I watch a lot of Editors interviews. For some reason today, not sure why, I came to a realisation of just how much of an imitation of authentic interaction they are. Most real conversations are held between people in actual relationships. You chat spontaneously, about shared interests or whatever stimulus in your environment sparked the dialogue. It's natural. More often than not when a group chats to a journalist, the parties involved don't know each other. Sometimes they do, which can make for a more relaxed interaction (Zane Lowe, John Kennedy etc). Often though it's a situation where the band are facing a stranger, and it's a stranger who probably knows quite a lot about them. It's something that I've always thought must be surreal for any musician with a certain degree of fame; that you repeatedly connect with people that you've never met before but who probably know your life story better than you if you were in a quiz situation with them. That must mess with your head. In any other scenario if a person you didn't know approached you and wanted to ask you a list of questions, you'd probably be less than compliant. The campaign surely does involve many strange obligations.
Back to the clip in hand.
This is Cecile B interviewing Mr Lockey and Mr Smith on the 22nd of April 2018 backstage in Milan. I had to rip this video a couple of times to confirm something that was bugging me. I could see them, I could hear them but for there was a persistent alarm bell in my head that something was off about this video. It's blurry. At times it feels like you may have gone short-sighted overnight, but it's most likely a focus issue with their camera. At least that's the conclusion I'm most comfortable going along with. It's also the reason I'm going to cancel that laser eye surgery I booked for next week.
Other than that, I wouldn't take anything away from this. Cecile is a good host, and she approaches the Q&A with an admirable ardor. When she tells the Tom and Justin that when VI OLENCE dropped it was a very happy day for indie people, I believe her. This interview manages to dip its toes into the familiar territories that we've become accustomed to, but also takes a few sharp left turns in the process. Like talking about the beauty of vinyl which generates a discussion of the importance of possessing a physical work of art, as opposed to something digital. Cecile talks about the vinyl she's purchased recently and Tom and Justin give their own take on the subject. It veers more into a conversational exchange than a simple checklist of questions being asked and then ticked off. People are always more animated when discussing their passions, and I just wish that other interviewers would take that approach instead of adopting the familiar "I ask, you answer" format. Enjoy the chatter ;)
stream it here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
