Just Lookin'
For Some
Tusk
By Tom Lanham
photo by Norman Seef
W
hen Fun. founder Nate Ruess –
along with his longtime
cohort/producer Jeff Bhasker –
put the finishing touches on his new solo
album Grand Romantic (on Atlantic), he listened to it all, from start to finish, one starry night on the back porch of where he was
staying in Los Angeles. And as he listened
to sweeping ELO-meets-Queen-at-aLindsey-Buckingham-barbecue anthems –
such as “You Light My Fire," "Great Big
Storm," and kickoff single "Nothing
Without Love," featuring Lykke Li and The
Red Hot Chili Peppers; Josh Klinghoffer –
he had a profound reaction that he simply
wasn't expecting. He was so moved by his
own elegiac work, he got choked up to the
point where he broke down, sobbing.
He promptly e-mailed his girlfriend –
fashion designer Charlotte Ronson, kid sister to producer Mark Ronson – and sent
her a link to the music, too. "She'd been
with me through this whole past year and
all the craziness, and she knew just how
much the album meant to me," recalls
Ruess, 33, who – like bandmate Jack
Antonoff, who temporarily spun off a successful side project called Bleachers – had
stepped away from the Grammy-winning
Fun. with the deeply-personal "Romantic."
"So I sent her a text saying, 'I just heard the
album, and I can't believe it. I've never
been happier about anything,' and I
thanked her for being such an amazing
inspiration."
Ronson's reaction? Ruess chuckles,
good-naturedly. "She was like, 'You're crying? There's no possible way! No way!'" he
sighs. "Because I am not a crier. So I sent
her a picture, a close-up of my face, showing her where a singular tear still was. And
she texted me back an hour later, after
hearing the record herself, and she was just
bawling her eyes out. She cried. She cried a
whole lot. And it was so sweet that she
shared my sentiment, because suddenly, I
didn't feel so alone." He knows it sounds
weird to articulate. But feeling sad? "It felt
great!" he declares.
This alchemist's mission should have
been crystal clear on Some Nights, Fun.'s
recent monster breakthrough disc, and its
stunning wall-of-sugary-sound singles like
"Carry On," "We Are Young" (guest-starring Janelle Monae), and the "Bohemian
20 illinoisentertainer.com june 2015
Rhapsody-ish" intricate title track: He seriously wants to transmute pedestrian base
metal into orchestral Phil Spector gold,
using countless pop/rock forebears as
sonic touchstones. Naturally, his keen ear –
and almost operatic singing voice – has
been put to use by several of his peers,
such as Pink's "Just Give Me a Reason,"
Eminem's "Headlights," and legendary
Beach Boy Brian Wilson's new comeback
disc, No Pier Pressure. Currently, he's collaborated with so many stars, he's started
removing his name from the songwriting
credits (although he hasn't signed off on
any future royalties; he's humble, not
naïve).
This month, Ruess will accept the coveted Hal David Starlight Award from the
Songwriters Hall of Fame, and it's one of
the few future appearances that's giving
him pause. One of his all-time idols, Van
Morrison, will be there, and he has no idea
what to possibly say to the Celtic crooner
should their paths cross at the ceremony.
Because sometimes, when he's at his most
cynical, downtrodden nadir, he confesses,
he will listen to absolutely nothing but his
comprehensive collection of Van the Man
music, literally for months at a time. "So for
once in my life, I'm actually a little nervous," he shudders.
As a composer, Ruess is fascinated with
the way ELO's Jeff Lynne constructs his
symphonic rock, and the DIY methods
employed by Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey
Buckingham when he was methodically
home-recording much of the group's
underappreciated Rumours follow-up Tusk.
"You wanna talk about Tusk and ELO, I will
talk your ear off. All. Freaking. Day," he
says. And he's not joking. "I just love
music, more than anything that could possibly be loved. It is a serious craft to me.
And my producer and co-writer, Jeff
Bhasker, and I, we just live for the song.
And it's an interesting thing, because I
come to him, and I've written these songs,
and he looks at them the same way I do –
as something slightly elevated. And then
you find ways to highlight the lyrics and
make them emotional, until you make
every song feel almost like a movie."
Even cuts the artist eventually dismisses as filler, he explains, have undergone a
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