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194 and counting By Kimberly Chun ON THE OCCASION of John Cale's new album, blackAcetate (Astralwerks), the testy yet honest Welshman agreed to a phone interview. As he rolls into town this week, behold his "Pon de Replay"-loving candor. Bay Guardian: You're in New York? John Cale: There are 30-mile-an-hour gusts. You go around the corner and it blows you over. BG: Sounds challenging. JC: Guess that's why you're living in San Francisco. BG: So, according to the press literature for the new album, you've been liberated by Pro Tools. JC: It helps you get things done quicker. That's the only advantage. In my case, because I improvise so much, I need something to remind me of what I improvised. It's not that I worship computers; they're [just] essential for getting work done quickly. Although I am a technoslut – I want to see the biggest, the fastest, and the most futuristic, right now. I love Silicon Valley, let's put it that way. BG: Did you work with anyone special on blackAcetate? JC: Most of blackAcetate is Herb [Graham Jr.] and I. We start recording, and Herb walks over to the drums, I put on electric guitar, and we improvise, and then we cut it up into a song. I don't sit around outside and write; I don't go up on a mountainside and say, "Gee, what a beautiful view – this brings to mind a song." That's not what happens. I write the material in the studio. I just found a neat little place in Culver City that was very private. Herb and I would show up at 10 – Herb was really into the morning thing. We recorded a month and a half, took a break, and then came back and spent two weeks in the studio. "Drop It Like It's Hot" happened, and we were both really excited about how simple and minimalist that was. BG: Do you listen to a lot of hip-hop? JC: Yeah. [Dr.] Dre and N.E.R.D., Rihanna – the grooves are just so great. She's very good, and the Jay-Z production is just excellent. I'm really torn about whether I just like the production or the grooves. BG: I was listening to the deluxe issue of the first Stooges record recently. It includes your original mixes. JC: I know, I know, I know. Limited appeal. I don't understand it! I'm not a record company executive, but I know why they do it, but I don't understand what the point of it is. There's nothing really ... scintillating about the so-called new or old mixes. It's not worth the effort. [Sounds subdued] Leave it alone. Y'know, we had five days to make that record, to record and mix it, so those guys came in, set up in a shoe box, did it, mixed it, that's it. We didn't have time to moddle-coddle anybody. So the fact that they found mixes of interest ... geez. BG: Were you happy with that production? JC: It was exciting, but what was astonishing was how efficient they were. I mean, Iggy came up to me and gave me the lyrics, for god's sake – he'd written them out. BG: There seems to be another resurgence of interest in the Velvet Underground. JC: I don't really respond to it, I don't listen to it, and I don't pay any attention to it, because I don't learn from it. I only learn from what the possibilities are, and if I see that the possibilities are expanding, I'm interested in what will come, not what has been. I'm really terrible at killing my children. I made the record, and I say, "OK, that's done now – get me onto the next one." When you think about it, you're talking about 1965. And the standards of the technology, let alone the standards of recording, are vastly different. It's kind of sad, in a way, to refer back to them, because they don't sound good. They sound ... fuzzy. It's not the same. I don't know. Just a personal opinion. BG: I loved your performance with Alejandro Escovedo at the Austin Music Awards this year. JC: I've known him for a long time – him and Sterling [Morrison, of the Velvet Underground] were buddies at one time. Sterling was the guy who would entertain any crazy political ideas or any intellectual ideas I had – he'd immediately snap them up and throw them back in my face. He was great like that. Lou [Reed] didn't have any patience. But y'know, he would always, he had this amazing ability to remind me of the value of learning, the value of education; he was so proud of his kids and all that. So he had that quality about him. BG: Someone asked me to ask you about your music for Andy Warhol's Heat. JC: That was a deal – I needed an album cover, and Paul [Morrissey] needed music for the titles, and I said, "I'll give you the music for the titles; ask Andy to do my album cover." He did [the art for] The Academy in Peril. BG: What do you do when you're not touring? JC: Go to the gym. Read. BG: How old are you? JC: 194. BG: You're the oldest living rock star. JC: Doing pretty well, actually. John Cale performs Fri/25-Sat/26, 10 p.m. Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. $20-$23. (415) 861-5016. |
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