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Interview
by SaschaS
21-5-2004
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| Graham Coxon: Happiness in mags? Nope! |
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Tunes and tint
Graham Coxon on homage, pastiches and Blur
Graham Coxon’s album ‘Happiness in Magazines’ should be a choice listening for all people who like to hear something fresh and yet - built on solid foundations. For the difference from his previous solo albums - released during the last three years of his decade-plus tenure with Blur - where he was rebelling, striving to display different facets of creativity and generally impress with dexterity that bordered on avant-hard trying...
The new disc presents Coxon as a more rounded musician who has refined his language and can easily mix pop with whatever his wilful talent fancies while being economical rather than maximising, in content and complexity. This record is Coxon’s coming of age, a confirmation of a true musical maverick. Covering so many genres, stretching from The Ruts on ‘Freakin’ Out’ to Traveling Wilburys-cum-ELOesque’ ‘Bittersweet Bundle Of Misery’, this is far from clone-tones but being in control.
For all the discipline displayed on the record, Coxon in person is a rather fidgety, anxious and fairly reticent conversationalist. His happiness is not in magazines it seems... Guitarists jumper is ripped and holed in several places but his body language leads to a deduction that the damage is the result of irritable nature and made during some anxious moments rather then the garment’s wearing off during a down‘n‘out period.
‘Living In Magazines’ delivers Coxon’s songs in a neat and to the point manner, excesses allowed sparingly but more than enough to keep it above the ebbing waterline of quality.
“I’m extremely impatient person,” Coxon explains whilst taking and keeping off his [corrective] glasses during the interview, “but this time I worked hard to take it slowly so that the songs had all their demands met. After recording it we took our time to mix it, slowly realising the songs’ potential and making the LP be a complete album.”
“In the past I might have been scrambling and I might have been impatient and I regret some of the parts in the past… I didn’t want to be feeling this time, I really wanted to make sure that there would be no room to feel disappointed three months later. I wanted to be really thorough and hard on myself; that’s why I got Stephen Street in on the production.”
An orgy of styles
Leaving Blur Coxon left collective method of working behind and recorded everything himself on this album, from drums to guitars to SFX. Yet, he has quartet of musicians - “traditional rock line-up” he informs us - backing him live. Although James Bond has taught us never to say never, would he work within a band format again?
“Most probably, in the future, I‘d like to work with a band again. Not right now, not so soon after leaving one band. I’m happy to be doing things the way I’m. I can do what I want, the way I want it; I actually feel there is so much to do on my own. And, I wouldn‘t say it was the matter of control.”
Poppy and perverse, in your own words, is the album but it is also contended without being complacent?
“I think there is confidence to it and it sounds bouncy and light, it sounds easier than it was to make, it still was agonizing and there were even more decisions to make... Each one taken was important and playing everything on it was tough going. But, I’d rather put myself through it, drumming or whatever, than explaining to someone else what I want them to do.”
“Still, right now I’m happy with the situation and it is good to play live with a group and have fun.”
Blurred background
Coxon has said all he wanted to about leaving Blur, and attempts by his friend/singer Albarn to get him back - this album truly demonstrates how much Graham’s guitar texturing defined the band’s sound - are being ignored. Although he doesn’t avoid talking about leaving he neither answers it directly until, surprisingly, a question about Nirvana is raised.
During a research for this encounter, we discovered a quote of being “forced to diss Nirvana’s music” in the earliest days of Blur’s success!?
“It wasn’t cool in some people’s eyes and it wasn’t worth fighting over… Being part of Blur I was a part of an idea that… Justine Frischmann [Elastica’s front woman and Albarn’s big love/partner were ‘the trendiest London couple’ at the time - goss Ed] would spread an idea that she and Damon were creating this Anglo-centric music that was the direct opposition to the American sound, to Nirvana.”
“I’m a guitar player, first and foremost, and my nationality doesn’t come into it. Musicians shouldn’t be against each other. And Americans were doing much better things with guitars in those days. But, Jesus, it wasn’t worth getting into it; then, The Kinks, I love that band but it wasn‘t on to like them in Blur.”
“Liking Nirvana led me to so many other, underground bands, such as The Vipers, The Melvyns, the phenomenal Rock’n’Roll! I would be listening to it on the tour bus and they would get onto me.”
We then curiously disagree over what is the most Blur-like song on ‘Happiness in Magazines’: ‘Are You Ready’ or, Graham’s pick, ‘Bittersweet Bundle of Misery’, of which he explained:
“It is the rhythmic figure there that interests me, like on ‘Coffee and TV’, it is such an eclectic, middle-of-the-road, folky, Simon & Garfunkel type… I like to counterpoint a cliché with a strange setting, trying to put twists into pop… You know, homage is okay but pastiche is not.”
“There is hello to Jimi Hendrix, there is hello to Ray Davies, there is hello to Talk Talk, The Stooges, as well…”
And, George Harrison on ‘All Over Me’… That’s the way to take Coxon’s album, as a huge anti-pop depressant.
SaschaS
21-5-2004
Graham Coxon’s album ‘Happiness in Magazines’ is released 17 May 2004 by Parlophone
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