What is important to me.

December 17, 2008 7:56 AM

What is important to me?Short video interviews with mostly alternative rock/pop folk, in which they answer the question 'What is really important to me'. For Elbow it's hope, Lambchop breakfast, Bob Mould turning life upside, New Model Army a sense of proportion, Nada Surf respect and caring, Sterolab hedonism, Calexico space...the rest are here..
posted by therubettes (20 comments total)

Wow Bob Mould is looking terrific lately, that paying attention to health stuff that he was talking about seem to work great. Can someone tell me something about who these puppets are?
posted by jessamyn at 8:05 AM on December 17, 2008

i heart bob mould. and the most important thing to him. 'cause it's pretty important to me, too.

i am sad, though, to find out that lambchop is a goofy lookin' white dude, and not the sock puppet of yore.

this is fun. i'm looking forward to watching more of them. thanks, therubettes.
posted by CitizenD at 8:11 AM on December 17, 2008

especially because i can really see lambchop saying that breakfast was the most important thing to her.
posted by CitizenD at 8:14 AM on December 17, 2008 [1 favorite]

i heart bob mould. and the most important thing to him. 'cause it's pretty important to me, too.

Same here. I'm pretty much a fanatic for his music. But I still can't get over how buff he is now, even though he's looked like that for like 10 years. It's like a pod person kidnapped him sometime after Sugar broke up.
posted by DecemberBoy at 8:16 AM on December 17, 2008

Man, a lot of these are really shallow and dumb, like what a 17 year old would say. The only one I've watched that was in any way wise or profound is Bob Mould's (which was very much both).
posted by DecemberBoy at 8:47 AM on December 17, 2008

I'm a big fan of Bob Mould as well, but I actually came away feeling like he was a little pompous and condescending. Maybe it's a symptom of the format, since I felt the same way about the guy from Calexico's response, and I love their music too. Or maybe I'm drawn to music by pompous windbags. Hmm.
posted by ga$money at 9:14 AM on December 17, 2008

Bob should have just said "Years".
posted by mandal at 9:26 AM on December 17, 2008

no one said sleep? what the hell is wrong with these people?
posted by bahama mama at 9:51 AM on December 17, 2008

I liked Sam Prekop's answer.
posted by Dr-Baa at 11:02 AM on December 17, 2008

Man, a lot of these are really shallow and dumb, like what a 17 year old would say.

I agree, but I suppose its a tough question to answer while maintaining you rock/pop cool. Bob Mould was not self-conscious and I think Ron Sexsmith is very honest also, painfully so - he says music over his family.
posted by therubettes at 11:21 AM on December 17, 2008

Just a heads-up for future posters:

It's "I have no idea who any of these people are and couldn't care less".
posted by Zambrano at 11:25 AM on December 17, 2008

Needs more Shari Lewis.
posted by tommasz at 11:51 AM on December 17, 2008

I would question Bob Mould's self-assessment that his work has gotten better in step with his changing priorities.

I liked sad, angry Bob more than healthy, carefree Bob. Selfish of me, I know.

The upside is that I no longer have to visualize him sitting in his kitchen eating peanut butter sandwiches and crying.

Please Bob. One tour with Grant and Greg. Just one. I'd pay $500 for a ticket and fly anywhere on the planet. Just to hear the song "New Day Rising" live once more before I die. Just to hear the opening riff from "Divide and Conquer" roaring through a stack of amps. Please, Bob. One night. One chance to feel young again, to live in that moment of skittering drums and howling feedback and bass that you feel in your ribcage. Please. You gotta make some plans for the friends you make.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:15 PM on December 17, 2008 [2 favorites]

I liked sad, angry Bob more than healthy, carefree Bob. Selfish of me, I know.

I'd have to agree there. I mean, District Line is a good record, but it's no Warehouse or Zen Arcade or Beaster. At some point he slowly started to come around to realize that existence wasn't totally hopeless and life is worth living (you can actually sort of chart it - the first songs he wrote that acknowledged that there might be anything positive about the world and humanity were on his first solo record... but then he did Black Sheets of Rain, so it's not an exact science), and his art suffered.

Please Bob. One tour with Grant and Greg. Just one. I'd pay $500 for a ticket and fly anywhere on the planet. Just to hear the song "New Day Rising" live once more before I die. Just to hear the opening riff from "Divide and Conquer" roaring through a stack of amps. Please, Bob. One night. One chance to feel young again, to live in that moment of skittering drums and howling feedback and bass that you feel in your ribcage. Please. You gotta make some plans for the friends you make.

Man, you know it'd just be like every other lame reunion. Bob isn't angry, closeted and addicted to speed anymore. It wouldn't be the same. It'd just be a nostalgia trip. I'd still be with you on the "anywhere on the planet" thing, though.

Not gonna happen, though. Grant was still bitter at Bob as recently as an interview he did a couple years ago. They were at least able to be on stage together when they did "Never Talking To You Again" at the memorial show for Karl Mueller, but that's probably as much as we'll ever get.
posted by DecemberBoy at 12:34 PM on December 17, 2008

I have to think that Grant's gotta need the money. And Greg has picked up the bass again (MySpace link). Having them all pissed off at each other onstage would be ideal. Just like old times. I'm such a rabid fanboy that it wouldn't matter to me that it'd just be a nostalgia trip. Hell, that'd give me something to bitch about for years -- well worth it.

*sigh*

But you're right. Deep down, I know it'll never happen.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:02 PM on December 17, 2008

I still remember the day I walked into my favorite independent record store here in Tempe, Stinkweeds. I looked around for awhile, then made my way up to the counter to ask the fantastic lady who owns the place, Kimber, what to buy. I download boatloads of music and end up buying the vinyl for the things I like, and I couldn't find anything I wanted and didn't have.
Kimber seemed reluctant to answer at first. She asked me if I remembered the band... Nada Surf. I looked at her incredulously and said 'Popular? The Popular song guys?'. She told me she completely understood my reaction, but that I needed to listen to their newest album, Let Go (this was more than a few years ago). I listened to it with a super-heightened fear that Kimber, gentle independent record store owner, had lost her marbles and was going to try and foist upon me something new by The Verve or Fuel or... Everclear.
I listened to just two or three tracks and apologized, immediately bought the record, and have never looked back. Oh, and Calexico is rad too. Thanks for this.
posted by Bageena at 1:17 PM on December 17, 2008

Having them all pissed off at each other onstage would be ideal. Just like old times.

True, they pretty much hated each other from Flip Your Wig on (Grant and Bob anyway, Greg was more caught in the middle), but not to the point where they couldn't put it aside onstage, and they still had the mitigating influence of David Savoy. After he died, then it got to the point that they couldn't even stand to be in the same building, and those wounds will probably never heal.

Actually, I'd almost like to see Sugar reform even more. There was no acrimonious split there, so it's within the realm of possibility, and they were technically a better unit than Husker Du, although they weren't around long enough to put out as many classic records. Barbe and Travis were one of the most amazing rhythm sections ever.
posted by DecemberBoy at 2:46 PM on December 17, 2008

There was no acrimonious split there, so it's within the realm of possibility

For some reason I remember hearing that Malcom Travis learned of Sugar's disbandment through an article in Rolling Stone, and that he felt chuffed about it. There might be some animosity on his end...
posted by pxe2000 at 3:24 PM on December 17, 2008

(Though, to be fair, David Barbe's wife had her third child around the time that the File Under: Easy Listening tour ended, so Bob and Malcom had to be aware that something was up?)
posted by pxe2000 at 3:25 PM on December 17, 2008

But you're right. Deep down, I know it'll never happen.

There is at least one band that sort of paralleled Du's hatred of each other, yet somehow went on to reform & blast the 'all reunions suck' stereotype away: Dinosaur Jr. Maybe there is hope for the boys after all. Or maybe they'll do it & be as completely shitty as, say, the Pixies 2.0 are.
posted by Item at 4:41 PM on December 17, 2008