you have to own what’ s good about it. So I think of it more in terms of being renounced, leaving a lot of things behind to address the more important things in life. And at a certain age, you don’ t need a lot. I’ m 65, I’ ve done all the family stuff, done everything I needed to when I was younger. So now I can concentrate on my philosophy and what I think is important. So this ain’ t no sermon on the mount. |
people and slaughtering the Indians. And then they brought in factory farms – they meaning‘ us’ – so when was it so great? Remember when we thought the hippies were so cool, so forward-thinking? They were all meat eaters, supporting factory farms and turning a blind eye to it. There was a bit of cosmic consciousness, but basically they were all trying to get high. It was about getting loaded. |
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IE: When you listen back to The Pretenders’ self-titled debut disc from 1980, though, it sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday. CH: Well, you know, that’ s not a very long time. Listen to Beethoven’ s Moonlight Sonata – if only someone could write that today. So looking back doesn’ t mean anything to me. Time is a hard thing to define, really – 40 years seems like a lot in some ways, but nothing in terms of some other things. So again, there’ s that sense of timelessness. But it( the punk era) was an interesting time. But it’ s always an interesting time. People say to me that a lot of things have gotten really shit- |
IE: Come January, though, things might seriously get shitty. At least here in America, where you still maintain an Akron residence. CH: You’ re wasting your time thinking about stuff like that. There’ s only one person who could have beaten Donald Trump to the White House, only one living person – who wasn’ t qualified because they’ re Canadian. Only one person who could have gotten him out of there – Pamela Anderson. Straight-A student, smart girl, she had everything it took. But she’ s Canadian, and she’ s not a politician, But if she was, she could have gotten his ass out of there. |
IE: Some artists are so depressed, they’ re wondering why they should even tour. CH: They’ re fools. Fools to say that! I don’ t have time for that kind of attitude. Why do you tour? Because that’ s what you do – you’ re a musician, and you go where the music takes you. So I don’ t understand that – I’ m not on that page at all. That would be like saying,“ Why should we breathe?” if the air’ s polluted. Why does everyone think that they can control all this stuff? I don’ t know |
why people get so affected by these exte things, because you can’ t change th things. All you can do is change yoursel that’ s all you really have to think about.
The Pretenders newest album, Alone, is out now.
Tom Lanham
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