Wow! Questions for Kevin McMahon! Thanks guys for working this out guys and keeping the site going!
1. Can you give us any insight into how you articulate the themes/stories you tell thru song sequencing and genre blending? how the music physically articulates these attitudes, thinking about genre contrast, music/song references to other songs?
You have a great sense of humor. Could you talk a little about how you layer levels of meaning and connotations? how lyrics directly intersect with the music and song sequencing to make connotations?
To be clear, I noticed the following, so you know what I've been thinking about.
2. A few times you refer to other songs, by design or coincidence I don't know. For example, in "Johnny Goes To Paris" the bass breakdown is similar to like The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun" (at :24, :52, etc.) Is this a coincidence? or do you, with forethought, decide to refer to another song? does it happen unconsciously and you decide where to place the reference, keep, drop or change it? With this in mind, how do you think referring to other songs should function in music generally? (I do it in my songs too, sometimes. Usually it's unconscious and later on I decide exactly how I want to stage it.)
2. You blend genres and refer to genres in your songs. The first half of ThinKing falls into what I call "bubblegum industrial" and I don't mean that in a derogatory way at all. I think there was a promoted idea that "industrial" should be "tough" (I think someone wrote a song about it! jaja) and "edgy." Your songs are accessible, are in no way cheesy, and musically rich enough to interest music aficionados. But, I can well imagine teen girls enjoying these songs, as well. Was this intentional? To show "industrial" doesn't have to be that brand of "tough" and still be effective. Did you try to design a mood that is literally more appropriate to the perceived market-target audience ironically? Could you talk a little bit about that?
How do does your lyrical content, often preoccupied with both youth and aging (more interesting because songs written in your youth do this too) intersect with the music itself? Do you give that much thought?
On ThinKing's second half, you give us "Johnny", "Attitude", "Come To Bed" and "Cosmic Kids" in succession. To be simple one might group them roughly: ska (because of the guitar's up-picking), country rock, pop industrial and guitar ballad, though all have subtle meta-references to other genres so they aren't completely genre specific.
Question: did you sequence the songs to showcase your versatility (you said record companies insist on an artist being specifically --and stiflingly-- branded) to make a critical musical statement? For example, "Johnny" and "Attitude" precede an industrial song that seems to mock (or make a caricature of) certain industrial luminaries and the general triteness we hear in much industrial. In "Come To Bed" do the references to bondage, funky auto wah bassline, throaty/faux sexy vocals directly contrast the funny and yet personal-seeming narrative in "Attitude" about family? (Especially funny, too, because it's "family" and "family comes from the bedroom"). Both are followed up by "Cosmic Kids" a song about the aged, which apparently you wrote when you were quite young? I'm interested the statement the songs' sequencing makes and the different levels of connotation you employ lyrically and thru genre contrast. Could you talk a little about that?
This is quite long, I realize. But if my observations make it to you, I appreciate any commentary you are willing to give. I started writing music around when I heard Prick, and you're the only "new band" from my youth I still regularly listen to. I play music full time and you were a big influence there. In fact, I was just kicked out of a popular band because the crowd liked me too much! You've consistently updated what is musically relevant to culture and I only wish we could have heard more along the way!
Thanks
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