Q&A: Nick Lowe on Dying Arts and Second Acts

This week, Nick Lowe reunites with Wilco for another leg of American dates in support of his latest album, The Old Magic, his first full-length since 2007's At My Age. Magic is a boutique pop offering that finds the pub-rock pioneer playing with far smoother, gentler textures than those that defined much of his '70s and '80s heyday. But there's a great deal of mischief to be heard, too. It comes, after all, from a guy they once called "Basher." SPIN caught up with the 62-year-old songwriter to chat about the difference between Tom Waits and Chuck Berry and his newfound female audience.
Having been a pop star and produced the records you did in the '70s, is there an overwhelming weight of history when you're sitting down to write another album?
No, I must say there isn't. It's so hard to write a simple two-and-half minute song that if you saddle yourself with any other extraneous shit, then you really have had it. With my songwriting process, I try to remove myself from the equation as much as I can. I have to wait for some sort of inspiration. Writing songs is sort of a dying craft; I think in 20 or 30 years it'll be gone.
Why?
At one time, classical music was a popular art form. But, people's tastes change and I don't think that people can be kind of bothered to write songs. It's quite tricky. Songwriting is a bit like knowing how to thatch a roof or make one of these stone walls you see in the country that are just made of stones without any cement holding 'em up. It's like a country craft and I don't think people will have any use for it in a few years time. And I'm not whining about it, you know, it's just sort of the way it goes. It's here and then the human race is sort of done with it.
What do you see taking its place?
It's getting so much easier to make a pretty good sounding record now in your bedroom. So pretty good is the new shit. And there is sort of a tsunami of pretty good that we're in at the moment because everyone can do it themselves.
How much do you follow what's happening with young up-and-coming songwriters?
I don't, really. I know it's nothing to be proud of, but I really only kind of listen to dead people's music, because I don't know where to find the good stuff. I've sort of given up looking because I just can't find anything that's for me. You're not supposed to be doing it at 63 years old. So I don't really. I'm doing my thing, trying to make as many hits as I can and not try and interfere with anybody else.
In a song like "Sensitive Man," how much of you are we hearing in those words?
Oh, I don't write autobiographical stuff. I write a lot of songs with "I," the first person, but the characters are made up. But I know what I'm talking about, I know how it feels to feel abused and used and have your heart broken and to feel happy, all those human emotions. I'm sort of a hack really. An old-fashioned hack, Tin Pan Alley guy really. I just make it up...

Continue reading

 David Bevan @'Spin'