John Maus interview

[LadyLazarus]

Brilliant interview, he seems to have a lot of my same anxieties!! I wish he could know how much the live experience meant to me, even at a larger event like the Hudson River Park show...
Can anyone explain Lacan's graph of desire in relatively simple terms to an uneducated slob like myself? I understand the general concept, I think, but the actual thing looks like a complex mathematical diagram and I'd like to know what each point symbolises on sight, or is that not a possibility for someone without a philosophy major?

I went to wiki for some insight:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graph_of_desire
I love how John Maus gets us to look this stuff up!

[AppTrans]

whoa! go John! go Eugenia! go Mausspace!

[Eugenia]

It was a great, thorough interview! I was positively surprised to see the animated video in the article btw. Hopefully it did its job and introduced more people to John's music.

[pelleasetmelisande]

Really pleased to read the Pitchfork interview and thought that Ms. Pelly did an excellent job in gracefully framing John Maus. And of course, his responses were wonderful and unmistakably sincere. However, I hope, as he alluded to in the interview, that he does not start "editing himself" TOO terribly much. Half the reason (the other half, being the music, of course) I am or have been or would be drawn to his work as an artist is what he has to offer in the way of dialogue and thought -- the very fact that he references Lacan's Graph of Desire, communality, the scene of the two, etc., and expands on those thoughts at length honestly is also what makes him and his work really compelling. He seems very true to himself and his no-bullshit level of honesty is refreshing.

Also, in every interview he does, there's ALWAYS something he says that sparks a moment of inspiration that feels personal:

"Anytime you can muster the fury to actually write in the
face of the impossibility of writing, that's an achievement."

I'm a writer (ug, I KNOW) and I really needed to hear that today. "Mustering the fury" is a particularly apt way to put it.

Also funny and great to read: that "Big Dumb Man" came about because of a "friendly fight" with Ariel Pink.

Also, comment on rejecting cannibalism = LOL

[MadamAnt]

Well said, those were some of my thoughts also. I hope he doesn't start feeling overly self-conscious about the lengthy tangential tendencies of his conversation, because as he says - it's important, refreshing, and necessary to think and talk about pop music in a different way, and the language he uses certainly encourages this to happen.

[LadyLazarus]

Totally agree. I love how he cunningly defies the character limit on twitter for the same reasons. I also found it amusing how the anti-cannibalism quote became the top twitter soundbite for the interview.

[MadamAnt]

Cannibalism - it's not big and it's not clever. Don't do it, kids!

[AppTrans]

autocannibalism, however, is more common than one might think.
autocannibalism in a literal and figurative sense
i don't eat human beings might be linked with matter of fact for all we know

[MadamAnt]

Interesting observation, App. I can't really think of a clever reply without bringing the thread down to a further gutter level.
Does biting my fingernails count??

[LadyLazarus]

Autocannibalism in the literal sense was certainly a lyrical theme for 'The Peace the Earth Cannot Give:' "to tun it off/to long for death/to die for you/to eat myself/piece by piece/until I'm gone."

[AppTrans]

Interesting observation, App. I can't really think of a clever reply without bringing the thread down to a further gutter level.
Does biting my fingernails count??

it sure does count, to some people, along with many other things

[LadyLazarus]

Apologies if this has been posted before, but it's new to me!

John visits Handel's house on Upset the Rhythm TV: http://vimeo.com/14097641
At 5:50 (where he gets so hyped up on the Predator soundtrack) might just be my favorite EVER moment in any John Maus interview/in LIFE.

[sgf]

Apologies if this has been posted before, but it's new to me!

John visits Handel's house on Upset the Rhythm TV: http://vimeo.com/14097641
At 5:50 (where he gets so hyped up on the Predator soundtrack) might just be my favorite EVER moment in any John Maus interview/in LIFE.

Haha, he always puts a smile on my face! Great interview too - hadn't seen that one...

[LadyLazarus]

Here is another older one I found with Aaron from Chairlift. He says "basically John Maus is the zaniest part of this tour" but he couldn't explain the story! I really wanted to hear it. John comes in about four minutes into the interview. I love how obviously meticulous he is about crafting his albums and the fact that he makes 'music for picky people' because he's picky, too.
http://vimeo.com/11263490

[MadamAnt]

Shame, I really wanted to like Chairlift when I saw them with The Drums at Brooklyn Bowl the other week - they seem like genuinely nice people into their music, but it was just a bit light. Some good moments in the set, but mostly they were pretty bland and forgettable. Maybe the dynamic has considerably changed since they've become a duo (with Aaron Pfenning now out of the picture).
I love John's comments about being picky as well, and the way he restlessly rocks back and forth throughout the entire interview as he's articulating himself!