip Anselmo said to.

Phil Anselmo: Evil Army man. I think they’re fucking deadly. They did a self-titled record that I think you can still get somehow… We’re desperate to re-release it and eventually, perhaps we might. Either way, we’re getting them in the fucking studio, and they’re cutting a full length. It’s so fucking vicious man. They’re young as fuck, their guitar player’s great, and he sings as well. It’s… Christ, like, Kill ‘Em All meets the first DRI… I don’t know man.

Antiquiet: Down’s fans… are fuckin’ hardcore man. On the band’s MySpace, every single one of ‘em in your bigass top friends area are sporting a fuckin’ Down shirt, or a Down tattoo, or both, in their profile pic. That’s pretty impressive.

Phil Anselmo: Yeah, I appreciate it man, and they are- fuckin’ hardcore, you know, no matter where we go. Music today is what it is, and kids are going to- and when I say kids, I mean fifteen years old to fuckin’ fifty- when Down plays shows, that’s exactly our fucking age bracket breakdown man- and you know man, that’s a great thing that we’re touching the spectrum that we are, of ages.

Antiquiet: Well what’s cool is… You know, a lot of bands have got other bands in those spots, or their Hollywood friends, and with you guys, they’re all real fans, real people.

Phil Anselmo: Aw man, yeah, and that’s- I mean I never never never played up to that rock star bullshit man. I know all about the ladder man, you know? You reach the top of that motherfucker, great. Don’t fuckin’ flaunt your- You know, look at my clothes man, I’ve got t-shirts that kids threw up onstage that I still wear.

Photos by The MetalList

Down’s latest album, Over The Under, is in stores now. A deluxe edition with a behind-the-scenes DVD is available exclusively at Best Buy. The band plays the last show of the tour with Metallica tonight in New Orleans. More albums and tours are sure to follow, and we’ll surely be there for them.

Related Posts

• Phil Anselmo Is On A Strict Regiment
• Road Journals: Cold War Kids, Part One
• Scott Weiland: Doing What He Wants To Do (And Finally, It’s Not Heroin)
• How Do I Know If I’m A Hipster?

After all this time, all fans east of psychotic had the common sense to at least suspect that the big secret had been built up too much, that if and when the moment of truth finally came, it would likely be an anticlimax. Of course, the most amazing thing about this album is that it’s in our hands. At this point, what it sounds like barely matters- especially since that cat has long been out of the bag, more or less.

By the time I finally got my hands on Chinese Democracy, there was only one song that I hadn’t heard one way or another; This I Love. And it’s easily the most skippable track on the album. Which is a nice way of saying it’s a shit sandwich. It’s so bad that I need to remove it from the scope of this review; From here on out I’m just going to pretend it isn’t there, like I’ve been doing with the new Indiana Jones movie since seeing the first trailer.

The other thing we need to at least try to put aside is the hype. It’s impossible to separate the album from the legend, but let’s try. Let’s imagine that instead of the band splintering over Axl’s egomaniacal shenanigans, Slash died in a plane crash (or got thrown in jail for life for stealing or something), and an emotionally devastated Axl went into seclusion and he stayed there. Didn’t speak a word, didn’t take any rough copies of his decade-plus-in-the-making album to strip clubs. Let’s assume for a moment, that we all just forgot about Axl Rose. Let’s imagine a world where the Wikipedia entry for Chinese Democracy discusses a political movement.

Then, suddenly, Guns N’ Roses’ infamous frontman releases a new album. And it’s these fourteen thirteen new songs.

Then it’s a pretty damn good album. Some of these songs are of classic caliber: Better for sure- which should have been the lead-off single, no question. If The World, which sounds like a cousin of Album Of The Year era Faith No More; every bit as fervent and timeless. There Was A Time, which sounds like the first single from Use Your Illusion III. The epic, unweildy penultimate (as far as I’m concerned) track Madagascar actually manages to be as good as the outrageous production seems to want to deserve. And of course, there’s my lawyer’s favorite track, IRS. All of these tracks are thoroughly good, and will surely withstand the test of time. I’ll still be rocking these songs when the next Guns N’ Roses album hits shelves. Even if it takes another seventeen years.

Of the remaining not quite classics, most are still light years ahead of any of the hit singles by the top 40 rock and roll bands on the scene today. Hinder’s never going to fucking ever come close to penning anything as good as even the least perfect track, Catcher In The Rye. No Nickelback power ballad will ever be as good as Prostitute.

I got a call Friday night from an old “industry” contact that has been following the legal dogfight I’ve been engaged in since that day in June. He asked me for my “prediction.” I laughed, told him that all that shit was for the squares & geezers to bicker over, that I’ll never be one of those corporate cocksuckers that care more about the SoundScan sheets than the music on the albums on them. I remember watching first week interns studying those fucking numbers as their souls escaped through their noses. I busted his balls for a bit, but then put it aside and approached his question seriously. I said it would do better than AC/DC’s Black Ice- which would be huge in today’s market- and probably better than Kanye, because 808s & Heartbreak is likely to be, at least initially, misunderstood- and it’s already being trashed by critics who are rushing against editorial deadlines to pass judgment. But we’ll see. Unfortunately, the music industry still judges its success, or lack thereof, by CD sales. And even with Best Buy essentially buying every copy, to give away to potential big screen TV shoppers, no album is a respectable meal ticket compared to what the pigs used to enjoy at their old troughs.

Meanwhile, around the proverbial water cooler, among the casual fans- most people- it’s the old gripe that this isn’t Guns N’ Roses, that it’s Axl’s solo project, that it just isn’t GNR without Slash. My response? Bullshit. Not because Slash doesn’t like me. Because Slash isn’t the only dude on the planet who can play the guitar. Because Velvet Revolver sucks. Because the “new” Guns N’ Roses kicked my fuckin’ ass in Universal City in ‘06.

The hardcore fans get it right: It’s Izzy Stradlin that’s most obviously missing from Guns N’ Roses these days, and there will never be another Appetite For Destruction without him. Fortunately for everyone besides Slash & Duff, he seems to be the original member most likely to return someday, and our fingers remain crossed.

Chinese Democracy has a lot of really, really great songs. But they were great when we first heard them on bootlegs years ago. And they’ve since been mixed and re-mixed and re-recorded and re-mixed and re-worked and re-recorded and re-mixed, exhaustingly, to the extent that they can’t do what they must- they can’t do what all truly classic albums do: Capture the moment… If not define it. Appetite For Destruction will continue to sell for years because it defined the late 80s party rock scene with a relentless, religious abandon, and was the absolute, undisputed pinnacle. When I think of 1993, I think of Vs., Pearl Jam’s flawless second album. The grunge regime was at its most confident and powerful, and Vs. was the movement’s loudest battle cry, still echoing today. The Downward Spiral changed the musical landscape in 1994, shattering all restraints. It remains a snapshot of that revolutionary moment when everyone started taking hard rock seriously. Through it all, the snowball that is Chinese Democracy had been rolling along, picking up bits and pieces of all of these great moments- but now that it’s finally come to a stop a decade and a half later, It’s hard to know what to make of the thing. It feels like the best retrospective compilation of b-sides and rarities ever assembled. But the sum of the parts lacks something. It doesn’t- it can’t- express its moment. And that missing piece is one of the things we love most about music.

As a sidenote, when I went down to Best Buy to purchase my copy this morning, the cashier delivered the one-liner of the century. The computerized register spaced out on us for a couple of minutes. When it finally accepted the transaction, she looked at me, smiled, and said, “thank you for your patience.”

Chinese Democracy is finally here, and I’m beyond happy to have it. Two thumbs up, so glad to have you back Axl. Try not to take so long with the next one, and please do give Izzy a call.

P.S. What’s up with that fucking bicycle? Next time around, if you’re having trouble finding a graphic designer, let me know. I can totally make myself available.

Chinese Democracy
November 23, 2008
Geffen

1. Chinese Democracy
2. Shackler’s Revenge
3. Better
4. Street Of Dreams
5. If The World
6. There Was A Time
7. Catcher In The Rye
8. Scraped
9. Riad N’ The Bedouins
10. Sorry
11. IRS
12. Madagascar
13. This I Love
14. Prostitute

Related Posts

• Crying Chinese Democracy
• Guns N’ Roses Live, December 16th 2006
• Antiquiet’s Three-Way With 8mm
• Johnny Firecloud Stalks The Wendigo

How do you replace the dirty swagger, the serpentine energy, the explosive chemistry of the band that brought an endgame to hair metal? The vacancies left by the original members seem too vast to be occupied by anyone else, and it’s been the upside of a decade since Axl Rose’s signature wailing dominated the rock landscape. I fully expected the same ugly disappointment and vicarious embarrassment I felt while watching GNR’s “big comeback” performance on the 2002 MTV Music Awards, where my attention was split between Axl’s surgically altered wax-museum face and his embarrassingly off-key performance.

The sleaze was on ten in the Gibson Ampitheater as Suicide Girls slithered through an attempt to pass themselves off as erotic art. Nineties rockers Helmet followed offered a spot-on performance, providing the night’s more biting, darker shades, but were met with a surprisingly lukewarm reception. Third preshow act Sebastian Bach, every bit the venerial Skeletor frontman he was in Skid Row, dominated the stage as if it were his band headlining the bill, swinging his shampoo-commercial hair like it was 1989. With a set clocking in at just over an hour, Bach bled the eighties nostalgia out of the room, but I’ll admit with surprisingly little shame that I rocked the hell out to set-closer Youth Gone Wild. 

Minutes after midnight, the revving intro to Welcome To The Jungle began as the crowd roared their ecstatic approval. We found ourselves strapped in and screaming down memory lane before any of us knew the engine was even running. A focused, happy-looking Axl ran around the stage like he was on fire, howling the theme song to Los Angeles as fists pumped throughout the crowd. Yes, the man actually shows up to his own concerts these days. 

The setlist played out less like the Best of GNR mixtape you made in middle school and more like a greatest-hits collection, flavored with scattered gems from each album and even a few impressive selections from Chinese Democracy, the near-mythical “comeback” Guns N’ Roses record Rose has labored over since the split of the original lineup. Of the new songs presented, the most impressive by far was the tremendous Better. Delivered with jaw-dropping power, it’s a classic waiting to happen; beginning as a muted nursery-rhyme melody, it explodes into a fierce, immensely addictive rocker with the blood of Use Your Illusion. 

The heat of the pyrotechnic blasts could be felt to the rafters as the band tore through ferocious renditions of It’s So Easy, Mr. Brownstone and You Could Be Mine with sharper and more layered intensity than the original lineup possessed; the trademarked slutty, throbbing energy soaked in Jack Daniel’s replaced with the slick mile-a-minute riffs and technical prowess of the finest musicians money– and the biggest name rock has seen in twenty-five years– can buy.

Axl’s hired hands, the latest entrants in a revolving door of names facing the impossible mission of honorably reviving the GNR sound in the 21st century, respectfully did justice to their roles with faithful, colored renditions of the songs that made me believe in rock n’ roll when I was a kid. In what was perhaps a passing attempt lend legitimacy to the atmosphere, original member Izzy Stradlin made an appearance, joining drummer Frank Ferrer, bassist Tommy Stinson, Illusion-era keyboardist Dizzy Reed and guitarists Richard Fortus and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal on a handful of songs. Despite looking out of place and being out of tune onstage, Izzy was warmly welcomed as he contributed an unnecessary third rhythm guitar to a stage already brimming with six-string virtuosos. 

A third guitarist stood apart from the others both visually and sonically, effortlessly tearing through every riff and solo like a man possessed; think Jimmy Page on ecstasy. Even after Rose introduced the bearded, sunglass-wearing phenomenon by name, dressed like a cross between Jim Morrison and Chris Robinson, I still couldn’t believe I was looking at Robin Finck. Having proficiently handled axe duties for several years with Nine Inch Nails, Finck looked back then to be something out of the circus of the apocalypse, but the man played like the devil himself. Exuding a confidence no amount of posturing can imitate, he brought a searing intensity to each Guns song with impassioned intricacy and soul. His beautifully shredding five-minute solo following Better was a standout performance in a night full of highlights. 

Finck was great before his apparent bohemian awakening, but this was something else entirely. He was essentially running through a gallery of world-renowned portraits and landscapes, the best of their time and sacred to many, casting his own colors and impressions onto each canvas. Somehow, blasphemy be damned, he made improvements. 

Bumblefoot’s solo instrumental take on Don’t Cry was gorgeous enough to substitute for the real thing. However, the pace of the evening stumbled during his failed, entirely- too-long attempt at turning Mr. Grinch into a sing-along during one of Axl’s many departures from the stage. How many verses are in that damn song, forty? Points for the green smoke effects, but it would’ve gone over better as just a ten-second teaser.

Visually, the years may have done strange things to Axl Rose, but his signature wailing has never been better. Polished, commanding and in high gear from the start, his delivery only grew stronger as the band moved through an impressively solid set. The infamous temper tantrums of old weren’t at all present; Rose actually laughed at himself for slipping and falling on his ass early on. This man knows he has something to prove, and for a reputation such as his, it’s remarkable to see him actually behaving himself. The guy actually comes off as likable.

Sebastian Bach returned to the stage to share vocal duties on a blistering rendition of My Michelle, an appropriately shiteating grin on his face as he traded lines with Rose; after his set earlier in the evening he was offered a major-label record deal. Watch out world, hair metal returns… or something. 
 
The gritty jive of junkie-anthem Nightrain closed the first set, explosive and supercharged. Axl’s vocals were again undeniably perfect as he soared through the highest registers without so much as a strained note. The band exited the stage to thunderous applause, but for a production of this scale, nobody expected the night to end there. 

Three of the four encore songs were new, presumably a part of Chinese Democracy (due to hit stores on March 6– allegedly-  you know the drill). The first was the grinding, not-quite-epic title track, while IRS, another new overdrive-rocker, was more energetic and fun than the studio version circulating around the ‘net. It gives exactly the impression that Rose likely wants: it’s a logical step forward from Use Your Illusion, Rose’s narrative landscape and dramatic flair pushing the envelope just enough to avoid alienating fans. The magnetic pulse of Madagascar was irresistible, building steadily toward an epic climax with a Civil War vibe.

Red confetti filled the Gibson Ampitheater as the sticky-sweet “Paradise City” brought the show to a close, a wall of sparks showering down behind Axl while he wailed into the mic as if it were only yesterday that he ruled the rock world, white spandex shorts and all. There’s never been any shortness of theatrics associated with GNR, but these days costume changes and pyrotechnics replace concert no-shows and childish fits. 

The band took a final bow to ear-splitting cheers, every one of them smiling genuinely. The only true, classic Guns N’ Roses was buried before the turn of the century. Nobody’s denying that. Short of a seemingly-impossible reunion of the original members, this is the very closest Rose can come to bringing justice to the name while keeping these songs, these living legends, alive. It’s close enough for me.

Having canceled what was intended to be the remaining four dates of the tour to put the final touches on Chinese Democracy, Axl’s apparent new urgency is a good sign. It would seem that this is the last stretch before we finally hear what’s been in the works for a decade, but don’t hold your breath– it’s been said before. The new tracks are a very promising taste of things to come, and should he finally deliver on this latest deadline, one thing is certain:
2007 will belong to Axl Rose.

Setlist
1. Welcome To The Jungle
2. It’s So Easy
3. Mr. Brownstone 
4. Live And Let Die
5. Better
6. Robin Finck Solo
7. Sweet Child O’ Mine
8. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door 
9. You Could Be Mine
10. Dizzy Solo (”Angie”)
11. The Blues
12. Jam
13. Rocket Queen 
14. Down On The Farm
15. Richard Fortus Solo
16. Out Ta Get Me
17. Jam / Axl Solo
18. November Rain
19. Think About You (w/ Izzy)
20. Bumblefoot Solo (Don’t Cry)
21. My Michelle (w/ Bach)
22. Patience (w/ Izzy) 
23. Nightrain (w/ Izzy)
24. Chinese Democracy
25. IRS
26. Madagascar
27. Paradise City

Related Posts

• Crying Chinese Democracy
• Seventeen Years And Twelve Bucks Later…
• Johnny Firecloud Stalks The Wendigo
• We’ve Got Chinese Democracy, And It’s Worth The Wait

Emcee Raashan Ahmad, producer/hype man Woodstock, keyboardist Kat Ouano, bassist/producer Headnodic and drummer Max MacVeety form the azz-funk hip-hop known as Crown City Rockers. They mix classic soul samples and funktified beats with classically-trained live instrumentation that creates a rich, full sound behind Ahmad’s introspective, socially conscious lyricism and party-rock flow. Sure, it’s a no-brainer that white kids find easy immersion in the Tribe Called Quest lineage of hip-hop that Crown City belong to- it’s music they (we) can understand and be a part of without resorting to retarded hand gestures, bored, recycled misogyny and tacky materialism.

By association, it seems, this kind of music- the backpacker genre, if it can still be called that- isn’t nearly as cool to be into as the repetitive autotune-soaked bullshit that acts have been piggybacking and riding the lowest lyrical common denominator (bitches and money) for every last cent. Hell, FM radio eats it right up. I know I’m not alone in believing that nobody in hell should know who 50 Cent is, much less have to deal with him trying to use his staggering success to hock movies, shoes, sports drinks and other such nonsense that has nothing to do with music. Sure, white culture mimicks black culture with a three or four year delay (I’m starting to hear the f’shizzles again), but does black culture then, by default, shoot itself in the foot by abandoning a magnificent art form?

Crown City Rockers, however, stand for something more than product promotion and diamond grills. There’s genuine meaning behind the songs, not the standard materialistic flavor-of-the-week fad phrases, liquor/shoe/car brand name-drops and giggly cock-strokage. That shit might move units among the wagon riders, but it doesn’t begin to approach artistic depth or serve as any kind of fuel for musical evolution.

CCR’s greatest strength is the group’s collective ability to sonically gel. Each member plays a pivotal role, and personality shines through the sonic tapestry like multicolored rays. After eight years of being a group, the members of Crown City nail all their cues and mesh together in a way that looks effortless onstage. Raashan Ahmad’s flow has never been sharper, undoubtedly honed by his work on The Push, his slammin’ first solo album that we reviewed back in May. His rich flow and enthusiasm on the mic kept the energy at a consistent high throughout the set.

There was no need to win the House of Blues crowd over- by the second verse of the first song, everybody on the floor was fully engaged. They tore through all the best tracks off their debut Earthtones, while sampling some new material and pulling from Raashan’s excellent solo record, The Push- particularly the call-to-arms track Fight.

The stripped-intro B-Boy was phenomenal, lush groove surging the track’s energy to new heights before a breakdown that allowed each member to solo and riff off on their individual flavor. It was here that the band’s not-so-secret weapon was revealed: Kat Ouano whose fingerwork on the keys adds a mesmerizing psychedelic depth to the Rockers that’s become a cornerstone to their sound.

Surrounded by keys, she riffs over the beats, adding an assortment of colors to every tone and guiding the songs beyond just a live hip-hop show. She also goes by the name Kat 010, and her Natural Phenomenons solo album is a downtempo trip through an ambient dreamland. Good shit.

The highlight of the night came during the track Sidestep, when the oh-so-very pregnant Destani Wolf appeared onstage to sing her part. Singing barely covers it though- I’ve never seen such a glowing example of a pregnant woman’s soul pouring through her voice so powerfully and passionately- she put everything she had into her last note in the song, and held it, one hand caressing her belly, eyes closed, soaring over the groove for what must’ve been a full 30 seconds. I remember wondering what it must be like to be the kid in her belly, feeling the pulse of the kick drum three feet away, the energy from the crowd, the dreamy keys, and that familiar voice filling everything with a booming, beautiful melody. Hell of a way to start a life.

Support is support and it’s good to have any kind of audience, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why this kind of music is being left behind by the purveyors of cool in the urban community. It doesn’t take anything away from my experience that I’m rocking the fuck out next to a bunch of dorky white kids, but I find it astonishing that this level of excellence, this breath of fresh air in a pungent climate can be so under-appreciated by hip-hop fans.

Or maybe I’m just another white guy who doesn’t understand what “real” hip-hop is.

Related Posts

• Hip-Hop Jams To Rock Your Shit #1
• Raashan Ahmad Delivers ‘The Push’
• The Inconvenience Of Revolution: Raashan Ahmad Of Crown City Rockers
• Q-Tip’s Long Awaited Renaissance

Our reaction to the fiasco caught the attention of the Cold War Kids themselves, specifically vocalist Nathan Willett- he wrote, explaining his regret about the situation (created by overzealous, label-hired “watchdogs” jumping guns) and encouraging us to do what we damn well pleased. He understood the value of genuine enthusiasm over hyperprotection of carefully controlled promotion schemes. It was refreshing and encouraging to see an artist get directly involved in protecting their own fans.

Two months later, we caught up with Nathan on a German stop of the Cold War Kids’ current European tour. We fired off a massive batch of questions, expecting no more than a casual selection of short answers; hell, the guy’s on tour. What we got instead was an in-depth look at the methods and mechanics of the frontman for one of the best indie rock bands on the circuit.

Nathan’s batch of responses came from “a ridiculously smoky and busy venue in Berlin,” where the Cold War Kids were playing a show that night. He invited follow-up questions, and our conversation continued as the band traveled onward to other countries, which will follow soon. Here’s part one.

Antiquiet: Where are you right this minute?

Nathan Willett: Berlin dressing room. Gray day. Just walked by the wall and saw those illustrations from the U2 One video.

Antiquiet: Having toured all over the world and had the benefit of a much broader cultural perspective in this high-intensity political and economic climate we’ve been living in, do you have any observations on the concept of a “new beginning” for the U.S. come January? The presidential election was based much more on a broad, unifying symbolism than any I’ve ever seen.

Nathan Willett: Yeah it’s good for morale. The only thing that gets scary is when people turn leaders into gods and I want people to be realistic about Obama, not so zealous.

Antiquiet: With regard to our conversation back in September about the review / label backlash and so on, how does a band deal with the need for increased third-party representation these days, especially with such a fast-growing audience?

Nathan Willett: I still don’t know. There is a book called Mansion On The Hill which is all about commerce creeping in and dominating contemporary rock music. It’s amazing. What comes to mind is those bands in the 60s that absolutely refused to talk business because it was taboo, they only jammed and created. It’s laughable how gone that time is. How an artist can never be the same. How if you are going to be competitive, you have to know about technology and marketing in a way that would have been absolutely taboo back in those days. It’s sad in a way. It would be nice to think that all we are doing is playing music. But we are salesmen.

Antiquiet: What do you do to survive in an industry that’s designed more and more specifically for hits?

Nathan Willett: I care about the people who are in the bands I listen to and I think certain types of people always will. There is more opportunity to provide tons of content for people than ever. Like the MySpace thing and the Documentary that came with the album, those are nice ways to give people more than just an album so that they can go deeper.

Antiquiet: How do you apply that philosophy to illegal downloading, knowing that piracy isn’t going to stop, and they can’t sustain the state of the empire?

Nathan Willett: Our label in the US, Downtown, seems to have a good formula of when to give away. They have a site called RCRD LBL where they put out tons of free music. And they still attract artists old and new to sign with them. Artists make money selling products more than they do from records and that’s tragic. What will be the next big move? I would quit songwriting and start a marketing department if I knew.

Antiquiet: The MySpace Transmissions sessions and other unique performances are a fan’s dream come true. Speaking of, it was the first time I heard Coffee Spoon- fantastic song. What’s the story behind it?

Nathan Willett: Yeah, the show was fun. On the first record we would get asked to do creative performances and we weren’t too prepared, so I would end up playing an acoustic version of the song and it was boring. So this time around we messed around with different arrangements of the songs for stuff like the MySpace thing. Coffee Spoon is kind of about how in relationships and internally there is something really great about being frugal but it is also easy to be chintzy. To give little and need little. I think the idea of being ascetic was always appealing to me, but than I had to learn how to shed some of that stuff… to “spend.”

So a coffee spoon in a china room was a metaphor for learning to value precious things. Here are the lyrics if you feel like getting crazy:

I can argue with the mime
I can argue with the mime
he is reading me the riot
act every line

every lawyer in his prime
every lawyer in his prime
gets nostalgic for the bar’s
naïveté to crime

ascetics wring their hands
this decadent misuse
inside my china room
you are my coffee spoon

my indulgence is a joke
while everybody laughs
I’m clipping coupons
saving my breath

I was celebrating Lent
with a candle in a tent
when you came and snatched me up
out of retirement

Now I’m buying finer clothes
in department store windows
throwing credit cards down
never raise my voice

Antiquiet: I enjoyed your poem/ode to David Wallace’s Kenyon Commencement Speech, and I’ve gotten into his world quite a bit since we last spoke (thanks for the starting point). Can you explain the impact Wallace has had on you?

Nathan Willett: Geez. I spent a summer reading Infinite Jest. My brother read it too and it brought us closer. I saw him do a reading at the Hammer Museum. I tried to meet him a couple times on campus at Pomona College but he wasn’t there. I left him a CD of ours. He speaks like people that I know in the most insane ways.

This is pretty extreme, but in a different country, he would’ve been our Dostoevsky. People in the street would know his name and that he shaped our morality and culture with his humor and his challenge of our materialism. I am just a fan who loves his books and this is hard for me to accept and maybe too impersonal to dwell on at this time, but losing him is frustrating for corporate reasons as well. For the we as well as the me. His influence could’ve reached past the literary world and into our parents’ and friends’ living rooms. He should’ve been our generation’s conscious, moralist and artist. And for many of us, he has been that big, that unrivaled. I think about his Kenyon Commencement Speech almost daily; being aware of who I am worshipping and why. As a songwriter, I have been more inspired by Wallace than any poet or lyricist.

Antiquiet: I’ve been consumed by Cormac McCarthy lately (especially The Road). Who else do you read?
Nathan Willett: There is a book by a guy named Arthur Bradford called Dogwalker. It is crazy funny. Four Loves by C.S. Lewis. Steinbeck’s East Of Eden.

Antiquiet: As a lyricist, how do you approach songwriting? You seem to tend to inhabit other characters in your songs.

Nathan Willett: It is one of the weirdest things in the world to me. I like to have music first and then think about the kinds of people and emotions that the music reminds me of. Then write something based on that. Usually with the approach of a subject that doesn’t remind me of anything else. Songs are such weird things. Joe Strummer wrote some of the weirdest lyrics, like Rock The Casbah and Straight To Hell are so strange. And Clampdown is so heavy handed. Or Jonathan Richman’s When We Refuse To Suffer. Fugazi’s smallpox champion.

We have been criticized for heavy handed lyrics. I guess heavy handed lyrics are always harder to like than shallow lyrics.

Antiquiet: What most inspires you?

Nathan Willett: Good conversations. Discovering how to put the things you learn into the practice of your life.

Antiquiet: Does spirituality play a role in your music? I ask because there’s a scripture-esque tone to some of your lyrics and phrasings.

Nathan Willett: Certainly. Probably half the reason people either love us or hate us. To me, it’s wrapped up in the same stuff as DFW to Leonard Cohen to J.D. Salinger. All those artists artists up above are spiritual and use images from scripture to find new ways to express themselves.

Antiquiet: Where do you find new music?

Nathan Willett: I think I find new music less than I did before the band. It’s hard to both write music and listen to new music. I feel like I’m getting more narrow minded about what I like. I have heard the new Richard Swift record and Elvis Perkins In Dearland record and both of those are phenomenal. I just got lots of Otis Redding and Toots And The Maytals from Maust on the iPod. You know, it’s obvious, but the whole thing of having such a ridiculous abundance of availability of music, the only downside is that it’s hard to be devoted to single albums, to listen to them over and over when you have so many choices…

Antiquiet: What do you listen to on the road?

Nathan Willett: Dub.

Antiquiet:  If at all, how do you prepare your voice for touring / recording?

Nathan Willett: Not at all. I smoke inconsistently which confuses my vocal chords. I try to do a quick warm-up before the show. There have been whole months of touring where my voice has been stripped the whole time and it’s miserable and painful. So staying healthy makes my life way better.

Antiquiet: Where are you happiest?

Nathan Willett: In Long Beach, the four of us writing. With a Pacifico. Late at night.

Related Posts

• Road Journals: Cold War Kids, Part Two
• White Boy Gospel: The Builders And The Butchers
• How Do I Know If I’m A Hipster?
• On Second Thought…

My first encounter with the texan metal outfit As Eden Burns was met with both hope and skepticism. Far too many bands have set out to achieve this coveted middle-ground but never managed to sound natural (at least to these ears) in their musical endeavors. After a brief listen, most of my skepticism had dissolved and I found myself going out of my way for their independently released 5 song EP the next day.

I was stunned at how tastefully everyone in the band approached what modern death / thrash middle-ground has become- only exercising bombast when most appropriate and maintaining unapologetic, haunting melodies throughout. To this day I remain awestruck at the depth of the lyrical content, and the placement of the dedicated dual-vocal work capturing it.

Now, just under three years since their formation, As Eden Burns have finally released their debut LP, entitled The Great Celestial Delusion and it is every bit as satisfying as the original EP. Despite their youth, these texans sound as though they had been playing death / thrash straight through the 90s. They’ve got a natural maturity that is supposed to only come with age, and in a relatively short time they’ve managed to develop into a tight, concise outfit despite some lineup changes.

For the most part, the songs are of average lengths. But with vicious, memorable hooks in every song and a dense and epic style (think Protest The Hero meets early Morbid Angel) every one’s an excursion. The hardest knockout comes from back-to-back triumphs Ever Again and Conceptual Decay. The closer, Lost Counsel And Untimely Doom, is a wooly mammoth, the likes of which every heavy metal album ought to end with. Have a taste- here’s Ever Again:

All in all, this album is a top-to-bottom thrasher only stopping to catch its breath (and for one acoustic guitar interlude) between its eight barrages of double bass and tremolo picking, and never once straying from fully focused songwriting. All of the modern death metal adornments are present… swept guitar lines, dual melodies, standout basslines, tastefully executed blastbeats, everything you wanna hear in late 2008 without losing sight of the objective: That balanced middle-ground. The Great Celestial Delusion is a massive debut any extreme metal fan is sure to enjoy.

The Great Celestial Delusion
November 11, 2008
Willowtip

1. The Great Celestial Delusion
2. Endless Rebirth
3. Enemy
4. Ever Again
5. Conceptual Decay
6. Guilds
7. Golden Age
8. Lost Counsel And Untimely Doom

Related Posts

• Disaster Profiteering In Burma

Jesse Hughes may be the less-famous co-pilot of this pirate ship, but anyone who’s seen an Eagles Of Death Metal show will tell you that he’s the personality centerpiece of this band. Cocksure and radiantly eager for the kill, the tattooed, muscle-shirted, aviator-wearing Hollywood history buff makes no bones about what he’s here to do. An EODM concert is nothing short of a foot-stomping, ass-shaking, tits-flashing grand old time with Jesse at the wheel, always ready with a wink and a devilish grin beneath his 70’s cop mustache. 

And goddamnit, that’s exactly how a rock star should be.

The Eagles’ third album, Heart On, was released just a few weeks ago (Oct 21), and it’s an easy contender for the best record of 2008. We tracked down Hughes to discuss, among other things, the pitfalls and perils of LA, his new solo album (tentatively titled Fabulous Weapons) and the perils of being sodomized by P. Diddy. That’s right.

Antiquiet: You’re rockin’ my hometown tonight (Detroit). You there yet? 

Jesse Hughes: Yeah, we’re here. Can’t wait to get the blood pumpin’, cause it’s fuckin’ freezing in this town. I’m rockin’ the long johns for this journey.

Antiquiet: You should wear ‘em onstage. They’ll definitely get on well with the ladies.

Jesse Hughes: Well, see that’s the thing, I want ‘em to come off with the ladies. 

Antiquiet: Well, who knows? They’re a different breed out there, they might be appreciative. Detroit sure as hell aint LA.

Jesse Hughes: Dude, you know what? It sure as shit isn’t LA. There’s nothin’ LA. about this place. But that’s kinda what I like about it. 

Antiquiet: I can relate. Now with Heart On, the production value this time around has really been stepped up from the previous two records. Was that a conscious decision between you and Josh, or a natural progression? 

Jesse Hughes: Well, it kinda happened on its own a weird way. We recorded in a bunch of different studios all over the world, and at one point, when we’d already gotten most of the record down, we hit that sweet little Goldilocks spot where everything just felt perfect in the sound. So then we had to go back and rework everything else to fit that tone. 

Antiquiet: Was it a frustrating experience, having to go back and redo everything?

Jesse Hughes: Really man, we just truly truly truly wanted to make the best album we possibly could. This album had to step it up from the last one, and once we got to that point, it was one of those Eureka! We found it! moments. 

The first two albums were really just Joshua putting a bubble around me so I could develop, you know? And I feel like his production was restrained because I wasn’t able to give an equal share to the process and development. But this record is the shit, man. This is what it’s all about. We couldn’t be happier. And Josh, really… I’ve got this theory about the record business. There’s a lot of magicians out there in the music industry, man. Lots of tricks and flashy distractions. But my friend Josh Homme is a wizard. 

Antiquiet: So let’s talk about LA. Heart On really seems to step away from the previous two records in that it’s much less about celebrating chicks and sex rock, and more of a love story about Los Angeles.

Jesse Hughes: That’s true. That’s exactly it. The first two albums are celebrating the joy of sex, and this one is about hitting that slipstream in Los Angeles. Swimming strong when you’ve got sinkers far as the eye can see.

Antiquiet: Now I’m A Fool stands out for me- it takes you to a serene kind of place that not many rock songs can. The lyrics have nothing to do with this, but it just strikes me as the perfect Sunday morning song, driving down Sunset to PCH after a night of hard livin’. How did that song get built?

Jesse Hughes: When I’m writing most of my songs, they normally start in the car. Because I don’t live in LA, and I normally drive into Los Angeles about four times a week. Sometimes in Hollywood, the second you engage in a relationship, it becomes a public, different animal, and you end up losing that person forever.

Antiquiet: As a fan, I just want to thank you for making an amazing record. 

Jesse Hughes: I’ll send you the demos so you can see where it starts. Watching what Joshua does- watching him at work is a blessing. 

Antiquiet: What’s the witching hour in Los Angeles? 

Jesse Hughes: What’s the magic hour? Sometime around 1:45 AM. That’s my hour, dude. It’s the midnight creature hour, for sure. But what ends up happening is that the city empties out, so you’re able to traverse greater distances, and what ends up happening for me, cause I’m kind of a history buff of Hollywood, like hey, this is where Glenn Frey freaked out on cocaine and was chased by the cops for two hours. And for me, because I’m kind of a romantic, when you’re occupying the physical space of your heroes, you kind of experience a moment of it, in some vicarious way. That’s something you don’t get to see or experience when you’re stuck in traffic having some asshole threaten to sue you or shoot you. 

Antiquiet: How do you avoid the Sunset trap? It can be a nits and grits kind of place if you don’t have your armor on. To glide above the sleaze and the grease.

Jesse Hughes: LA’s weird man, people really travel by habit. So many roads are unused at the same time of day, and there’s traveling roads. 

Antiquiet: I didn’t mean so much as traffic as the warts and Hollywood monsters.

Jesse Hughes: Oh, yes. The actual traps. Well, I’ve become a hooker for a Russian gangster and my daddy protects me. Hey what are you wearing right now? Me and the boys want to know.

Antiquiet: So happy you asked. My kid’s got a fever, so the goal of the day is to keep her laughing. I’ve got on an old, puffy, cookie-monster blue robe, an Elmer Fudd hat and some Kanye sunglasses.

Jesse Hughes: Dude, are you at an American Apparel photo shoot right now?

Antiquiet: Nope, just doin’ my job as a dad.

Jesse Hughes: Right on, I’ve got a kid too. When they’re sick at that age, it’s so cute cause all you gotta do is keep em laughing. I’m keeping everybody laughing, walking around Detroit in my long johns.

Antquiet: I miss long johns, man. I miss weather. Not this burning skies and snowing ash bullshit- I’m talking about actual seasons. I come from a place where there’s thunderstorms and lightning and it actually gets fucking cold in the wintertime. Out here it’s hot, not quite so hot, and kinda warm.

Jesse Hughes: I love that- “I come from a land where there’s thunder and lightning. Where men wield lightning bolts and fight off the heathens.”

Antiquiet: Yeah, we’re a different breed, out there. 

Jesse Hughes: I’m with you, man, believe me. It started in Minneapolis. I’m being dead serious. And I guess this why the album’s called Heart On. These fucking crowds are the best, man. It aint fuckin’ LA and you know that immediately. They want to fuckin’ rock, they wanna party, they’re not worried about what anyone fuckin’ thinks, and if they don’t like the rock, you’re doomed. And that’s the best fuckin thing to go up against. 

Antiquiet: I saw a video a while back talking about the election. Something tells me you weren’t one of the people running through th