On The Record
Gina Bittner / Magnet
05.1998
05.1998
A conversation with ... The Jesus And Mary Chain
The Jesus And Mary Chain has come quite a ways since its last release, the 1995 rarities album, Hate Rock'n'Roll. The band left its longtime label, Warner Bros., to sign with Sub Pop, which is releasing the band's sixth official album, Munki. And like every Mary Chain full-length, Munki is markedly different from its predecessors. Brothers Jim and William Reid and longtime bassist Ben Lurie do retain trademark JAMC coolness and nearly shrouded Velvet Underground references. Still, the band's mood is distinctively different right from the first track, "I Love Rock And Roll." Though the LP ends with "I Hate Rock And Roll," dare we say the brothers Reid sound upbeat? Vocalist/guitarist Jim Reid explains why it sounds like the band decided to come in from the rain.
MAGNET: The new album is more optimistic than in the past, yet you retain the sound of what you've done in the past as well. What was going through your minds when you made it?
Jim Reid: Well, it was made over the period of a few years. It's not like there's one theme that goes through the record. I've been doing this now for about 12 years, and you kind of realize it's not such a bad existence. There's a lot of things I could be doing with my life that would be a whole lot worse. That song, "I Love Rock And Roll" - I mean that when I sing those words. You get some fantastic things when you're in a band, and you have to just stop and take stock of everything and realize it's a pretty good life, really.
I think that's something that probably everyone - whether they're in a band or whatever - should do: Take a breather and look at their lives.
People don't stop and think enough about where they're at and where they're going.
It seems to me on the album there's almost a sense of happiness with where you're at, like you've found a sense of balance.
I'm not exactly painting a picture that's ideal here, but we finally feel a bit more comfortable with what we're doing, where we're at, what we're all about. It's taken a long time, but I think I finally have come to grips with what being in a band is actually all about. In the beginning, I thought you almost had to be like a clichéd rock'n'roll star. You had to almost kill yourself to get on stage and put on this kind of extreme show. And I think these days I realize you don't have to do that - just go out there and play your songs and hope people like that.
You said this album took a number of years to record. When was it started?
We started roundabout the end of 1995, and for various reasons we'd started recording and then we'd go off and do some shows. And then we parted company with Warner Bros., which was weird.
Was that something you wanted to do? Or was it mutual?
It was kind of mutual. It was their suggestion, but they sort of said they'd put out the record if we wanted them to. But they were fairly honest at least - they weren't really that much into the record.
Then you just shopped it around, or had there been interest from other labels?
There was some interest, but it was a weird time, I can't deny it, because we also parted company with our management then. So there was all this sort of upheavel going on, and we weren't really sure what to do, because none of us is particularly business-minded. I guess there was a period of about six months where it felt like there wasn't any band at all really - nothing was happening. And then slowly it just started to come back together again. And now we seem to be in more of an ideal situation than ever.
During those six months when nothing was really happening, what did you do with the time?
There was a lot of drinking going on. We would just sit around and talk about what we were going to do, and the next thing you knew it was three weeks later and we hadn't decided anything.
Was there any overriding decision to go with Sub Pop?
They just said the right things. We wanted to go with people who were a bit more concerned with the things we had been talking about, interested in where the band's going. Being on Warner Bros. for so many years, they would put the records out, they would say they liked the records, but you never really believed them - it was never really that convincing. That was weird for us.
Do you ever look at all your albums in a circle, in a continuum, where you view one particular album in relation to other albums? Which do you look on more fondly? Or do you consider them equal?
More or less equal, but I must admit from time to time you feel kind of closer to one record than the others. It's not like one record is always considered to be our favorite; it depends what mood you're in. The one you most recently made - ie., this one - always seems to be make the most sense to you because an album is almost like a photograph, a photograph of exactly what you're up to at a time. And if you look at old photos, the ones from like 20 years ago always seem like, "God is that me?" And you still have some affection for what you were like then. But the most recent version of you is the one that makes the most sense. And that's what records exactly are like. Pulling out the old albums are like going through an old photo album or something. You smile sometimes. It makes you depressed others.
When you're making an album, how far down the road do you look? Do you ever try to envision yourself in 10 years or in five years or one year?
I used to when I was younger. I used to try to wonder what was down the road some ways. But it's a waste of time. You can never really know. There's not really any point in wondering or trying to figure out. What you're going to be up to in 10 years is probably unfathomable - why even bother? Basically, just get on with what you're doing now; the future will take care of itself.
The Jesus And Mary Chain has come quite a ways since its last release, the 1995 rarities album, Hate Rock'n'Roll. The band left its longtime label, Warner Bros., to sign with Sub Pop, which is releasing the band's sixth official album, Munki. And like every Mary Chain full-length, Munki is markedly different from its predecessors. Brothers Jim and William Reid and longtime bassist Ben Lurie do retain trademark JAMC coolness and nearly shrouded Velvet Underground references. Still, the band's mood is distinctively different right from the first track, "I Love Rock And Roll." Though the LP ends with "I Hate Rock And Roll," dare we say the brothers Reid sound upbeat? Vocalist/guitarist Jim Reid explains why it sounds like the band decided to come in from the rain.
MAGNET: The new album is more optimistic than in the past, yet you retain the sound of what you've done in the past as well. What was going through your minds when you made it?
Jim Reid: Well, it was made over the period of a few years. It's not like there's one theme that goes through the record. I've been doing this now for about 12 years, and you kind of realize it's not such a bad existence. There's a lot of things I could be doing with my life that would be a whole lot worse. That song, "I Love Rock And Roll" - I mean that when I sing those words. You get some fantastic things when you're in a band, and you have to just stop and take stock of everything and realize it's a pretty good life, really.
I think that's something that probably everyone - whether they're in a band or whatever - should do: Take a breather and look at their lives.
People don't stop and think enough about where they're at and where they're going.
It seems to me on the album there's almost a sense of happiness with where you're at, like you've found a sense of balance.
I'm not exactly painting a picture that's ideal here, but we finally feel a bit more comfortable with what we're doing, where we're at, what we're all about. It's taken a long time, but I think I finally have come to grips with what being in a band is actually all about. In the beginning, I thought you almost had to be like a clichéd rock'n'roll star. You had to almost kill yourself to get on stage and put on this kind of extreme show. And I think these days I realize you don't have to do that - just go out there and play your songs and hope people like that.
You said this album took a number of years to record. When was it started?
We started roundabout the end of 1995, and for various reasons we'd started recording and then we'd go off and do some shows. And then we parted company with Warner Bros., which was weird.
Was that something you wanted to do? Or was it mutual?
It was kind of mutual. It was their suggestion, but they sort of said they'd put out the record if we wanted them to. But they were fairly honest at least - they weren't really that much into the record.
Then you just shopped it around, or had there been interest from other labels?
There was some interest, but it was a weird time, I can't deny it, because we also parted company with our management then. So there was all this sort of upheavel going on, and we weren't really sure what to do, because none of us is particularly business-minded. I guess there was a period of about six months where it felt like there wasn't any band at all really - nothing was happening. And then slowly it just started to come back together again. And now we seem to be in more of an ideal situation than ever.
During those six months when nothing was really happening, what did you do with the time?
There was a lot of drinking going on. We would just sit around and talk about what we were going to do, and the next thing you knew it was three weeks later and we hadn't decided anything.
Was there any overriding decision to go with Sub Pop?
They just said the right things. We wanted to go with people who were a bit more concerned with the things we had been talking about, interested in where the band's going. Being on Warner Bros. for so many years, they would put the records out, they would say they liked the records, but you never really believed them - it was never really that convincing. That was weird for us.
Do you ever look at all your albums in a circle, in a continuum, where you view one particular album in relation to other albums? Which do you look on more fondly? Or do you consider them equal?
More or less equal, but I must admit from time to time you feel kind of closer to one record than the others. It's not like one record is always considered to be our favorite; it depends what mood you're in. The one you most recently made - ie., this one - always seems to be make the most sense to you because an album is almost like a photograph, a photograph of exactly what you're up to at a time. And if you look at old photos, the ones from like 20 years ago always seem like, "God is that me?" And you still have some affection for what you were like then. But the most recent version of you is the one that makes the most sense. And that's what records exactly are like. Pulling out the old albums are like going through an old photo album or something. You smile sometimes. It makes you depressed others.
When you're making an album, how far down the road do you look? Do you ever try to envision yourself in 10 years or in five years or one year?
I used to when I was younger. I used to try to wonder what was down the road some ways. But it's a waste of time. You can never really know. There's not really any point in wondering or trying to figure out. What you're going to be up to in 10 years is probably unfathomable - why even bother? Basically, just get on with what you're doing now; the future will take care of itself.
