I’ve been waiting for Mark’s answers since last December. Mark was under the deadline to finish a book. The waiting was worthy and now I can tell you the result.
Me and Mark are from the same generation (me 1971 and him 1972 – correct me if I’m wrong, Mark) and share the same passion for music and one particular character as you can read bellow, Morrissey. The Smiths were my shadow in the early years and Morrissey’s figure and lyrics were very important to my musical behavior.
But, It’s about Mark we must talk. Knowned by his frontal and sometimes controversial interviews and reviews he tell us a bit more about himself, his NME early days, the stories and , well, you’ll find out pretty soon.
While you read this piece, in each of the players (audio/video), the first track is dedicated to Mark. Morrissey’s video, “Interlude” with Siouxsie. One "lost"masterpiece from his solo work and The Kooks track “See the Sun”.
Hope you like it.
P.s The last record from the Killers is definitely a great piece of work!
King_leer (KL):
You are in one of the most important magazines from all times. Tell me and for readers understanding, in your own words, what's in "the field" a Staff Writer. How is your day to day? How you conduct reviews weekly and your column?
Mark Beaumont (MB):
As staff writer my role was kind of an esteemed words dogsbody – anything that needed to be penned at short notice or features that needed to be rewritten in house style, they’d come to me. I’d also often get first option on writing the bigger features, but also much of my daily time was taken up with editing the Tracks page, which I did for around seven years. That involved compiling 20 lists of singles that were coming out in each particular week, helping choose the Track Of The Week and commissioning the reviews. I’ve since gone freelance, so I’m now outside the office, writing interviews and reviews for NME as well as The Times, Mail On Sunday, Uncut, The Guardian and various other places. With the column, I generally discuss the topic with the news editor on a Friday and write it up on the Monday.
(KL):
This one i always like to know: What band or individual artist influenced you most, in terms of lyrics? There's any song in particular that affected you most?
(MB):
I’ve always been a big fan of Elvis Costello’s lyrics, largely because of his stylistic twists and turns – his ‘Blood And Chocolate’ album is full of spiteful lyrical inventiveness. Then there’s The Magnetic Fields – Stephin Merritt’s doleful wit and romance is a ray of sunlight in the days of The Courteeners. But if I’m feeling down, I always turn to The Wedding Present and howl the blues away to ‘Heather’, ‘Blue Eyes’ or ‘Bewitched’.
(KL):
2008 brought us good tunes but also some records that i expected more. There are bands that since 2004/2005 had a great 1st record, a good 2nd and not so good 3rd, like in my opinion Razorlight’s, DPT's, Killers, Bloc Party’s and others surprises like Elbow, Last Shadow Puppets, Glasvegas....and we are waiting for The 'Franz new one (but i doubt they'll fail). What's happening? Too rush on editing records?
(MB):
I don’t think the acts are rushing to make the records, I think the listeners are rushing to claim they’re not as good as the debuts. Bloc Party’s latest is a brilliant record likewise Franz and The Killers’ one is growing on me daily. It’s very easy to dismiss a band’s second or third album because it doesn’t quite live up to the first, because most bands have five years to write their first album and six months to write their second. But many second and third albums, if given the proper time, are far better than the critical backlash might suggest.
(KL)/ (MB):
I'll tell you a band or character and you say whatever you want:
- Glasvegas:
Beautiful band, built to last.
- Pete Doherty:
Not someone I’d waste my valuable time trying to interview again.
- Elbow:
They threw me out of one of their after-shows once for writing something they didn’t like, but I still feel pleased for them on finally getting the respect they’ve deserved for so long.
- Last Shadow puppets:
One of the best side-projects I’ve heard in the last decade, along with The Postal Service.
- Cribs with and without Johnny Marr:
Great tunes, Johnny’s a gent.
- The Kooks:
The originators of some of my most spectacular drunken downfalls. Our time together in Tijuana was incredible in that nobody got arrested.
- Richard Hawley:
I haven’t spent much time with Richard since the Longpigs days in the mid-90s. Or, I have to admit, his records.
- Oasis:
Are you still here?
- Richard Ashcroft:
A ludicrous man to worship.
- Morrissey:
I’m a massive Moz fan, and could forgive him (almost) anything. There’s something about his personal defensiveness that makes me want to get to know him all the more, possibly because I know I never will. My interview with him is, I believe, the best piece I’ve ever had published.
(KL):
On the world : What is for you the main cause for this World financial disaster.
(MB):
Bush, Brown, war, the spiraling price of oil, the housing boom, and the catalyst, as far as the UK is concerned, is the media. The press causes a panic over the dropping price of property, everyone feels poorer so spends less, the media cause a panic over everyone spending less so everyone spends even less, before you know it the markets catch on, confidence in the economy goes through the floor, unemployment goes through20the roof and look where we are now. Giving billions to banks is no solution, companies merely need to make no job cuts, take the reduced profits on the chin and ride it out.
(KL):
What was the best interview you ever made and the worst (your opinion). A great episode you never mentioned and can share with me to post in the blog.
(MB):
The best is a toss up between Morrissey in Rome, because I think it inspired me to some of the best writing of my career, the Keith Richards ‘I snorted my dad’ interview because it made front pages worldwide, or interviewing Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach in NYC, for the fanboy potential.
Posts
0 comentários:
Post a Comment