Bad Side Of The Moon

all about Elton

intervista 2/9/05

By Melinda Newman   2/9/05  REUTERS

LAS VEGAS (Billboard) - At the top of every hour the clock in Elton John's dressing room at Caesars Palace breaks wind. And every hour, the farting clock makes John laugh.

The British superstar has every reason to smile. His Las Vegas run, in which he alternates with Celine Dion at Caesars' 4,100-seat Colosseum, has been extended from 75 shows during a three-year period to 225 shows during a five-year span ending in 2008. Every show of "The Red Piano" has been a sellout. A U.K. tour this summer drew almost 400,000 people.

His latest musical, an adaptation of the movie "Billy Elliot" written by John and Lee Hall, opened to largely rave reviews in London's West End, and there's talk of bringing it to Broadway.

John has wrapped "Lestat," the first musical he and longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin have written together. The play, based on Anne Rice's Vampire Lestat series, will debut in December at San Francisco's Curran Theater before heading to Broadway in spring 2006.

And there are plenty of other projects in the works, including a development deal with Touchstone Television for a sitcom about a rock star and his entourage and an exclusive November 9 Starbucks release of the CD "Elton's Christmas Party," with part of the proceeds earmarked for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Q: Your last album, 2004's "Peachtree Road" (Rocket/Universal) received some of the best reviews of your career, and yet it sold only 300,000 copies in the United States, making it one of your worst performers. How frustrating is that for you?

A: It is frustrating ... I'm not storming around saying, "Why isn't my f***ing record doing better than this?" I just had to look at it and say, "Was it a s**t record?" And it wasn't, it was the best I could do. I'm 58 now, and my time in the sun, as it were, is gone. I have to accept that. Was I disappointed? Yeah, because I put my heart and soul into it. ... (Universal Records) tried to persuade (me) to do a Motown album or a standards album, and I wouldn't do it. I said (no) because I want to still write songs. I still feel as if I've got something else to offer without going down that route.

Q: Were you insulted when they asked you?

A: Yeah. I mean, it's like, "That's what you think of me, is it?"

Q: You and Bernie Taupin are writing a sequel to "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" called "Captain Fantastic and the Kid." The first edition, released in 1975, covered your first 30 years; the second will cover the subsequent 30 years and will come out March 20, 2007, five days before your 60th birthday. Are you and Bernie already working on it?

A: I'm starting writing and recording it in Atlanta in January. It was Merck's (Sanctuary Group CEO Merck Mercuriadis, who tends to the creative side of John's career) idea, because he said, "You're always saying how Bernie has become the Brown Dirt Cowboy" -- he lives on a ranch in Santa Ynez (Calif.) -- and I'm this guy who plays concert after concert, buying art, buying photographs, living a very lavish lifestyle. I've become Captain Fantastic.
We would have been together then about 40 years by the time it comes out. One of the things I'm most proud of in my life is the relationship I've had with Bernie.

Q: Is it true you buy the new album releases every week at Tower Records when you are home in Atlanta?

A: I go in there at 9:30 on Tuesday morning, before it opens, before they put the f***ing things (out where) I can't find them. They're all on the cart, and I can go through them, one by one, because I know what I want. It's one of my things I look forward to every week. Those guys open up and (have) a cup of coffee there now, and it's just brilliant.

Q: Would you tour with Billy Joel again?

A: Yeah, I would, because I love him dearly. My greatest wish is for Billy Joel to have a No. 1 album and get his confidence back. That would make me so happy. You know, we've never been rivals, we've always been friends. Part of my Captain Fantastic's next 30 years include Billy Joel. And it would be great to do a duet.

Q: You have extended the Vegas run for "The Red Piano" show by another two years. It obviously agrees with you.

A: (Before Caesars) I'd never stayed the night here. I don't go out (much, but) you do get stir crazy. So I'll go see what's in the shops now. (John's operations manager) Bob Halley and I got chased through the mall. We were laughing so hard. Bob said, "We're being chased by 60-year-old women!" and I said, "Bob, we are 60!" We have nothing but good things to say about here.

Q: You go out of your way to support new artists. Why?

A: The first five years of my career we played with people that were our stone cold idols, and everyone treated us so well. That's why I try and give a hand out to young people, because people did that to me. I remember phoning Fountains of Wayne when "Utopia Parkway" came out. They thought it wasn't me on the phone, but it was. I just wanted to say, "This is such a great album." It's important to let people know that.

Q: Is writing easy for you?

A: Yeah. I wrote 60 songs in a year (for "Peachtree Road," "Billy Elliot" and "Lestat"). One of the songs (for "Lestat") is called "Paris," a conversational song in three parts. It's the longest song I ever took to write -- three-and-a-half hours. I thought I was going to go nuts. I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown.

Q: You have a sitcom in development. What can you tell us about that?
A: It's called "Him and Us." It's basically about the entourage around a star called Max Flash who have to put up with this bastard. Max Flash is based on me, Mick, Bowie, Rod, all these outrageously behaving rock stars.

Q: How do you find the time for all these projects?

A: You know, I'm 15 years sober today. That's changed my life. The energy that I used to spend doing drugs and everything, I spend doing great things, like getting up in the morning, going to Tower Records, trying to find new acts, trying to promote them. I have the most fantastic life. I really love it so much

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Interview 2003

INTERVIEW: So, Elton, what music are you getting into?

ELTON JOHN: Ms. Dynamite. Her debut album, A Little Deeper, won the 2002 Mercury Prize in England and is coming out soon in America on Interscope. I've talked about this before, but it's sensational, the closest anybody in England has gotten to a really great female hip-hop vibe like Mary J. Blige's. It's still in my car's CD player after six months.

I: How would you explain the difference between English and American hip-hop?

EJ: It's like when rock 'n' roll first started. All the good rock 'n' roll came out of America at first, but then we took it and made something new out of it. Another album I absolutely cherish is by a guy called Lewis Taylor, who's also English. It's called Stoned: Part One, and it's like Marvin Gaye meets Jimi Hendrix.

I: Where is so-called bubble-gum music today? The teen-pop era almost feels over.

EJ: Some of the music those kinds of bands make--Sugababes and Mis-Teeq, for example--isn't bad at all. As well as those two, there are a couple of others, like Blue and Atomic Kitten, who are still really popular in England.

I: What kind of moment are we in, in terms of the cultural climate?

EJ: Singer-songwriters had an enormous success last year, and I think there's a bit of a return to music. I love the latest Coldplay record. It's sheer quality; that's why it's doing well. Other than that much of what is out there is poop. [laughs]

I: What do you think about the resurgence of the musical that's happening now? There's Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme, and Twyla Thar choreographing Billy Joel's hits on Broadway [in Movin' Out], just to name two.

EJ: The trend with musicals is for people to dig into their back catalogs. The Abba musical Mamma Mia! and Queen's We Will Rock You show are huge in England. There's a Madness one, too [Our House], and a Boy George one called Taboo. People are going out and choosing music that they already know is great.

I: Last year we had Norah Jones. Who do you think the big surprise will be this year?

EJ: Oh, God, I don't know. Radio stations are mostly owned by just two or three people now, and they play the same records for months. It's damaging artists' careers. If I were in charge I would fire every single radio programmer in America!

Elton John's Tip Sheet appears regularly in interview. Illustration: RISKO.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
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Intervista 2004

INGRID SISCHY: So, Elton, in one way people seem more interested in music right now than they have been in years. Yet, at the same time, there has been all this talk about the collapsing industry, which has been hurt by downloading and poor record sales. What's going on?

ELTON JOHN: It is true, in general, that the record companies are being hit hard by downloading. It's an even bigger problem in Europe: In France, Germany, and Spain, record sales are a disaster. But if we consider the hundreds of millions of song titles downloaded off the Internet worldwide, it certainly proves that people love music.

IS: It seems like the day the record companies switched formats, from vinyl to CD, something about the process of consuming music changed dramatically--a love for the album, for the object itself, was lost.

EJ: Well, I have always loved the object. I was at a wedding recently with Paul McCartney, and we were talking about when we were young and we'd run out to buy vinyl records--first 78s, then 45s, then EPs, then LPs. Nothing can ever truly replace the excitement of having that record in your hand, that big object with the sleeve, the liner notes, and the photographs--it was like a piece of art.

IS: Given the sheer volume of music that was released last year, what really stood out?

EJ: Well, this was the year that two young artists, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake, solidified their careers. With Stripped [RCA] and Justified [Jive], Christina and Justin grew up and became major players. I was also blown away by Rufus Wainwright's latest album, Want One [DreamWorks]. It's a complex piece of music, the sort of album that you put on and it takes you on an incredible ride. That and the White Stripes' Elephant [V2] are two of the finest records that I have heard in a long time.

IS: What other albums were able to drown out all the noise?

EJ: OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below [Arista], which is actually comprised of a pair of solo albums by the group's two members, definitely deserves mention. It transcends hip-hop, covering a whole spectrum of music including funk and soul, and it ventures into other genres as well. Another album that was released, interestingly enough, as two EPs is Ryan Adams's Love Is Hell Part 1 and Love Is Hell Part 2 [Lost Highway]. They are very introspective, extraordinarily striking records. One album that has been sort of overlooked is Basement Jaxx's Kish Kash [Astralwerks], which incorporates all kinds of influences, both from dance and world music, in a genuinely inventive way. Then, of course, there's Travis and their album 12 Memories [Epic]. You just have to sit there and listen to it all the way through, and it will take you on a real journey. It's like an old album. It's like the Beatles' Revolver [1963]. Fran Healy's voice and lyrics are mesmerizing and beautiful. I also really like a remix album called Verve Remixed 2 [Verve], which features modern-day mixes of original tracks by people like Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, Dizzie Gillespie, and Ella Fitzgerald. It's hands down the compilation of the year. Finally, there's the Pet Shop Boys' Pop Art [Sanctuary], a 45-song, two-disc set spanning the band's entire career, including all their big singles. When you listen to it, you really appreciate all the great work they've done over the last two decades.

IS: Who do you predict will be the big winners on February 8, Grammy night?

EJ: There are some really fantastic songs nominated for Record of the Year, like Coldplay's "Clocks," Eminem's "Lose Yourself," "Hey Ya!" by OutKast, as well as Beyonce's "Crazy in Love." But I have to give my vote to "Where Is the Love?" by the Black Eyed Peas and Justin Timberlake. Lyrically, that song says everything that Marvin Gaye said in "What's Going On," and there's a mixture of melody and groove that's just incredibly potent. It will always remind me of 2003. In the Song of the Year category, the top contenders are Eminem's "Lose Yourself" and Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful." I couldn't tell you which one I like better--they're both great records--but Linda Perry, who co-wrote "Beautiful," is becoming a very important force in the music business as a songwriter and a producer; it's great to see a woman take that kind of hold. But if we're talking about songs, we must mention Johnny Cash's "Hurt," off what ended up being his final album, American IV. The Man Comes Around [2002]. It's actually a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song, and just the most emotionally brilliant record. The video which went along with it--which is nominated for a Grammy because it was only released last year--was also memorable: It's these images of Johnny alone, playing the song on a piano. He practically has tears in his eyes. It was shot about seven months before he passed away last September, and you could tell that he wasn't doing well. It's unforgettable. Dido's "White Flag" is another one, just the most incredible love song. Lyrically, it's totally free of schmaltz: When she sings, "I will go down with the ship .../There will be no white flag above my door/I'm in love and I always will be," it's just astonishing.

IS: All right, let's balance out the past with the future. What do you think we have to look forward to in 2004?

EJ: We're entering a really interesting time for music. There were some classic albums that came out in the past year that did very well commercially, and the era of put-together, fluff pop seems to have passed. It's an election year, and I have a feeling there are a lot of discontented people out there just waiting to be heard; given the current state of the world, there's a lot to say. The big question is, Will there be an artist like a Nina Simone or Freddie Mercury or Marvin Gaye who will come along and make a record for this age, for 2004?

Elton John's Tip Sheet appears regularly in Interview.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

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Elton intervista Rufus

I wanted to Interview Rufus Wainwright because in my opinion his new album, Want One, is an incredible piece of work. As a musician and a songwriter, I find every facet of it--the way the songs are written, the chord sequences, the melodic sweep of the album, the lyrics, the production--formidable. Want One was released last fall and got great critical acclaim, but not enough as far as I'm concerned. Since then, Wainwright's record company has been sold, and he's now on the Interscope label, which is relaunching Want One and trying to make more people aware of it. A companion album, Want Two, will be released later this year.

ELTON JOHN: Rufus, even though you worked on Want One in England, it still reeks of America. How did that happen?

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT: When we started the album in New York, the war was just breaking out in Iraq. There was a real sense of tragedy about how after 9/11 things had gone in the opposite direction of healing the wounds caused by the terrorist attacks. When I went in to start Want One, somehow I filled it with all the dashed hopes and fears that my country had. So even though we finished it in England, it was started at a very critical time historically in America, and I think part of that probably came through.

EJ: I love America. It's given me so much in my life. But I found it disappointing that more people did not speak out about the war, especially journalists. It makes me crazy.

RW: I have a feeling things are starting to get better. I believe that anyone in their right mind has to be active now. It's really boiled down to an individual level: Either you're going to do something to save America, or you're aiding and abetting the bad guys. I talk a little about this on Want Two. The cover of Want One is me dressed as a knight in shining armor. My idea was to go back to fairy tales, where the good guys win. When I made Want One, I wanted to uphold that tradition of songwriting and fabulous production, which I think is scarce right now.

EJ: I've sat here before at this very table with Ryan Adams and John Mayer talking about the same thing--that great music in this country just doesn't get its due. Right now there is a core of terrific American songwriters at work--you, John Mayer, and Ryan Adams--and you are as diverse as you could possibly be. But it kills me that you're struggling to get this record noticed. You're quite stoic about it.

RW: I'm a tough cookie. I will survive this business because in the end it boils down to whether you can entertain 10 people with your piano. I can always go out on the corner and, as Edith Piaf did, make a couple of bucks. [laughs] I think a lot of it had to do with coming out of the closet when I was quite young. I was 14 when I knew what was up. I immediately caught on to the fact that there is going to be a strike against me if I'm honest about this. I'm such a terrible liar that I knew I'd have to be honest about being gay.

El: So you think coming out hurt you?

RW: I do. I think that because I'm quite vocal about my opinions and because the music I write tends to be challenging, I've hit a glass ceiling.

EJ: It's not very fashionable to speak your mind in this country now. But I don't think your sexuality has hurt you. I just think it's the fact that your music is so much more complex than what you hear on the radio. You're not making Britney Spears-style music. But I also remember you saying, "Well, I want to be famous."

RW: I didn't want to be Britney, though. I have a funny story about her. I met Britney Spears twice, but each time we literally stood in front of each other with nothing to say. I appreciate her, but we're like apples and oranges.

EJ: Would you like to be that famous?

RW: It would've killed me [both laugh], that type of fame, that excessive fame. But, at this point, fame is more a game I wouldn't mind winning.

EJ: Not at any price though.

RW: Not at any price at all. But more for the enrichment of culture. I know I sound arrogant when I say that, but I really think that young people today are being shoveled bucket-loads of shit. That's why I want to be famous. It's to--

EJ: -- To improve their lives. [laughs] Your album is joyful in a way, even though some of the subject matter is depressing.

RW: A lot of my young male contemporaries have died. Whether it's Jeff Buckley, Kurt Cobain, or recently Elliott Smith, those were all such losses. But in a weird way, I feel that you can hear the sadness in their music. When Jeff died, I wasn't that surprised. With my music, it is important for me to have hope and some kind of silver lining. I believe that music is essentially prophetic and that it really directs my life.

EJ: Is there any chance that we will see you with a six-piece band at Radio City? It would be fantastic to see this album staged orchestrally.

RW. When I figure out the status of Want Two, which delves even

further into the dramatic, operatic side of my crazy self, I would love to have sets and lighting of some kind.

EJ: A collage of things.

EW: Yeah, a collage of big, brash numbers. I've always envisioned myself as--depending on the day--either Gene Kelly or Judy Garland. As a child my favorite movie was That's Entertainment! [1974]. I'm a fan of big production, but there's so much huge production surrounding such worthless materials these days. [laughs]

EJ: I know.

RW: These days you see hydraulic lifts and boa constrictors.

EJ: [laughs] But whenever I've seen you play, you've always just been solo on the piano. I tour with the band, I tour with Billy Joel, and now I have this show in Vegas, but for me, one of the most magical things I do is just going out onstage by myself. I love the freedom of that. And you're very good at that too.

RW. Yeah, I love the freedom, and I also love not having to pay a band. [both laugh]

EJ: So are you a fan of Baz Luhrmann?

RW: I know Baz Luhrmann quite well.

EJ: When I hear your music, I think of Baz and his films.

RW: Yeah. We've been linked for artistic purposes, and I would love to work with him onstage.

EJ: I'd love to see what he could do visually with your songs. I have this vision of your album becoming a musical onscreen. It reminds me of when I used to listen to the radio as a child; I'd listen to a play and have to imagine it. That is what this album does for me. Every time I listen to a track, I visualize what I'm seeing. That is so unusual. Did you go to the opera a lot as a child?

RW: Yes, a lot as a teenager. While everyone else was down at [Manhattan rock club] CBGB's, I was up at the Met. Alone, with clogs and a sweatshirt on. [laughs]

EJ: Well, that's why your music is so different from anybody else's--because you're not interested in just writing popular songs. Some of the tracks on Want One are close to home for me. But I don't feel depressed when I listen to them because it seems like something you've gotten out of your system and you can sing about it. It seems like a great cleansing album for you.

RW: I remember hitting puberty at 13, 14, and AIDS was appearing on the scene, and I just thought I was going to die for about 10 years. I thought that being gay equaled death. In a weird way, I think that early encounter with real death formed my psyche.

EJ: Tell me, what pisses you off?

RW: I hate to say it, but the state of contemporary gay culture. What's gotten me through life is great art, beauty, and depth in life. There's such a fabulous history in gay culture, and I would like that to be more celebrated. When I put out my first record, the label expected gay people and my parents' [folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle] audience--old fogies--would be my big fan base. There's a real combo! In fact, the main audience that eventually sought me out was girls--young, emotionally sensitive, and maybe slightly damaged girls who really looked up to me as this beacon of compassion. I always loved that relationship. But I found that there are certain people in the gay world who are afraid to feel and afraid to not think about sex all the time. There's so much that needs to be talked about. It is so easy to fall through this gaping crack that exists with crystal meth, the Internet, and unsafe sex. I just think it should be talked about because I made it out alive. It was a miracle I didn't get AIDS, and that's an important message to get out.

EJ: That's what happened to me. When I got sober, I recognized that I should be doing something to support people with HIV and AIDS. I escaped, and I felt I'd better put my life to good use. You have the ability as a young creative artist to change the world and the way people think because you're not afraid. Do you ever fear a backlash?

RW: Both my parents are very undervalued musicians. They witnessed the disappointment of how the industry can let you down, so I'm not going to let the industry bring me down.

EJ: You definitely have inherited your father's sense of humor, cynicism, and the way he wrote songs. I used to go to his shows and laugh my head off. There was no one like this guy out there. He was so on the money.

RW: Watching my parents, I always knew that if I had the opportunity to end up with their types of careers and their lives, I would have made it. They also gave me a love of music. I always loved chords, and I always had this real love for Western classical music. I don't think there's anything that's ever surpassed it in terms of rhythms, psychology, and textures.

EJ: "Texture" is a good word because there are so many textures in your album. Every track has a different one. So, tell me, what is a perfect day for you?

RW: It revolves around my bed. I thought I had been scammed at the time I got it, but that bed has really saved my life. The perfect day is being able to sleep until 11 A.M., wake up on my $3,000 mattress in my apartment, put on my clothes, get my coffee, go to the piano, write for a while, and then just walk around the streets of New York.

EJ: Do you write every day?

RW: I try to every morning.

EJ: You're amazing. I'm prolific, but I only write when I have to.

RW: I try to make it a ritualistic kind of thing.

EJ: So how many different songs or melodies do you have at this moment?

RW: I always keep at least five or six.

EJ: Do you record them or memorize them?

RW: I memorize them.

EJ: Yeah, that's the way I do it.

RW: The first time I go into the studio is often the first take with the vocal. I don't like to dissipate that by demo-ing too much.

EJ: No, I don't do demos. If you do them, you're stuck with what you've got and you don't improve on them. So you might as well just go in and do it in the first place. What cities do you like performing in?

RW: I have to say I love playing in the Midwest--Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis.

EJ: I always found the most exciting places to play were industrial cities. It's the same in England. I love playing Manchester because I think people have more energy there. As artists we're all difficult. We all have our insecurities, but most of yours seem to be in the past. Just from listening to the record, you seem to know where you want to go. Are you a hopeless romantic?

RW: I am a hopeless romantic, but then I'm completely an ice queen as well. [laughs] I fluctuate between wanting to fall in love, but when it actually happens I run for the hills.

EJ: Is that because you want to run the relationship?

RW: It's fear of abandonment and intimacy. You have to work like shit to be happy. You're not going to get it through your career, money, or even love of another person. It's between you and yourself. [laughs] I'll go through moments thinking I'm the most gorgeous person, a gift to humankind, and then I'll flip over to "You're the scum of the earth." I think that's very common with musicians because of the experience of performing in front of large groups of people.

EJ: We want to be accepted, yet when acceptance comes our way, we want to be a mile from it sometimes. Do you read your own reviews?

RW: Bad reviews still stay with me. I was brought up by my mother, who I love dearly, but she was very tough on me in terms of being an artist, which is a great asset in this career, but in terms of my own life I have to pick up the pieces from that! I was like a trained seal as a kid. When I was 5 my mother used to sit me up at the end of a party and make me sing "Over the Rainbow" for the guests.

EJ: No wonder you turned out good! [both laugh] Well, I've paid you enough compliments already, but you are for me the as-yet-unheralded American treasure.

RW: Oh, I'm gonna cry now! [laughs]

EJ: Your time will come. What you've got to do this year is go out and devote yourself to your music. America should be proud of you, and it should acknowledge people like you who are doing great painting, great writing, great dancing. In this country at this moment, that's not happening. But it will

RW: I think that's a big lesson in terms of making music today. So much of it seems to be written and produced with the strategic aim of hitting some audience. I just said, "Fuck all that." In a weird way, the album made itself then. That's when the real music came, when I let go and just let it be what it wanted to be.

Elton John has just completed two musicals, Billy Elliott, which opens in 2004, and Vampire Lestat, which opens in 2005.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
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Interview 2001

INTERVIEW: Last time we spoke, you said you thought music was at a crossroads once more.

ELTON JOHN: Yeah, there seems to be a move into making cohesive albums again, as opposed to just a bunch of tracks. Let's start with one in particular, The May Street Project (RCA), by a young woman named Shea Seger. By the time this interview is printed it will have been out in America for a while. It's a brilliant album, with great songs, great production and great vocals.

I: A lot of people are saying that they think the whole teen band thing is over.

EJ: Well, everything in music is cyclical. I mean, the bands that everybody is talking about now are two rock 'n' roll acts--the Strokes, who are from New York, and the White Stripes, ex-spouses from Detroit. The White Stripes came to England recently and got rave reviews for their performances, and everyone I know who's seen the Strokes really likes them. So maybe there's going to be a switch back to rock 'n' roll.

I: What do you think of Macy Gray's latest album [The id, Epic]?

EJ: It's really great. It's well-sung, it's well-produced, it's got everything a record should have, and it has her voice. She makes me melt when I listen to her. Two other really class albums are the Gorillaz album [Virgin], which is really exploding at the moment, and the Craig David album [Atlantic]. And Nelly Furtado's [DreamWorks], which has been out a while, still has great songs to mine.

I: What other discoveries have you been listening to at home?

EJ: There's an English band called Zero 7, who have an album out called Simple Things [N3K], and it's really great. It's a bit James Bond-ish, and a bit like the Goldfrapp [Felt Mountain, Mute] album which is also fantastic. Both albums are fresh and original, and both kind of retrace old steps but also have something that's really now to them. They've also both been nominated for a Mercury Music prize [an annual prize to celebrate the best in British music]. The other album that's been constantly on my turntable is the new Jamiroquai record, called A Funk Odyssey [Epic]. It's really, really great.

I: These days are male performers emerging with the same kind of diva status that the women have?

EJ: No, they're not. It's the girls who have the balls, like my next subject, Mary J. Blige, whose album No More Drama [MCA] is her best ever. Mary J. seems to be more assured of what she's doing. You put her and Macy Gray on and you think, God, there's hope.

I: Speaking of hope, what about Bjork?

EJ: How much do we love Bjork? If Iceland had a Smithsonian Institution, Bjork would be the first exhibit. I adore Bjork and her album's brilliant.

I: You have a new album coming out this month [Songs from the West Coast, Universal). In addition to giving us some pure Elton John pop songs, in it you took major political themes and made extraordinary ballads out of them. For instance, in "American Triangle," your song about the Matthew Shepard murder, there's a great line about bigotry--how does it go?

EJ: "You pioneers give us your children, but it's your blood that stains their hands." It's about the way you raise your children. Bigotry is passed on from parents to their children, and it's fed into them at an age where children just take in everything that they hear as truth. It happens in Northern Ireland. It happens with religion. And it happens with bigotry and hatred.

Elton John's Tip Sheet appears regularly in Interview. Portrait: RISKO.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group

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