The Offbeat Goes On Ā« P.31
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SD: His stuff is a little more ā¦ maybe debauched? But I donāt think he exists if not for you. RN: Maybe. Heās perhaps a little more cynical, in a way.
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SD: You have a new solo album that is due out this summer, correct? RN: No. It probably wonāt be out until next year, because Iām doing a couple of movies and wonāt be able to go on the road with it or do anything for it. So Iāll finish it this year, certainly. Then Iāll do Cars 3 and Toy Story 4, so for a couple of years Iāll be busy.
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SD: So part of the issue is that listeners are more conditioned to expect confessional, heart-on-sleeve songwriting? RN: And for good reason. The people who have always liked me best are the people who do songwriting for a living. Singer-songwriters and people in the music business have always been big fans of mine, or more so, unfortunately, than the public has been. I wanted that, you know? And sometimes you get what you want. SD: The term āsongwriterās songwriterā is affixed to you more than to anyone else I can think of. RN: Iām proud to have it. You want people you admire to like what you do.
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SD: You rarely write autobiographically or confessionally. Youāre almost always a step or two removed from the characters in your songs. I wonder if that has led to some of the misunderstanding or misinterpretation of your music? RN: Absolutely, because itās an unusual use of the form. People donāt do it. Iāve said a number of times that songwriters ought to have the same latitude as short-story writers, where it doesnāt have to be some kind of personal or confessional thing. I was always more interested in the lessthan-heroic mode. In so many songs, in one way or another, the singer is the hero of the piece ā¦ [For instance,] his heart is broken all over the place, and itās noisy. No matter what it is, it interests me less than writing about people who are a little off in some way. And thatās not the norm.
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SD: In the meantime, can you tell me a little about the record? I understand you have a song about Vladimir Putin. RN: Yeah, I do. [Sings] āPuttinā his pants on one leg at a time / Heās just like a
regular fella? / He aināt nuthinā like a regular fella.ā And it goes on. I hope he likes it. SD: Is there a line about him riding on horseback shirtless? RN: Yeah. āWhen he takes his shirt off, he drives the ladies crazy / When he takes his shirt off, he makes me wanna be a lady.ā SD: [Laughs] Nicely done. RN: āCrazyā and ālady.ā Now thatās something they wouldnāt do before 1954. And theyāre probably right. SD: Itās not a natural rhyme. RN: Itās a natural rhyme, but not a good one. SD: Fair distinction. You also wrote about the conflict between science and religious fundamentalism. What can you tell me about that song? RN: Well, itās about eight minutes long. And itās about a guy who is in an arena, and he says, āWeāre gonna decide here, tonight, about important matters, like dark matter and global warming.ā And on the one side heās got the true believers, the Presbyterians, Episcopalians, the Quakers, Shakers, bakers, you know? And on the other side are the scientists. So, he has a debate, sort of, that goes on. Itās good. Itās funny. And itās long, but it doesnāt seem to me like itās too long. And Iām not my biggest fan. SD: Are you critical of your own work? RN: Yeah, very. I never used to listen to it once I did it. But now itās so easy. You dial up Spotify, and there it is. So I find that Iām listening to myself more than I ever did in my life. Which is still not a lot. When I made a record, I would never listen to it again. SD: Now that you are listening to some of them again, what do you think? RN: What I think mostly is that Iāve been the same. Iāve been consistent. My last two albums, if theyāre not the best, theyāre very close to it. I donāt think Iāve slipped, particularly. Though thatās hard to say. And Iām proud of that, because itās not always the case in pop music. People give their best work before theyāre 30. But I donāt think I have. SD: Do you think thatās because youāve had so many other projects besides just your own music? Maybe that keeps you fresh in your own writing? RN: I think so. I think youāre right. Doing pictures, you have to push yourself to use more than five chords.