The New Pornographers

0:00The record does start with this like it's like a perfect opening track for shows like I could see the curtain dropping and you guys on stage Yeah, it was there was definitely the idea of like a the hook the hook hitting first second Like to have a song that doesn't build Like I was not that it sounds like she loves you what I was thinking about

0:46She loves you how that song just burst straight into the chorus like well not many songs do that just like Did she not see I thought I wanted a song like that where like the first second of it was the main hook of the song and to make that the first Sound anybody here is on the record just to try and make it as immediate as possible How did the song come about I mean? I'm sure every song is so different the way you guys must collaborate on stuff I don't know it's just It just clicked in I Didn't have the I didn't have the lyrics Written initially I remember when I started demoing it with John all I had I just thought I don't have any delirics And I usually if I don't have the finish lyrics. I usually have like You know still working lyrics for songs, but that one was just like I I was just going blah blah blah blah blah

1:37Because I just wanted to hear what it would sound like you know like leaving my head and getting recorded and then it like it clicked in What we thought Wow, this is this is good. I'm gonna have to write lyrics for this is that the hardest part Learner I think for me it is because I'm so concerned with like the sound of the vocals and like the melody and the way they flow that the lyrics have to fit in a very specific way Like even if I write something that I think is a great line if it doesn't fit in the song Well, it's just a line that I wrote, you know, so I can't force it into the song because it'll sound clumsy So yeah, that's the tricky part is there a later keep in working on for years that you haven't been able to figure out What song that should fit into you? Is there something that's been up there? No, I'm not that attached

2:27I'm far more far more attached to like pieces of music I've written than I am to like Lyrics it's not like there's some story. I'm Desperately need to get out. I Really envy people who start with lyrics. I think it must be so much easier to write songs around what yeah Because you get the themes and stuff which I was you can kind of touch on when you're given a movie thing to score But what about you as a lyricist? We're gonna be some for you It's hard actually I struggle with lyrics too, but But when I do it, I guess I do it in silence You know like I'll have the songs I'll have the melody and I won't have any lyrics I'll have kind of just gibberish and then and then I'll go away and there will be no music and I'll write the lyrics with it in my head

3:13Because I cannot do it while the song is playing. Oh, that's interesting I was in like that and all the bands and everything I Don't know I just noticed I noticed it for the first time You know on this last record that I'm working on I Don't know that I've done that but I noticed it for the first time I was like actually this is how I prefer to do it Do your words ever show up on these records on the new porno's records? No, where's everything? Do you read anything Carl? Dan writes. Oh, yeah, except for Dan songs, right? Yeah, of course Yeah, pretty much right tomorrow. And what about when people are singing it like I assume what he's singing are his words But is that always the case? How do you mean like does Dan ever write lyrics for you? No You go to write lyrics for Dan and be like no, okay the only The only thing I've ever done on Dan songs was occasionally do like little arrangement things

4:02Okay, but even that not that much and that all that was like years ago I've always wondered to like how these songs start probably with you in an acoustic or some sort of demo I mean drum machine synth whatever how do they change like what song has changed the most from a demo to what we've heard on the records? I think champions of red wine really changed a lot Because it was like I thought it was a good song But I didn't know what like the feel of it was gonna be like it just seemed like me playing a song in the acoustic and And even when we did the bed tracks, I remember thinking I'm dropping this song like I remember thinking like this song is boring I'm just not gonna make it and then but then it sort of took form became one of my favorites and then

4:52There's weird things like Nico's things lead on it, but her lead was actually supposed to be the harmony There was actually a lead vocal by me that I just dropped because I thought it sounded better when Like her vocal just became the lead vocal So I like when that sort of stuff happens Vocalizations all of this where you're like the I can do your own songs to you But like the ooze and the aze and like the like the breathing in and out while vocalizing stuff. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean that's that's when All like the group vocals. That's when you just get a bunch of people to sing and you like sift through it later You're like, okay, what works, you know because Often you just like bring somebody in there just like singing And you know, you know It's not very tightly arranged and then you go like oh, it's great if it breaks down one vocal and then explodes into eight vocals that

5:43That comes a little later just arranging it right like the song you tell me where that was a real crazy vocal extravagan How come you just had a lot of vocals Well Kelly Hogan whose things of Nico she she guessed it on that song and she had a lot of crazy stuff And then and then it was Nico and Catherine and then me so it was like it was like a lot of singing on it When you're sifting throw out, how do you know when a song is done? In a lot of ways, it's not that difficult. It's just like sitting down and like just doing it Like it isn't like oh, there's too much to sift. It's not like I can't make the decision. It's just like You're almost too lazy. You're like let's do this like I'm tired like let's get this and

6:33I feel like we're getting we're getting better at just like a Like cutting things. You know cutting things with extreme prejudice. It's like does it work toss it It's like are we really gonna use this toss it, you know, it's like it's like doing spring cleaning You know, it's like whatever am I ever gonna listen to this record? No toss it Let's be honest with ourselves Okay, I'm gonna say without this but have you ever gone back and then the live show been like oh we shouldn't have tossed that Let's add that part back into the song You're wrong about tossing something I guess I think other people have been wrong Um It's funny with like we've has been like rehearsing and listening to our old records and realizing that like When you like play a song live for a long time and without listening to the record that like our live versions

7:24Are sort of like moving away from what the recorded one was so it was interesting to go like oh That there should be a vocal line there. I don't sing that vocal line there and that there should be that keyboard part there Um what songs changed the most Uh that you've realized in the past few days What you mean like an old song? Yeah, well when you when you're going through like figuring out this doesn't sound like that anymore Hmm. Well, they're just little parts. Yeah, it's pretty subtle. Maybe other people wouldn't notice Yeah, but like after you know like 10 years of playing a song We're gonna take girls like are you is anybody doing this piano part that's in there? You know and Blaine and I are looking at each other going Why aren't you doing that? We've been doing something else I've had you the setlist at this point when they're when you have so many records to call from

8:13Our favorites. I guess it's uh is it your favorites because that's yeah One doesn't need to go over the best. Yeah, it can be tough, but it's also It's also easy and it's like it's self-evident Like we're not going we don't want to play for three hours. So this is album six So when we start touring this record, we're gonna be doing most of this record and then that leaves Time for like two or three songs For other record. So if we just if we just go through the records and pick two or three songs, it's just self-evident It's like okay. What do we need to have master magic? Uh, we'll do master magic and slow descent. Okay. What are we gonna do? Uf electric version. What do you laws of change and testament to the verse and then you know, just goes like that Self-evident how come though? Because that's what that would be. Well, just so it became singles or is that well?

8:58Those are just like they're they're great songs. There's songs that people really want to hear I mean We could do we could do the deep cuts off those records, but then people would be annoyed that we weren't playing like You know a few people are really happy about those. You can kind of tell you know like when people are shouting out Songs that they want you to play which is really nice But they do that all that you can't always hear it But but you know like people generally the same songs kind of get yelled because they want to hear the older songs And there'll be these specific songs and I know when we've been on tour there have been tours where we thought let's shake up the setlist Where like you get a setlist together and it works But then you go like let's shake it up and do some other songs and you go Oh, that didn't work as well and you try another setlist and you go

9:43That didn't work as well and after like about two weeks of touring you find this set where you go that works great you know like that like those are all songs that people want to hear and You know we you sort of we sort of go by that and then after a while it gets to the point where We're playing a very similar sets because of that reason maybe like changing a few songs like when I when I think of like Like twin cinemas one of those records where I feel like we have to like revolve Maybe because I guess As if you can call anything by us that hits I guess twin cinemas sort of like a hit field record And then it has It has a song twin cinnamon. It has sing me Spanish Jack Doe and bleeding hard show and you use it and And then maybe one or two others or Jackie dressed in co-opers

10:29So I feel like that's the one where like we'll just rotate those songs out Have you figured out what opens the show every night like what what works best is like the first song people hear Well, I think you you mentioned it. I think Well, we've only played we've only done one show playing new songs And we opened with real and we opened with real producers. Okay, there you go and it seemed like yeah, this is a great It's a great opening song. It just seems It just seems natural because it's the first song on the record I mean it just seems natural like I think on when we tour together We opened up with moves a lot because it seemed like this is the cell the record starts. Yes It's like a cool way. Isn't it the way the record starts? I think it is It seems like a good way to start you set so I think I think we're going I think we're going with that

11:17It's interesting to go back through the years and try and remember what we used to open with The first few years we always opened with slow descent. That was our big First number what about playing other people songs in these sets or no? It's just new porno songs It's hard enough to get it's hard enough to get the band to learn our own song Like unless it's a song that the band can learn in about five minutes like it's a It's just hard to Like what's the last cover we learned we learned the song shocking me by shocking blue one tour I'm amazed. We learned that one. Yeah, we just have too many songs at this point like a Don't bring me down was what I can't remember why we learned that one. We do eat it for a french tv show. Oh, yeah

12:05Nice. I just want to hear some back of the machine songs I feel like I'm never gonna hear them yet There's so many There's too many songs. I mean if we were doing I think when we're doing two nightstands Well, it was just not that often. I think we're making us own a make uber cone up though Yeah, yeah, we're doing two shows there. So that's when I think We'll have to make some effort to like really like Shake it up and figure out like what we're gonna do It does. Yeah, there's just too many songs at this point A good problem to have though. I think Yeah, yeah, I mean it's nice. It's nice to be able to cherry pick Because if I'm if I'm going if I'm going back listening to a record and thinking um, so sick of that record It's like well, I gotta just find two songs from it that I like and

12:53I do want to kind of he's practical. I'm curious about this hating the records thing because I've heard you talk about before No, I don't want to go there. I was a joke in The f-worder. I guess the movie's called what if now with Daniel Radcliffe. I saw it at tiff last year And I found out you did the music for it. Yeah. Well, I did the score. Yeah, I did the score I I always qualify that because uh It's so there's about three or four Patrick Watson songs that are like very heavily featured So when anybody says oh, I really loved the score you did it I'm saying well, I just did the incidental music like the guy singing beautifully. That was not me Patrick Watson But writing with like when they give you it must be different writing with like something in mind as opposed to just you know I'm I'm in my room. I'm writing a song whatever comes. Yeah, it's It was nice. It was it was a good thing. It was all done concurrently with this record. So it was a good thing

13:46It I think it helped the writing process and that You look at a scene and you just start writing something Like like I didn't have anything written. I thought I got to write something And just out of nothing like I had nothing written this morning, but today I got to write something and You're not as precious about it And I mean the fact there's no lyrics for the most part makes it easier. It's like all I got to do is come up with music It's a cakewalk. Mm-hmm. There's just no stress and It also because you're not precious about it like I would give Mike some music and if he didn't think it worked I'd go okay. Well, I'll trash it Or you know if it doesn't work in the scene it doesn't work in the scene and Then it just means I've got this extra if I like it

14:32It just means I've got this extra piece of music that I could I can rework and make into my own song and that's what the song Backstairs is I thought there was one you know one on the record Yeah, but back stairs was just like a little abandoned piece of soundtrack music that I just like wrote into a its own song It's different. What's cool. Did it change your approach to writing at all? Like if did you learn anything about songwriting from writing to visuals, I guess. I don't know that it's not that difficult All right Not that not that difficult would I do? I thought like I I really think it really think it doesn't like I think it's just uh Not like writing a novel. Did it get easier over time? What for me? Yeah, I think so. I mean I still haven't figured it out but

15:21You know, I think It's just it's gonna put your head put your head down and start working That's good of a song. I think you take for granted though that you have a really strong vision at the beginning generally When you start making a record. That leaves? No, no that he like I think he's taking for granted like his strong musical sensibility because I don't think it's easy for everybody What's all I'm saying? To make a record. Mm-hmm. You know Versus right. I mean definitely versus writing a novel because novels take like seven years But some people's records take seven years too I just don't understand why yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, I understand that that wasn't my point I just I just think I just think people are I think people are lazy. That's mine. That's my theory I feel like for me if I haven't done enough, it's because of laziness

16:10I agree. You try to write a song a day No, that would be different. I mean I for me. It's it's a lot for me like writing songs. It's like a long Some people like to do that like it's funny that songwriter Dan Wilson is in the middle of that right now He's been tweeting about it. Oh, like semi-song of Dan Wilson. Yeah. Yeah, he like co-writes with the Dell and Never has to work again. No Because he writes with Dixie chick from the Dell But he's a very cool guy. I'm at him once and yeah, he's doing that writing a song a day and For me, it's like I just have a lot of works Like a lot of songs in the works like I don't go I've written a song. Okay, that's done Here's a second song. Here's a third song like I have like 30 songs in the air at once and

16:56So when people ask me like how many songs have you got written? My answer is always like it's either zero or 30. I don't know but it's a I think for me a lot of songwriting like it's wrapped up in the arrangement as well Like I don't know if I just approach it from a very different way like Like there's one song I think I finally got there and I think it's finally written and it was just a riff that I wrote in 2009 That I think we've tried recording it like three times And I just never I thought this is a great riff and I was trying to find a song for it And then once that had the music it was like I can't find the melody for this Or like I can't find the lyric like like it just didn't fit and then

17:41And I feel like I just found it Like it took five it took five years, but I just found it. It's like I think I got this song Well, it's not we haven't oh no, yeah, okay We have to we started recording it. I think it's working class was Or it's working title was master class But it's not gonna have that title In fact, you're probably saying on it It was like it was an abandoned song But I just like trashed it. Okay. What song you shoot the video for? We don't have much time on all the chicken. Okay, but we came in here and you were talking about the video Yeah, how much fun it was. Yeah. Yeah, that's really surreal uh very creative video that we We're on on shoot for yesterday. Yeah, um, Scott kugmore as a director Yeah, I mean it's the concept you're gonna be very vague about it. Yeah, gonna be vague about it

18:27I should have asked you're gonna be vague about it. But it was uh for dance hall Domini. Yes Yeah, fun. Yeah, okay five quick questions one more answers Okay, road or studio studio. Yes studio. Landon or McCutney Both Yeah, I can't make that choice when you hear a song what usually hits you first lyrics melody or rhythm Oh melody melody if someone's never heard new point on refers before what song do they start with? Master magic Oh, yeah, okay. Hey, bro. Bruce. You can say different answers. How about The new yeah, bro. Bruce. There's Let's go with new album in one word the new point on it first Brill Awesome, thanks guys. Like we had that rehearse. Yeah, Brill

19:20It's after wasn't quite like that. We're supposed to have the I wasn't it wasn't as clean We're supposed to we're supposed to do it like an argument Brill Bruisers