St. Vincent, Singer-Songwriter: Interview on The Sound of Young America | Maximum Fun

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The Sound of Young America

Midlake Interview at A.V. Club

This is a pretty revealing interview with Midlake's Tim Smith. They began as jazz musicians but quickly got up to speed on indie music:

AVC: You're very open about admitting you didn't know much about indie music when you formed the band. Do you think that fresh approach was a benefit at all?

TS: No, I don't think it was. I felt like I didn't have my homework done. It took me a long time to catch up, and if I had started my homework when I was a teenager instead of when I was 23, then I wouldn't have had to go through all the mess we've gone through in the last seven years to learn how to write a song. [Laughs.] I had to do lots of homework: Radiohead was a huge influence, and Björk. A lot of those big bands. Then you realize, "Oh, there are a ton of underground bands, too." Then you get into Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips. I just hadn't heard that stuff, but it was needed.

Britt Daniel Interview

A good interview with Britt Daniel of Spoon at the A.V. Club. Sample quote:

I remember driving up to a show in Denver on the Kill The Moonlight tour, and there was a huge line. I think the previous time we'd played in Denver, we played to 40 people or something. And so I was like, "Whoa! Something's going on here." And [tour manager] Ben [Dickey] was like, "Yep, something's going on here." [Laughs.] And I was like, "Really? Why are people coming to see us all of a sudden?" And he said something obnoxious like, "Because you're gonna be huge." I've always remembered that moment.

The new album is also quite memorable.