Rock musician and all-around happy hell raiser Amanda Palmer makes an interesting point about how artists (though she’s specifically talking about musicians, I think her argument can be made to include writers and artists) shouldn’t be so ashamed to openly ask for financial support from their fans.

It is a fine line, one I’ve tip-toed a few times (as have others: http://www.mauricebroaddus.com/2009/07/will-edit-for-food . Amanda points out that with so much free content out there in the wild, you occasionally have to pipe up and say “Hey, you do know I have to buy food, clothes, and housing…if you like my work, you mind sparing a coin for me?”

She makes an entertaining and thought-provoking claim regardless of your own personal opinions (or distaste?) of the starving artist concept.

Here’s a link to Amanda’s post: http://blog.amandapalmer.net/post/200582690/why-i-am-not-afraid-to-take-your-money-by-amanda

Here we are. Day Ten. If I’ve not convinced you that Amanda Palmer is the new Rock Goddess of the 21st Century, then there’s no hope for you.

For the rest of you, I’ll leave you with a song and video that functions as a great symbol of all of Amanda Palmer’s creative genius.

Enjoy “Girl Anachronism”:

Question 10:
Sara M. Harvey: I LOVE your eyebrows (or lack thereof) and your whole signature look! What goes through your mind when you get dressed or when you go shopping? How do you make the fabulous happen?

Amanda Palmer: I never think about it. I just see things I like and grab them. I tend to like old-looking things, I’ve found, but there isn’t a rhyme or reason to my style. Sometime I wish there was.

We’ve shown you the wilder side of Amanda Palmer: serenading creeps in a bar with Radiohead’s “Creep”, stirring up trouble with “Oasis”, assisting in a “reBellyon”, and turning the Boston Symphony Hall into a party pad.

Now it is time to appreciate the quieter side of Amanda Palmer, at least, musically.

She’s a helluva keyboard player, and some of her songs have the dainty tinkling reminiscent of many songs from Tori Amos. On Christmas Eve, she released the video to the charming and quiet song “What’s the Use of Wond’rin?” (featuring Annie Clark). “Point of it All” is primarily Amanda and her keyboard (and some wonderful lyrics).

Her most powerful mood piece is the school-shooting chronicle “Strength Through Music.” It’s unsettling how the song evokes the sadness and surreal terror of the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings (supposedly the song was written after Columbine and recorded the week of the V-Tech shooting).

The opening dialog is from Strindburg & Helium.

Photo by Brian Viglione

Question #9:
Sara M. Harvey: As working artists and creative people, I think we all have our “ah-ha moment” when we realize that we can actually be successful at a career in our art form. What was yours like? When did it happen for you?

Amanda Palmer: I didn’t have one. I just knew from the time I was a kid that I was going to do this. Seriously. But I’ve had moments of bigger ah-has. I remember playing my demo tape for my hero, Edward Ka-Spel of the Legendary Pink Dots, and he sat me down and told me that he thought it was really, really, really good. My heart soared for about a week and I thought: HOLY Shit, YES, I was RIGHT.

Working with the likes of Ben Folds and Neil Gaiman are instant ‘cred’ type of collaborations. Playing at a Presidential Ball is quite noteworthy. But for a musician, I’d have to guess playing with the Boston Pops would be a one-of-a-kind type of experience.

In June, 2008, she electrified the audience in the Boston Symphony Hall with a series of older hits (“Coin-Operated Boy” and “Miss Me”), some newer stuff from Who Killed Amanda Palmer, and even a cover of “What a Wonderful World” with Brian Viglione (Where Brian actually gets to sing solo! He’s not a bad singer at all.).

Enjoy.

Question #8:

Sara M. Harvey: You played with Brian for an Inauguration concert. What was that like? Beyond just being the Dresden Dolls on stage again (versus your recent solo stuff), but the whole day? What did it mean for you to be included in that way?

Amanda Palmer: It felt historic, quite simply. I knew I was witnessing real history, the day that would mark a huge change in the course of America’s story. It felt euphoric, especially to be there with Brian. It threw things in persepctive…our Little Band, this Big Day…it was perfect.

Sara M. Harvey: I also watched some highlights of your concert with the Boston Pops. That was an amazing concert! What are your thoughts on that kind of cross-over between popular and classical music?

And the Australia shows- very heavy on the costumes and theatrics, not your average concert-what kind of performance events are you looking to create?

Amanda Palmer: I just want to make people feel something, and theater is useful for that. I also really like surprising people, and theater is also useful for that. But I also enjoy thte simplicity of sitting at a piano and rocking out alone on stage for a few hours. I think the key I’ve found to my own life is to do lots and lots and lots of different things. Otherwise I get bored. I might go back to street performing someday. I miss it.

Sometimes controversy finds Amanda Palmer (reBellyon), and sometimes Amanda Palmer finds controversy. It’s hard to imagine that Amanda did not foresee the uptight twittering of the easily offended when she penned “Oasis,” a catchy pop-tune that describes how one girl’s obsession with the British rock band Oasis helps her cope with rape and an abortion.

Here’s a snippet of the song lyrics:

when i went to get tested i brought along my best friend
melissa mahoney (who had once been molested)
and she knew how to get there
she knew all the nurses; they were all really friendly
but the test came out positive

i’ve had better days but i don’t care
‘cause i just sent a letter in the mail

It’s quite shocking stuff, especially with a doo-wop, happy beat. Yet, the very ones who bleat about the song’s lyrics and saccharine tone are missing the point and are the subject of the song: of how society sugarcoats a serious problem.

Damn good song. Enjoy!

Photo by Beth Hommel

Interview Question 7:

Sara M. Harvey: What is your favorite track on the album? Why this one? What makes it special to you?

Amanda Palmer: I love Guitar Hero, and Astronaut, as far as the actual recordings go, mostly because they’re so covered with Ben Folds and I hear something new every time I listen.

Despite being loaded with great songs, Who Killed Amanda Palmer has not been without controversy. But then, controversy and Amanda Palmer are friends in a good way.

The first of such controversies was “ReBellyon.” From Amanda Palmer’s wikipedia entry:

After the release of her music video for the song “Leeds United”, Palmer sparked controversy with a post in her blog. She claimed Roadrunner Records had wanted to pull certain shots from the video that exposed her stomach, because “they thought I looked fat”. After her fans read about this, they immediately posted pictures of their stomachs online with messages to Roadrunner, lyrics, and words of comfort. They then sent in their pictures to the record label, and even started their own website. The fans coined a term for the movement: The ReBellyon.[17] Pitchfork Magazine[18] and The Guardian[19] were among publications reporting on the controversy. Since then The Rebellyon has developed a website run by independent musician Matt Wyllie[20]. Partly because of the controversy caused by the Leeds video, Palmer has recently made attempts to be dropped from Roadrunner Records, which included posting a song on her online blog which asked the label to do so.[21]

The video for “Leeds United.” Shake your belly and get your rock on. You decide if Miss Palmer’s belly is offensive.

Question 6:
Sara M. Harvey: I have really been enjoying Who Killed Amanda Palmer? It has been full of controversy! Between the “belly” incident with the “Leeds United” video and some of the blow-back abou “Oasis,” you have really been blogged about more than ever before. But do you think that the publicity is overshadowing the music?

Amanda Palmer: The publicity can’t overshadow the music if the publicity is bringing people to the music. But sure, it can be sticky if people identify you as Not A Musician or Not An Artist but simply a Media Figure. I don’t think I’m in any danger of that, luckily.

In 2008, the Dolls released the companion piece to Yes, Virginia…. It’s name: No, Virginia… (of course!). One of my favorites is “The Sheep Song” and in this bootleg video Amanda talks some of what inspired the song. In a Spin Magazine review of the album, they state

“The Sheep Song” stands out, a fright flick for piano and percussion that Palmer sings like a banshee.

I can agree with this assessment.

Photo by Lenka Sindelarova

Question Five:
Sara M. Harvey:Over the holidays, you blogged that you bought books as gifts for your friends and family, what do you think about the state of the publishing industry? Are we going all digital,or do you think books are going to be around to stay in some way, shape, or form?

Amanda Palmer:As long as I’m reading, I want a book that you can drop in the bathtub and fish out and keep reading. No Kindle will ever be like that. I want books that can smell moldy. But I might become overrun by a new generation, which is the way things work, isn’t it?

Buy The Dresden Dolls No, Virginia
Buy The Dresden Dolls Yes, Virginia…
Buy The Dresden Dolls self-titled album
Buy Amanda Palmer’s solo album Who Killed Amanda Palmer
Buy interviewer Sara M. Harvey’s paranormal-steampunk novel The Convent of the Pure

The followup to The Dresden Dolls first studio album was Yes, Virginia…. The album contains two standout singles: “Shores of California” and “Sing.” The latter is an emotional work that can be labeled in your iTunes folder as a “Bawler Classic.”

Here’s “Sing” off of Yes, Virginia…

Photo credit Lisa Gordon
Amanda and Brian

Interview Question 4:
Sara M. Harvey: It’s my understanding that you really enjoy reading; what are your favorite genres, authors, and titles?

Amanda Palmer: I used to read much more fiction (my favorites were Milan Kundera, Heinrich Boll, Hermann Hesse, John Irving….and tons more) but lately my brain has been craving only non-fiction, and I’ve been on a Bill Bryson binge. I have a few books that I buy as gifts for suffering friends over and over, one of them is “Dropping Ashes on the Buddha” by Seung Sahn. Another is “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. I adore Neil Gaiman’s new book, “The Graveyard Book” and I’m just in the middle of “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini and “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan. I tend to read four books at once so that I can match book to mood.

Buy The Dresden Dolls Yes, Virginia…

Buy The Dresden Dolls self-titled album
Buy Amanda Palmer’s solo album Who Killed Amanda Palmer
Buy interviewer Sara M. Harvey’s paranormal-steampunk novel The Convent of the Pure

You could argue that the merit of a band has everything to do with songwriting and composition. I’d probably agree with you.

But to do a great cover, that takes some music chops, folks.

Any band with geek cred covers “Science Fiction Double Feature.”

This cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” earned Amanda an invite to the Howard Stern Show. Crowded bar. Ukulele. Amanda Palmer. Good times. The dude at the end totally should have gone in for the kiss.

Interview Question 3:
Sara M. Harvey: You are lost on a desert island. You open your one suitcase and find that thankfully you have packed the following three things:

Amanda Palmer: A plane, an instruction manual and a supply of food.
or
My ukulele, a case of wine, and a case of ambien. would be a fantastic farewell concert.

Now that you know who she is, let’s take a moment to appreciate her talents.

Listening to her music, and this counts from her first album with The Dresden Dolls to the wonderful Who Killed Amanda Palmer (her first studio solo album), I’m struck by her talents as a lyricist. Being an editor of a publishing company (and therefore an “expert”), I like to think I know a thing or two about a well-written turn of phrase, but truth is, it doesn’t take somebody in the biz to know good music when it hits their ears.

For example, in the rocking (but rather depressing) song “Guitar Hero” from Who Killed Amanda Palmer, here is one of my favorite stanzas:

x marks the box in the hole in the ground that goes off at a breath
so careful don’t make a sound
x marks the box in the hole in your head that you dug for yourself
now lie in it

shut up about all of that negative shit
you wanted to make it and now that you’re in
you’re obviously not gonna to die
so why not take your chances and try….
why not take your chances and try…

do you turn this thing off
this isn’t at all like the ones back at home
you shut your eyes and flip the cassette
and that’s about the time that they hit
and that’s about the time that they hit

what the fuck is up with this shit?
It’s certainly not worth getting upset
His hands are gone and most of his head
And just when he was getting so good…
just when he was getting so good…

and I could save you baby but it isn’t worth my time
cos even if I saved you there’s a million more in line

Here’s the amazing video to “Guitar Hero”:

When she goes “Whoooooo!” my toes curl.

Interview Question 2:
Sara M. Harvey: How does your love of literature shape your music? And your lyrics?

Amanda Palmer: Lines can seep in and stories can inspire. I stole a bunch of lyrics for “astronaut: a short history of nearly nothing” (the opening track on Who Killed Amanda Palmer) from “A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson. The book had been given to me by someone, it had a special significance and value. Books connect the dots, sometimes.

Buy The Dresden Dolls self-titled album
Buy Amanda Palmer’s solo album Who Killed Amanda Palmer
Buy interviewer Sara M. Harvey’s paranormal-steampunk novel The Convent of the Pure