Interviews

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Our very own the_lex interviews Mary J Blige in the Guardian today. It's a really interesting, excellent interview I thought, better than the Ciara one even: Lex they should give you more interviews to do! (Alexis P did an interview with Los Campesinos! in the same section which basically seemed to be an extended - and quite knowing - demonstration of what a dick Mr Campesinos is: anyway Lex's is better.)

I find even the prospect of interviewing anybody an absolute HORROR so I am very admiring of anyone who can do it reasonably well (and Lex does it very well). I am less forgiving of reviews cos I think I'm good at them, but obviously they're easier to do, you don't have to try and shape a story in real time.

Do any of you lot have any memorable interviews (read as well as conducted!) What do you enjoy in an interview with an pop star?

Comments

[celentari.livejournal.com]

it'd be you vs them...
That's what I thought, but it's generally fun. I've only done a few: GoodBooks, who were ace, Envy & Other Sins, who were ace-r, Architecture in Helsinki, who were stoned, and The Cribs, of whom we do not speak. I wouldn't want to do it in the hotel room official type set up, but in a pub it's fine - the only problem is to make sure they're talking about what you want them to talk about; otherwise it's great because there's no issue with awkward silences and the whole thing is much more like a normal conversation because they all know each other. ALTHOUGH this could be because I've interviewed relatively small acts - hate to think what for e.g. Metallica would be like. Not that you'd get them all at once.

The write up is the tricky bit - too much material, and do you go with what was interesting, or try to represent each member fairly?

Who's been your favourite interview, Lex? The Blige is great - I didn't know much about what she's like, but reading it now feel I could've been there at the interview.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

the trouble with pub interviews is that you constantly worry about whether the dictaphone is picking everything up: the sterile hotel atmosphere takes care of that completely.

favourite interview in terms of actually conducting it - this one maybe; or Carina Round when I was at university; or Mathew Jonson, which I did over skype at 1am (he was in Tokyo). just great conversations, basically. favourite interview in terms of write-up - Simian Mobile Disco or Ciara or Clipse.

[celentari.livejournal.com]

I do always, always write down the best quotes as they happen, even though I'm recording, just in case (er, ever since I interviewed Liam Neeson and it didn't record at all, aaaaaaaargh). MP3 recorders I find better than dictaphone thingies, but of course are more expensive.

Ooh, there's another question: who was your FIRST?

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I'm not sure I can remember! I think it might have been Thea Gilmore, at university. I've managed to never interview anyone I'm not at least somewhat enthusiastic about.

[celentari.livejournal.com]

I messed my first up quite badly by being a bit drunk and unprepared owing to thinking it was on a different day. But Eowyn From Lord Of The Rings - for it is she - was lovely anyway. Even when I asked her for no real reason if she'd ever eaten a Cornish pasty. I still wake up blushing about the whole experience.

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

Hehehe, a very sensible move. At Truck 2001 (? 2002 maybe), I kept recording interviews over each other because I hadn't figured out how to use my mate's Minidisc player. As a result, my festival write-up sucked.