These Questions Go To Eleven: Adam Green

Each week ZIO asks a different musician the same 11 questions via email. Visit Zoom In Music every Wednesday for a new installment or subscribe to the RSS feed.

From The Moldy Peaches to his solo material to my job at a 24 hour record shop to his collaborations with The Libertines, Adam Green tends to pop up at rather unexpected times in my life.

In 1999 Adam and Kimya Dawson formed The Moldy PeachesThe group gained notoriety in the UK thanks to their cheeky single, "Who's Got the Crack," and in NYC because of their involvement with the Anti-Folk community and later for supporting The Strokes during their Mercury Lounge residency, a residency which led to both bands getting record deals with London's Rough Trade

Around 2003, Adam and Kimya began making solo albums, although they never officially dissembled the band. Because of this, I had the chance to see The Moldy Peaches play live a couple times: once at a benefit concert for New York City's Accidental CDs (where Adam used to hawk his early recordings), and another time to see them perform a few songs for an independent film whose name I can't recall. (No, not that one.)

Adam's solo albums showcase his languid lounge singer voice and juxtaposed lyrics ["Blind me, gag me, take me to the bunny ranch"] that catch you off-guard. "What Makes Him Act So Bad", the first track off his upcoming album Minor Love (and available to stream and download for free on his website), shows an ever-so-slight departure from some of his previous records, but it really works... and it still feels distinctly Adam Green.

1. What music was played in your home while you were growing up?
The soundtrack to Cats, Les Miserables, and the movie Flashdance.  My dad used to play Leonard Cohen while we drove around in his Ferrari.

2. Who is the best artist we have probably never heard of?
John Davis from the Folk Implosion did four solo albums in the '90s which are unlike anything else I've heard. He was a big influence on my playing when I was doing the Moldy Peaches stuff.  Also Ish Marquez, a folksinger from the Bronx is a shaman sometimes, seriously.

3. What is your favorite song lyric?
"Just remember different people have peculiar taste, and the glory of love might see you through." - "Coney Island Baby" by Lou Reed

4. What song do you want played at your funeral?
"Everything Happens to Me" sung by Chet Baker off the It Could Happen to You LP.  I'm like Charlie Brown, you know.

5. What is your favorite b-side?
"New Radio" by Bikini Kill off the Rebel Girl single. These girls rock as hard as The Stooges, don't they?

 
 

6. Which medium do you prefer: vinyl, CD, or download?
Vinyl at my house is my preference.  It's fun to play a cassette tape in a car if you still can.

7. Which artist would your fans be surprised to find out you like?
I dunno...  EMF, KLF, LFO? KMFDM? I like all sorts of middlebrow crap.

8. What musician would you choose to cover one of your songs?
Bob Dylan would be wonderful. I would like to co-write an album with Lou Reed but he probably wouldn't be able to remember the words.

9.  Who is the most overrated artist?
Bono, because he's not really in my top 1,000.

10. What musician or band do you wish you’d seen play live in their prime?
The Stooges and Jimi Hendrix.

11. What non-musical influences do you have?
M.C. Escher, The movie Groundhog Day, Stephen King, and Benicio Del Toro.

 


Satisfy all your Adam Green urges at his website

Follow Adam's blog full of photos and snapshots of handwritten 'posts'.

Discover John Davis and Ish Marquez.

Watch a wonderfully random documentary following Adam Green and Carl Barat (of The Libertines) as they wander around London getting intoxicated.

Speaking of The Libertines, check out Adam's cover of their tune What a Waster. In return, the Libertines did their own (slightly less polished) version of Who's Got the Crack.

Take in all the great M.C. Escher illustrations you've never seen here.

Check out more installments of THESE QUESTIONS GO TO ELEVEN:

Art Brut
Camera Obscura
Chin Chin
The Cribs
Darlings
Dead River Company
Fool's Gold
Fujiya & Miyagi
Golem
Jukebox the Ghost
Talib Kweli
Ben Kweller

Jeffrey Lewis
Lights
The Low Miffs

M83
Man Like Me
Marina & The Diamonds
Meg & Dia
A.C. Newman
Cale Parks
Silvery
Tapes 'n Tapes
Tiny Animals
The Von Bondies
White Rabbits
Wild Light
Yo Majesty!

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