Mark Mothersbaugh Unedited Transcript

Read the full, lengthy and unedited transcript from Richard Henderson's interview with Mark Mothersbaugh which took place over two days in Mothersbaugh's at music production company in West Hollywood.

Negativland
"Old Is New" from No Business
Seeland

Mark Mothersbaugh: Who did that?

Richard Henderson: It's Negativland.

MM: Well, there's a soft spot in my heart for deconstruction of icons and, well where was that when we were kids?

RH: it was on the original record.

MM: Oh, those funny Negativland guys.... We're onto the next song now.

RH: Oh, we'll stop it then. I'd rather talk about Negativland for a bit. Are you familiar with their stuff, Negativland?

MM: I played on one of their tracks.

RH: Really? Which one?

MM: I can't remember! I'm sure we could find out if we looked at the internet cos it tells you everything you ever did.

RH: So you worked with Negativland?

MM: I worked with Negativland before, yes.

RH: How did that come to pass?

MM: I don't know. It was in that crazy time period of Church of the Sub Genius and, I don't even know how to say their name - doing stuff with Einstürzende Neubauten

RH: Oh, the Collapsing New Buildings guys.

MM: Yeah and things just kind of surfaced and you were like 'Hey, that's kind of an interesting idea' and worked on something with somebody and it turned into a strange record.

RH: What was it like to work with Negativland?

MM: Er, long distance. So it wasn't like we ever in the...

RH: ...same room.

MM: We weren't ever working in the same room. They sent me things that I - if I recall this correctly - they sent me things and I added to 'em.

RH: What did you do on them?

MM: I gotta go and listen to the song again. I did too many of those things.

RH: But they were cool with it and it came out and everything?

MM: Yeah.

RH: So do you feel a kinship with what Negativland does to what Devo does?

MM: Well I'm... maybe more so than a lot of pop bands. I like their subversive attitude to music. Their willingness to be a little bit kind of off the beaten path and politically doing things that you're not supposed to do.

RH: Like going toe-to-toe with U2.

MM: Yeah. Cos it's one of those issues where you can see both sides. You can have empathy on both sides of the map, especially if you're an artist. So yeah, I like them.

RH: You're cool with what they do.

MM: Ok. I have to warn you I got what feels like a 60 pound lead dunce cap on today cos I just started antibiotics. Everything's kind of moving in slow motion.

RH: Well, you might enjoy this next one then.

MM: If worst comes to worst I can just pay you to make it all up.


The Residents
“Hitler Was A Vegetarian” from Third Reich'n'Roll

MM: I have 18 and a half minutes to figure out what it is... Sounds pretty good.

[Pause]

Is this Monty Python's medley of pop songs or something?

RH: Ha, no.

MM: The whistling's got a modicum of talent on that Monty Python level. And then that's "Judy In Disguise With Glasses" and...this goes on for 18 minutes?

RH: Yeah, it's The Residents.

MM: This is The Residents? Those little rascals.

RH: " Hitler Was A Vegetarian " from Third Reich 'N Roll.

MM: Can you imagine all the rights, how many writers they had to put to this track, if they would have done it.

RH: If they could do it, ha ha.

MM:See I have a soft spot for The Residents and for a very good reason. They, um... Crocus Behemoth who later became David Thompson, when he decided to use his own name, and was the singer of Pere Ubu

RH: ...David Thomas.