Mat and BrettInterview from Urban Desires
An Interview
by dave evine
I met two members of London Suede, Brett Anderson and Mat Osman, in the lounge of a major
New York hotel. They
were at the beginning of a four-city tour of the U.S. in support of their newest release,
Coming Up on Columbia Records. I got a chance to talk to them about songwriting,
performing and who they think can write a good song. Brett did almost all the talking and
never took his sunglasses off. Hey, he's a rock star; he doesn't have to. This was my
first time interviewing a British band and I couldn't escape the feeling of being Rob
Reiner in Spinal Tap.
London Suede, or Suede as they're known in England, is at the forefront of the new
Brit-Pop explosion that includes
bands like Oasis, Blur and Pulp. They write lush poppy songs reminiscent of Bowie in the
late seventies. As with many of the new British bands, success in America is hard won.
They released their first record, Nude in 1993 and it went #1 in England but didn't make
much sound on this side of the Atlantic. Why? well Brett thinks he knows, so read on.
UD: So have you guys been to New York a lot?
LS: Yeah, we've been here quite a few times.
UD: So what's the difference between London night life and New York?
LS: I don't know really. I think every city in the world is pretty much the same, isn't
it? I mean there's no difference between
New York, and London. Everyone likes to think that they live in the biggest, baddest city
in the world. London's just as big and bad as New York and Rio de Janeiro is just as big
and bad as London. I think at this point in the twentieth century everyone is so well
connected and the world's just become one big place... got tramps sittin' in the street
and sex and sleaze and stuff like that. It's all the same, isn't it?
UD: Except for the bars in London close at 11:00.
LS: Yeah, but there are after-hours places.
UD: What's your favorite place in the world to play? London?
LS: Probably Thailand or Scandinavia.
UD: Why? Because the crowds are crazy, and they just love it?
LS: They're mad, especially in Singapore. They sing along with every word.
UD: What about New York? To me, New York crowds are jaded.
LS: Yeah, they are a bit. Last time we played here it was shit. I can't really get my
hands around the mentality. I don't really
know how to put this. I mean, I don't want to be offensive.
UD: Go ahead be offensive, it makes good copy.
LS: New Yorkers want to be shouted at or they don't respect you. They tend to assume that
quietness equals weakness,
which it doesn't. That's an assumption that I don't think anyone in the world makes. The
first show we did here was really boring and the second show we were going through quite
alot of bad times with the band. We were having alot of internal arguments and it was a
real low point in our relations. We were so fucked up with each other, we absolutely
fuckin' hated each other... I don't know how to put it....
UD: New York probably loved that.
LS: Exactly, it came across in the gig. It was a real wild gig.
UD: I read in your press release that when you first started playing, people hated you. Is
that true?
LS: (Both laughing)
UD: Critically too, and then at some point it changed. Did you do anything?
LS: No we just got better, that's all there is to it. We always were going against the
grain, and so when you're doing something that is going against the grain and you're not
very good at it, people hate you. When you do something against the grain and you're good
at it, people start thinking it's something special.
UD: So it was just experience, then?
LS: Experience of playing live, learning how to sing and how to write songs.
UD: I want to give people here in the US that don't know much about you some background.
How did you get started?
LS: No one really fuckin' cares anyway.
UD: ...Okay. Why do you think it's hard for modern British pop bands to break into the
U.S.?
LS: I know exactly why that is, 'cause the American music industry is obsessed with
categories and things. And we aren't that happy with being categorized. In Europe we're
just a pop band. We're #7, and George Michael is #5. You know, we're just a band. There is
a song on the second album called "The Wild Ones." When we first played it for
Sony they were doing somersaults. We thought it was like #1 and they took it to radio
stations, and they couldn't get it played. They couldn't figure out if it was a love song
or a rock song by a band with a bunch of guitars. We took it to alternative and they
thought it was too mainstream, and we took it to mainstream and they thought it was too
alternative. It's never been my desire to be neatly sectioned into some little box. Then
you lose any mystery, any danger, any X factor that you might have had, and I don't think
that many bands in Europe are happy being categorized like that.
UD: Your press release touted you as the best lyricist of your generation--
LS: --I wouldn't believe anything it says there--
UD: --do you have any problem living up to that?
LS: Do I have a problem with that? Yeah, I don't think it's true. I don't think anyone is
the best lyricist of a generation. I should burn that press release. It's been the source
of so much inflammatory rubbish.
UD: What inspired you to start playing?
LS: We just loved music and wanted to be in a band.
LS: I wanted to be a song writer.
UD: What songwriters do you admire?
LS: Kraftwerk, Lennon and McCartney, Pet Shop Boys.
UD: What do you think of Billy Bragg?
LS: I think he's got a big nose.
UD: (Laughing) I guess that would be 'not too much'.
LS: Naw, I think he's alright. I like some of his love songs.
UD: Yeah, he does write good love songs.
LS: It's like Bob Dylan; I think all these political writers aren't as political when they
are writing love songs. I think their political stuff stinks. Bob Dylan's political songs
are so fucking one dimensional, and the same goes for Billy Bragg.
UD: So you don't believe in the folk, socio-political commentary song?
LS: Yeah I do. I just don't believe it's effective when it's put in that crass category. I
don't think any of Bob Dylan's political songs were that moving.
UD: ...What about "Times They Are A Changing"?
LS: Yeah, I guess.
UD: What about Elvis Costello? He's a guy who writes political songs.
LS: Yeah I like "Shipbuilding." That's probably the best political song ever
written. It goes beyond politics, and touches on the human consequences of politics, which
I think song writing has got to do. I don't think you can just put numbers and manifestos
within a chord sequence. I don't think it strikes a chord in the human heart. I think to
actually say something to people you've
got to say it with emotion. That's why I think that "Shipbuilding" is one of the
best political songs.
UD: What's the worst thing about being on the road?
LS: Standing in a pool of someone else's piss when you're on a fucking bus on a three-day
journey.
UD: Is there a story that goes along with that response?
LS: No, that's an everyday occurrence.
UD: What do you guys think about Tony Blair?
LS: I think it's fucking great. I think it's the best thing to happen to England in a
couple of years, wonderful.
UD: In the United States they compare him a lot to Clinton.
LS: A politician can never be one hundred percent great. I think a politician, as long as
he inspires confidence in a positive way, then he's a good politician. And I think Blair
and Clinton both do that.
UD: What kind of press does Clinton get over there?
LS: He gets good press.
UD: He probably gets better press over there...
LS: ...I'd rather see someone like him than some rejuvenated old skeleton like George
Bush. You know what I mean? Some old man that looks like they've been revived, you know,
dug up from the dead.
UD: If you could just sit at home and write songs, would that satisfy you?
LS: I don't think so, its not boring enough yet to do that. There is part that is mundane.
There are some low points but then there are some extreme highs and those highs can inform
your writing. I think the point of it all is to actually let things inform other things,
and let the whole thing become one big process.
UD: Do you guys all get along on the road?
LS: We've had fights in the past but not in the last couple of years. Although maybe we
should start.
LS: There is an idea.
LS: Maybe I'll punch our bass player.
UD: Head butt him?
LS: Yeah, I want to give him a good head butt.
LS: I might give him a hug.
UD: No, don't do that. New Yorkers won't like it. Don't do the hug thing. Don't be nice or
anything.