Particular or pretentious?

Writing about electronic music and interviewing artists that produce it seems to be a relatively ego-free experience, thankfully.

Perhaps it's the lack of 'the frontman' who feels the need to assert his authority, attitude or personality at every given opportunity. Maybe it's the fact that electronic musicians are masters of their own sonic universe, creating every sound on their recordings meaning there is less room for paranoia and fear about having to prove themselves the big man (or woman) at every opportunity and giving it some 'rock and roll attitude'.

This is a mass generalisation of course but in all the years I've been writing about music, I've only come across difficult characters on a few occasions. I often do phone interviews on my mobile which involves an audible beep every 30 seconds. I always explain why to the interviewee and apologise for it and all bar one interviewee has been fine with it.

He happened to be the frontman of a long forgotten (and never really remembered in the first place) indie band. "Can't you stop that fucking beeping?!" he said. To which my answer was a simple, "No, sorry." I explained the beep beforehand but it obviously wasn't something he could stomach in his rock and roll world.

Perhaps the beep is more acceptable to electronic artists as they spend their lives creating beeps of their own? Who knows. That's not to say I haven't come across difficult interviewees in dance music however... more of which on my next blog.

Useless music fact(s) #7: Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders (who was once in a band tastefully called The Moors Murderers with Steve Strange who went on to do vocals for Visage) was once married to Jim Kerr of Simple Minds fame. The very same man who was one of Patsy Kensit's candidates for 'Musical Man Of The Moment I Must Marry' (which has so far taken in Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet (just a fling), Dan Donovan of Big Audio Dynamite (marriage), Jim Kerr, Liam Gallagher (marriage) and one-time superstar DJ, Jeremy Healy (married)). Jim has kids with both Chrissie and Patsy while Chrissie also has a daughter fathered by Ray Davies of The Kinks. Ray and Chrissie have teamed up again this year on Ray's 'Postcard From London' Christmas song. Patsy is meanwhile hoping to marry someone in music more famous than she's currently married to, probably. Well, it's easy than resurrecting her own pop career.

Originally posted on http://blog.ianroullier.com on 5 November 2009.