By Daniel Johnson

 

If DJ were an AI text generator pt.1

 

SCA is making me do two scabs. Why Amy, why? There is no cause. Why put something on yourself that feels like it hurts? I refuse to do it. 

 

My arthritis hurts. So does my heart. We all do. The problem is getting better. So it’s my body, not the talent or most of the body. 

 

When the artist, despite many obstacles, outgrows his equipment, he is reminded of his pride in his work.

 

But art is never old. That is what artists do: they alter their art. To fit with their times.

 

Some artists are ruined by time. Or they are washed up. That is a certainty. Others are consumed by feelings they cannot control.

 

I imagine a “degenerate artist”. Someone who not only has not learned how to paint but has not learned how to make anything at all. A person who seems like they simply did nothing all day.

 

I wonder if that is who Clay is?

 

A dude who saw how the world works and took to it like a fish to water?

 

No, not at all. Clay is a big strong dude with a big strong dick. Maybe you have heard of him, maybe not. He is a man who is known to be a rock star. Which is to say that he is definitely an original. And to me, that’s the great thing about art. It is never stagnant. People always have new thoughts and new ideas. And that is what he always keeps coming back to.

 

Do you see your work as continuing the legacy of Dylan?

 

Yeah. There is no doubt in my mind about that. Dylan was a major influence on me. I was more influenced by Motown, for instance. He is a genius. I would take old Dylans vinyls and put them.

 

I wouldn’t call you a big fan of his work.

 

I did find it interesting and appreciated that some of the lines were words in the KJV, but he has a fantastic sensibility in the whole thing. And the first section was really interesting. It was still violent and brutal, icky, but it wasn’t really at the same level as “The End of Violence,” “The Old Planet,” “The Projectionist.” 

 

It was more, “Fuck this” in a much more personal way, not maybe as a total denunciation of violence, but that was more of a glimpse of the artist’s mind, which I thought was really interesting. But the last section, “Firestorm,” the fire first thing about that, it was more, “Fuck this” in a much more personal way, not maybe as a total denunciation of violence, but that was more of a glimpse of the artist’s mind, which I thought was really interesting. 

 

But the last section, “Firestorm,” the fire first thing about that song is I got really, really emotional, and the song was the way I wanted to go out, and it was also the thing that really influenced the songwriting on this new album.

 

What can we expect from the album, and what kind of new direction do you think you’re taking it?

 

I think the new direction we’re taking is just more chilled out.