JULIANA tionships are a game — they ’ re a negotiation and a constant compromise . And it just became impossible for me to navigate all
those complicated situations — I just decided , “ Why am I even bothering , if it doesn ’ t make any sense to me ? Why am I bothering playing this really complicated game that I ’ m always losing ?” So I ’ m happy . And I ’ m happier now than I ever have been . I ’ m free , finally . I don ’ t have anyone demanding anything from me ; I don ’ t have anyone to decide for me . Personally , I don ’ t have any kind of pressure and no demands on my time or my brain . There ’ s no one bothering me , and I don ’ t have to compromise my integrity every step of every day . And you might think I ’ m selfish , but I really don ’ t see what the problem is .
IE : In all the times we ’ ve talked over the years , I always wondered if you were in a happy relationship with some or not . We ’ ve just never discussed it . JH : And I ’ ve never talked about it because I never was with anyone , seriously . I don ’ t have that desire or that need — I don ’ t have that pair-bonding instinct . To me , being part of a couple just seems like the most bizarre situation . For me , at least — just connecting with only one person over a long period of time just doesn ’ t make any sense . It feels so unnatural to me , and it always has . And I
06 • 2021
don ’ t think there ’ s anything wrong with that . There are people who try to tell me that there ’ s something wrong with that and that I need to fix myself , so there ’ s pressure from the outside to change , but I don ’ t agree with that . And I don ’ t think I should change . Because often people who pair up will start getting divorced — they start hating each other , and they end up getting divorced .
IE : But given the fact that you ’ re an observational writer , how was it going into the pandemic with nobody around to observe ? JH : Oh , there was plenty to observe ! We ’ re
June 4
Billy Gibbons Hardware Crowded House Dreamers Are Waiting Hildegard Hildegard James All The Colours Of You Liz Phair Soberish Raheem DeVaughn Lovesick Red Fang Arrows Rise Against Nowhere Generation Rostam Changephobia Wolf Alice Blue Weekend
June 11
Danny Elfman Big Mess Garbage No Gods No Masters Islands Islomania Jim Ward Daggers Marina Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land Maroon 5 Jordi Migos Culture III Sleater-Kinney Path Of Wellness
June 25
Gaspard Augé Escapades Hiss Golden Messenger Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band Banned Lucy Dacus Home Video Matthew Dear Preacher ' s Sigh And Potion : Lost Album Modest Mouse The Golden Casket SPELLING The Turning Wheel Squirrel Flower Planet ( i ) The Mountain Goats Dark In Here
Rise Against
Liz Phair
10 illinoisentertainer . com june 2021