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| Interviewing Sir Paul from A-ha, September 2005, NYC. Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved. |
The response to the program was fantastic, both locally and internationally. I heard from people from as far away as New Orleans, Quebec, London, Ireland, Norway and Korea... it was pretty wild. I think the station underestimated the appeal of the show and, unfortunately, there were many potential listeners who complained about not managing to access the online stream since it was so busy. According to the station's Facebook page, they promise to rebroadcast the show again soon. If you are interested, please drop them a line to let them know what you think.
Personally, it meant a great deal to be able to share this music with listeners, and hear some of my favorite songs on North American radio for the first time! I found myself getting choked up a couple times during the first hour, because I have such a history with these songs... honestly, they helped me get through some pretty tough times during high school and college.
With that amount of passion, it has irked me that I have often had to explain such devotion. As I described during the special, A-ha's music has always touched a special nerve within me. These are heartfelt songs, with lyrics frequently tending towards the introverted... so maybe not everyone gets it. I think a larger problem here in the U.S., is that there just hasn't been the ongoing exposure− I have interviewed enough bands over the years to know that promotion is a big part of sustaining a popular music career. Whether it was the fault of the record company or the band, who felt misunderstood and pushed in a certain direction, it's a shame that more people are not aware of the true genius of A-ha's musical output. Hopefully my special, which helps me further shape the template of my video documentary, could help with that.
A couple weeks ago I heard an interesting story on NPR, about a new book called What Are You Doing Here? Music writer Laina Dawes is a huge heavy metal fan, who just happens to be black. In her book, she describes the resistance she has had to endure because her gender and ethnicity don't fit the preconceived notion of who should be listening to that particular style of music. Buying into that stereotype, it might be far less surprising to hear that someone like me (young, white male) was into heavy metal... even though the genre has never really grabbed me.
It was interesting to hear about the difficulty that Dawes has experienced over the years from both white and black communities. Unfortunately, it reinforces this idea of fragmented subcultures, particularly when it comes to music. This quote from the author during the NPR interview really resonated with me: "I think it's just made me a stronger person. Things that you find that you are really passionate about, they usually don't come easy to you. I've had experiences at concerts and shows that have really hurt me and have really made me think, 'why am I doing this again? What's the point?' And really what it comes down to is the music. It makes me feel so good that I'm willing to put up with the occasional challenging experience..."
To that I say "Amen!... and A-ha!"
Related Links:
Interview: Laina Dawes, Author of 'What Are You Doing here?', NPR, January 4, 2013
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