BK: Oh man, that is such a harsh question!
LK: You can say rose petals or something!
BK: I’ll probably drop feathers.
LK: What are your views on George ‘Dubya’ Bush?
BK: Fuckin’ hate him! [into mic] He is the worst. He’s the biggest villain I have ever seen. I feel like he is such an embarrassment to our country.
JA: Take it you didn’t vote for him?
BK: I didn’t vote for anybody ‘cause I was on tour because you have to vote where you live. The thing is he didn’t actually win the popular vote and that’s what’s so fucked up about the whole thing. I’m a big fan of Michael Moore y’know? This book of his, Stupid White Men, is so genius.
LK: Yeah, I read it. Have you seen Bowling For Columbine?
Yes. Love that film.
JA: How do you think you’d do on American Idol?
BK: I would definitely lose! I would totally lose. My dancing skills are pretty good but my singing isn’t the kind of singing they’re looking for.
JA: Do you think programmes like this damage real music, and stuff that people like you do?
BK: I don’t think it damages it, but it definitely sets us apart. I think what it does is it just encourages the phoney artist in music because these people, yeah they’re talented singers and they can dance or whatever, but a lot of the art in music is composing and I think that that’s the best way to express yourself. Back in the day, like in the 60s, you’d have people like Jimi Hendrix who would become huge because he was such a great guitar player and he had great songs and this whole cool vibe and was so different, and the Beatles who just wrote undeniably great songs and sang great. Bands back then would become successful just by their sheer talent and now you can be manufactured and these record companies can put together the thing they want. You just sing along to a DAT player and it takes any of the art out of music, which is kind of a bummer.
JA: What are your views on the internet? Does it damage music?
BK: I think the internet is cool, at least for me when I was starting out, like when it was still the first version of Napster. That was great for me ‘cause kids would come up to me after shows, like if I was on tour with Evan Dando or something, and say ‘I came to see Evan and I’d never heard of you so I downloaded one of your songs and I was able to sing along with you’. So, that’s cool and it creates fans I think. I’m a big fan of I-Tunes, what Apple’s done with the 99 cents. I put my credit card on it and so I’m registered and whenever I want a song I just click on it and it automatically sends it to my I-Pod which is cool, you don’t even have to leave your house.
JA: So, is the internet affecting sales?
BK: It’s definitely affecting sales. There is no doubt that downloaded music has cut sales in half. They say that a record today that sells half a million copies, in ’97 would have been 1.5 million at least. There are benefits though, I think people have to find creative ways of promoting music and use it to their advantage.
JA: To go back to the new album, is there any new inspiration behind it?
BK: A lot of inspiration behind it. I’ve been in New York for five years, a lot of the songs from Sha Sha were about change and leaving Texas – leaving the small town for this big city. This album is definitely a New York album, where I’ve been there, and it talks a lot about confusion and dealing with the city and finding solitude in your apartment and stuff like that. There’s actually a song called My Apartment on the album. There’s a lot of inspiration in there about life, and love for sure.
JA: What’s the scene like in New York now? You hear bands like the Strokes saying there was no scene before they started up.
BK: There is a great music scene there, and a lot of the bands are obviously getting attention right now, which is cool. There’s also a lot of bands there that you don’t know about and you come to the UK and people ask you about all these different bands, and they’re like, ‘but they’re from Brooklyn!’ ... now I live in Brooklyn and I don’t know who they are! Obviously like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Moony Suzuki, Adam Green... There are bands that are definite staples. The one’s I’m really close with would be the Strokes and Adam, I know the Moony Suzuki guys and there’s this band called Bright Eyes... I don’t know if you...
LK: Conor Oberst, yeah?
BK: Yeah! A lot of people don’t know them over here. He just moved to New York. He called me up last month as was like, ‘Dude I want you to play piano with us on Friday night!’ so I learnt a bunch of songs and sat in with them before I flew out to do this tour.
JA: That’s cool. Now, is the Fonz cooler than Mr. T?
BK: Oh man! I think Mr. T is way cooler than the Fonz! Check it out, the Fonz is cool as shit right? But Mr. T dude?! Mr. T could definitely win a fight... but that’s not the question I know. I would probably want to meet Mr. T more than the Fonz.
JA: If you could swap careers with any musical star in the world who would you choose?
BK: Probably Neil Young, he’s probably got the best career I can think of. He makes an album whenever he wants, he plays to as many people as always and he think he’s just been able to change and do his thing. I love that he can make a country album, or a rock album, or an R&B album. He just does whatever the fuck he wants. He’s a got a big house I think up in the hills in Northern California, he’s a got a family and a lake in the backyard and a row boat and it sounds great! [laughs]
JA: So is that your approach then, just do whatever the fuck you want?
BK: Basically yeah. It’s not like I’m gonna do what I want, it’s like I’m gonna do what I feel, whatever hits me and whatever I feel like I need to do as an artist.
JA: D’you think that’s punk basically?
BK: Yeah it is pretty punk. I grew up with total punk rock ideals. Growing up with Kurt Cobain as your mentor you learn about that shit early on. You learn the important things. It’s about making music and doing what you feel and not trying to feel pressured and if people love what you do then that’s awesome. I’m the one that has to live with everything I’ve made, when I’m an old man I have to look back on it, not the record companies – they’ll forget about me.
JA: Final question: Why should people listen to Ben Kweller?
BK: Well they should listen to me because. . . let’s see. . . EVERYONE NEEDS TO LISTEN TO ME!. . . just because! [laughs] My music is all about optimism and the light at the end of the tunnel. If you’re having a bad day or a bad year, then just try and keep your head up. My music has a lot of hope in it, that’s why people would dig my music. It’s got a good message I think and it talks about confusion and all the shit that we always go through.