Thurston Interview, Q & A Magazine

jennthebenn · 11.28.2007, 07:05 PM

'Bout 2 years old...

Who are you? And what do you do for a living?

My name is Thurston. It means: ‘Thor’s Hammer’, like the stone of Thor, Thor’s stone, Thurston. Not to be confused with Thornton or Thurman. I play music. Pretty much.

Do you trust yourself?
Absolutely not, which leads me into a weird relationship with myself. All I think about is ecstasy, not the drug, but the term of existence.

What have you done since you woke up this morning?
I woke my 11-year-old daughter from slumber to prepare her for school. Made her pancakes, set her on her way, cleaned up the kitchen, wrote a cheque for the couple who help with the housecleaning once a week, purchased a 7” by Joe Colley on eBay, checked out what was going on at the Hanson Records Yahoo chat list, peered at some emails, decided to answer these obtuse questions.

What is your earliest memory?
Hands and knees, pre-verbal, on a hallway ﬂoor, maybe on some grating, looking up and laughing at my brother and sister who were holding up a brown shoe in front of me and saying ‘shoe, shoe’ and knowing that they wanted me to repeat it, learn the language, but feeling I already knew and it was just funny and I wasn’t ready to do the tongue thing just yet.

Do you believe in life after death?
Yeah, I think so. I don’t ponder it so much, but I am a believer in metaphysics just by dint that there’s been a history of other-world/next life interaction with this realm.

Which historical ﬁgure would you like to take out, and what would you like to show them?
By take out, do you mean on a date? Or do you mean like an assassination? If a date it would be Ted Berrigan, the late, great poet of nyc. I would like to have him over for dinner and hang out and talk about the wild litany of Mimeo poetry magazines of the late 1960/1970s.

When was the last time you did something for the ﬁrst time?
Well that would be something as boring as learning some move on the computer: last night I was mocking up some cd cover concepts for a new Sonic Youth record and I had to ﬁnd out how to create a border for printing and so I did. I learned something new. Snore.

Were you a popular child?
Yeah I think so, though I wasn’t popular in any orthodox way – not for sports or any aptitude as such. I had more of a class clown vibe which made me popular but I certainly wasn’t a stud, though in retrospect I think I could’ve been more of a ladies’ man if I had the wherewithal.

Do you scare easy?
I used to more. Now I ﬁgure it’s conquerable nine times out of ten. Used to be mortiﬁed of ﬂying but now I rest in the hands of fate and chant that fate is in a pleasant mood (Sun Ra reference).

If you could make any one thing free for all, what would it be?
Free health care should be an essential right here in the usa.

If you could have put a stop to any one thing in the last 50 years, what would it have been?
The development of religious fanaticism into political effrontery.

Which public space do you like best?
I like the park, the San Francisco Golden Gate Park, where in 1968 you could be a hippy and smoking weed and having sex either there or somewhere nearby.

Which private space do you like best?
A bedroom where you can either sleep, fuck or watch ﬁlms in a prone position, or read.

Do you subscribe to a particular belief?
No, I don’t, except maybe kindness trumps all, but that’s a fairyhippy thought I guess, but I do ﬁnd it works and feels good.

What do you like most about fame and success?
It gives access to situations where you can compare life notes with other artists you admire from a distance. That is always thrilling. To be watching a great ﬁlm and admiring the director’s work or the actors, and then hearing that they in turn are enthusiastic for your work, and then you meet and sometimes that can be awesome.

What do you do for fun?
I like to collect records, cassettes and literature — I’ve always done that for fun.

What one thing would improve the quality of your life?
Oh more coin, deﬁnitely. Then I could really build an empire of releasing great records and books without having to worry about the return. I’d like to just lose money doing this without the worry.

Who was the ﬁrst cultural ﬁgure to inﬂuence you?
Hearing rock ‘n’ roll records my brother would bring home in the ‘60s: The Kingsmen Louie Louie deﬁnitely was where it kind of started. That was where I wanted to be, still is.

What was the first thing you produced/ participated in that you are particularly proud of?
As a thirteen-year-old I played Bluebeard in the school stage production of Bluebeard’s Ghost. I was nominated by an outstanding margin. That took me by pleasant surprise and I dove into the role, acting like I’ve probably never acted since. It was in the local paper and everything. I think I knew I could be excellent then, particularly as an actor, which I never pursued coz I love rock ‘n’ roll more.

What is your number one priority?
The welfare of my daughter.

Why do you do what you do?
There is an ineffable quality of connectivity to an immortal life force I get from participating in music creation. I subscribe to the Albert Ayler title: Music is the Healing Force of the Universe.

Who do you most like to talk shop with?
Kim, Jim O’Rourke, Jutta Koether, Byron Coley, Heather Leigh Murray, John Olson, Mike Connelly, Lydia Lunch, Richard Prince, Vito Acconci, Dan Graham, Tom Smith, Don Fleming, Mike Watt, Dave Markey, Christina Carter.

What is your principal defect?
Uncoordination in my ﬁne motor skills.

What is your most marked characteristic?
My height.

What would you like to be better at?
Singing.

What quality do you most like in a man?
Modesty.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Intellect.

What is sexy?
Well, the two things above, modesty and intellect. Physically, whoa — I mean, I don’t just like one aspect of sexiness, but I am certainly more into, shall we say, Buxomity than Slenderifousness.

What is your favourite sound?
There’s a perfect electric guitar string resonance with an amp when the strings start resonating in response to volume and distortion that when it hits right and you can control that as a player — that sound is the sheeit for me.

In a parallel universe what are you doing right now?
Secret.

What makes you tick?
PMA (positive mental attitude), inspiration, diet.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Loss of love.

Do you collect anything? If so what?
Mentioned above.

Which work of art do you most covet for your home?
Art from Kim and Coco.

Which book do you keep returning to?
I don’t keep returning to any book — I have so many I want to consume that to re-read something is beyond comprehension, and for me, if anything a setback in what I need to accomplish as a reader.

What was the last ﬁlm you watched, and was it any good?
Mike Mills’ ﬁlm called Thumbsucker, and yes, it was good. I had read the book and liked that. I like the writer Walter Kirn, and was surprised and delighted that Mills was directing a feature of Thumbsucker — he did a good job and Lou Pucci, the actor, was perfect in the role I think.

What do you predict for America?
Either get off the course of right-wing rule or suffer stupidly.

What is humanity’s biggest failing?
The ability to rationalise the art of the swindle.

If you had to sacriﬁce one of your senses, which one would it be?
Smell.

What is the best bit of advice you can give to someone who wants to succeed?
Make your own records, whatever, and create your own industry.

What piece of music would you like played at your funeral?
Little Johnny Jewel — Television

Tell us a joke?
No.

What is love?
Life energy in its most exalted state.

If you were to ask any two questions of any two people, what would they be and whom would you ask?
Gerard Malanga: What was it like to stare into the face of Edie Sedgwick? Keith Richards: What was it like to stare into the face of Anita Pallenberg?

Danny Himself · 11.28.2007, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T-bag

Tell us a joke?
No.

Ha!

jennthebenn · 11.28.2007, 11:05 PM

Which public space do you like best?
I like the park, the San Francisco Golden Gate Park, where in 1968 you could be a hippy and smoking weed and having sex either there or somewhere nearby.

Which private space do you like best?
A bedroom where you can either sleep, fuck or watch ﬁlms in a prone position, or read.[/quote]

to thurston moore, space=sex.

flophousefloozie · 11.29.2007, 12:01 AM

What is your number one priority?
The welfare of my daughter.

That brought tears to my eyes. No, I mean it really made me cry. What a sexy, sexy man.

nico99 · 11.29.2007, 02:02 AM

You're a lucky girl! If this is sexy to you, then I imagine you will find like 80% of all fathers sexy. Just kidding, it was a fun interview.

Cantankerous · 11.29.2007, 02:18 AM

Quote:

If you had to sacriﬁce one of your senses, which one would it be?
Smell.

me too.

Quote:

Tell us a joke?
No.

hahahaha

GrungeMonkey · 11.29.2007, 11:55 AM

I am certainly more into, shall we say, Buxomity than Slenderifousness.

Thats the best bit.

What a dude.

uhler · 11.29.2007, 12:55 PM

this article makes me want to listen to negative approach.

Bal · 11.30.2007, 12:04 PM

that was a really good read

11.28.2007, 07:05 PM	#1
jennthebenn expwy. to yr skull Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,261	'Bout 2 years old... Who are you? And what do you do for a living? My name is Thurston. It means: ‘Thor’s Hammer’, like the stone of Thor, Thor’s stone, Thurston. Not to be confused with Thornton or Thurman. I play music. Pretty much. Do you trust yourself? Absolutely not, which leads me into a weird relationship with myself. All I think about is ecstasy, not the drug, but the term of existence. What have you done since you woke up this morning? I woke my 11-year-old daughter from slumber to prepare her for school. Made her pancakes, set her on her way, cleaned up the kitchen, wrote a cheque for the couple who help with the housecleaning once a week, purchased a 7” by Joe Colley on eBay, checked out what was going on at the Hanson Records Yahoo chat list, peered at some emails, decided to answer these obtuse questions. What is your earliest memory? Hands and knees, pre-verbal, on a hallway ﬂoor, maybe on some grating, looking up and laughing at my brother and sister who were holding up a brown shoe in front of me and saying ‘shoe, shoe’ and knowing that they wanted me to repeat it, learn the language, but feeling I already knew and it was just funny and I wasn’t ready to do the tongue thing just yet. Do you believe in life after death? Yeah, I think so. I don’t ponder it so much, but I am a believer in metaphysics just by dint that there’s been a history of other-world/next life interaction with this realm. Which historical ﬁgure would you like to take out, and what would you like to show them? By take out, do you mean on a date? Or do you mean like an assassination? If a date it would be Ted Berrigan, the late, great poet of nyc. I would like to have him over for dinner and hang out and talk about the wild litany of Mimeo poetry magazines of the late 1960/1970s. When was the last time you did something for the ﬁrst time? Well that would be something as boring as learning some move on the computer: last night I was mocking up some cd cover concepts for a new Sonic Youth record and I had to ﬁnd out how to create a border for printing and so I did. I learned something new. Snore. Were you a popular child? Yeah I think so, though I wasn’t popular in any orthodox way – not for sports or any aptitude as such. I had more of a class clown vibe which made me popular but I certainly wasn’t a stud, though in retrospect I think I could’ve been more of a ladies’ man if I had the wherewithal. Do you scare easy? I used to more. Now I ﬁgure it’s conquerable nine times out of ten. Used to be mortiﬁed of ﬂying but now I rest in the hands of fate and chant that fate is in a pleasant mood (Sun Ra reference). If you could make any one thing free for all, what would it be? Free health care should be an essential right here in the usa. If you could have put a stop to any one thing in the last 50 years, what would it have been? The development of religious fanaticism into political effrontery. Which public space do you like best? I like the park, the San Francisco Golden Gate Park, where in 1968 you could be a hippy and smoking weed and having sex either there or somewhere nearby. Which private space do you like best? A bedroom where you can either sleep, fuck or watch ﬁlms in a prone position, or read. Do you subscribe to a particular belief? No, I don’t, except maybe kindness trumps all, but that’s a fairyhippy thought I guess, but I do ﬁnd it works and feels good. What do you like most about fame and success? It gives access to situations where you can compare life notes with other artists you admire from a distance. That is always thrilling. To be watching a great ﬁlm and admiring the director’s work or the actors, and then hearing that they in turn are enthusiastic for your work, and then you meet and sometimes that can be awesome. What do you do for fun? I like to collect records, cassettes and literature — I’ve always done that for fun. What one thing would improve the quality of your life? Oh more coin, deﬁnitely. Then I could really build an empire of releasing great records and books without having to worry about the return. I’d like to just lose money doing this without the worry. Who was the ﬁrst cultural ﬁgure to inﬂuence you? Hearing rock ‘n’ roll records my brother would bring home in the ‘60s: The Kingsmen Louie Louie deﬁnitely was where it kind of started. That was where I wanted to be, still is. What was the first thing you produced/ participated in that you are particularly proud of? As a thirteen-year-old I played Bluebeard in the school stage production of Bluebeard’s Ghost. I was nominated by an outstanding margin. That took me by pleasant surprise and I dove into the role, acting like I’ve probably never acted since. It was in the local paper and everything. I think I knew I could be excellent then, particularly as an actor, which I never pursued coz I love rock ‘n’ roll more. What is your number one priority? The welfare of my daughter. Why do you do what you do? There is an ineffable quality of connectivity to an immortal life force I get from participating in music creation. I subscribe to the Albert Ayler title: Music is the Healing Force of the Universe. Who do you most like to talk shop with? Kim, Jim O’Rourke, Jutta Koether, Byron Coley, Heather Leigh Murray, John Olson, Mike Connelly, Lydia Lunch, Richard Prince, Vito Acconci, Dan Graham, Tom Smith, Don Fleming, Mike Watt, Dave Markey, Christina Carter. What is your principal defect? Uncoordination in my ﬁne motor skills. What is your most marked characteristic? My height. What would you like to be better at? Singing. What quality do you most like in a man? Modesty. What is the quality you most like in a woman? Intellect. What is sexy? Well, the two things above, modesty and intellect. Physically, whoa — I mean, I don’t just like one aspect of sexiness, but I am certainly more into, shall we say, Buxomity than Slenderifousness. What is your favourite sound? There’s a perfect electric guitar string resonance with an amp when the strings start resonating in response to volume and distortion that when it hits right and you can control that as a player — that sound is the sheeit for me. In a parallel universe what are you doing right now? Secret. What makes you tick? PMA (positive mental attitude), inspiration, diet. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Loss of love. Do you collect anything? If so what? Mentioned above. Which work of art do you most covet for your home? Art from Kim and Coco. Which book do you keep returning to? I don’t keep returning to any book — I have so many I want to consume that to re-read something is beyond comprehension, and for me, if anything a setback in what I need to accomplish as a reader. What was the last ﬁlm you watched, and was it any good? Mike Mills’ ﬁlm called Thumbsucker, and yes, it was good. I had read the book and liked that. I like the writer Walter Kirn, and was surprised and delighted that Mills was directing a feature of Thumbsucker — he did a good job and Lou Pucci, the actor, was perfect in the role I think. What do you predict for America? Either get off the course of right-wing rule or suffer stupidly. What is humanity’s biggest failing? The ability to rationalise the art of the swindle. If you had to sacriﬁce one of your senses, which one would it be? Smell. What is the best bit of advice you can give to someone who wants to succeed? Make your own records, whatever, and create your own industry. What piece of music would you like played at your funeral? Little Johnny Jewel — Television Tell us a joke? No. What is love? Life energy in its most exalted state. If you were to ask any two questions of any two people, what would they be and whom would you ask? Gerard Malanga: What was it like to stare into the face of Edie Sedgwick? Keith Richards: What was it like to stare into the face of Anita Pallenberg? __________________ http://jennthebenn.tumblr.com/
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11.28.2007, 11:05 PM	#3
jennthebenn expwy. to yr skull Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,261	Which public space do you like best? I like the park, the San Francisco Golden Gate Park, where in 1968 you could be a hippy and smoking weed and having sex either there or somewhere nearby. Which private space do you like best? A bedroom where you can either sleep, fuck or watch ﬁlms in a prone position, or read.[/quote] to thurston moore, space=sex. __________________ http://jennthebenn.tumblr.com/
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11.29.2007, 12:01 AM	#4
flophousefloozie expwy. to yr skull Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cowtown, Canada Posts: 1,694	What is your number one priority? The welfare of my daughter. That brought tears to my eyes. No, I mean it really made me cry. What a sexy, sexy man.
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11.29.2007, 02:02 AM	#5
nico99 little trouble girl Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 47	You're a lucky girl! If this is sexy to you, then I imagine you will find like 80% of all fathers sexy. Just kidding, it was a fun interview.
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11.29.2007, 11:55 AM	#7
GrungeMonkey 100% Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Huddersfield, England Posts: 670	I am certainly more into, shall we say, Buxomity than Slenderifousness. Thats the best bit. What a dude.
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11.29.2007, 12:55 PM	#8
uhler invito al cielo Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 3,615	this article makes me want to listen to negative approach.
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11.30.2007, 12:04 PM	#9
Bal the end of the ugly Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Budapest city Posts: 1,011	that was a really good read __________________
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