AJ: Yeah, exactly. And that’s the great thing. I’m working on a solo album right now, for me… well, I guess that would be a solo album as it‘s explained. But it’s complete fucking pop stuff. There’s no metal, there’s no politics, it’s complete pop stuff! If you know my history, you know that first record on Arista (Records) that I fucking hate.
BH: Yeah, I know the one, I won’t even say it’s name.
AJ: Right, please don’t. I hate it because I was told what to do, what to write, what to wear, what to look like, etc. Now, I’m going to finally do a pop album. It’s really good pop -I’m working with Mark Thwaite (former guitarist for Peter Murphy and the UK Mission). We’ve crafted this unbelievable pop album which is going to leave people scratching their heads and saying ‘He’s a sellout! He’s an asshole!’ Well, I’m not a sellout because I don’t need to do this anymore, I’ve just always wanted to do an album of pop that I wanted to do, not that other people wanted to do. And so we’re doing it. I don’t give a fuck if it sells ten copies, I don’t give a fuck if it sells a million copies; it doesn’t matter to me. That’s not important.
This is bizarre news but I’m strangely interested. Is he going to use auto-tune and go on tour with Chris Cornell? Though I’d be much more interested in Barker getting together again with Connelly, Brody and Rielfin or Washam and doing something.
@Carmangary re: Buck Satan. I’ve heard one Buck Satan song before (an intro during the Fornicatour) and it was pretty cool and I for the most part detest country music. In fact I’d go as far as to say modern country music is probably the worst music in the world but when people approach it with a taking the piss attitude it can be fun.
BH: I’m intrigued to see what it’s going to sound like.
AJ: Alright, here’s a clue. Do you remember THE THE? It’s real similar to that.
BH: It’s hard to picture that on the basis of your past repetoire.
AJ: Nah, I was a big fan of Matt Johnson’s, right up until he died and it’s kind of a tribute to that period. That mid-eighties period where there was some really good synth-pop shit that wasn’t written by the labels or like MILLI VANILLI or whatever, MINISTRY for that matter. This is the stuff that was meant to be. FAD GADGET is another example of what this solo album is going to sound like.
Damn, THE THE and FAD GADGET as references? I’m trying not to get too excited but this does sound really interesting!
I’m interested. But, is he actually going to do vocals? Can he still even sing? He kinda put some serious wear and tear on his voice over the yearw. Went from sounding like regular Al to sounding like a crazy grampa over the course of the bush trilogy. Very curious, but Al hasn’t “sang” a song in years.
I’d imagine Al’s singing voice would display around the same amount of wear and tear as Jaz Coleman’s and Jaz is still OK live with the more melodic KJ stuff. Either way, this does sound interesting indeed.
Oh shit! When did Matt Johnson die? Fuck! Who’s been updating his website? This is a terrible way to find out that he died!
With that out of the way… I’m a big fan of The The, so Al has officially made me intrigued about his solo album. Wow, it’s been a while since I was excited about something from him.
Matt Johnson is alive and well, not sure what he meant by that (maybe he thought Matt’s songwriting ‘died’ after Infected, who knows).
It’s really bizarre hearing Al mention bands such as The The and Fad Gadget again, almost as if he’s having some sort of mid-life crisis! It’s funny that he still puts up that front over WS, but he probably feels he has to continue to shit on that record. Whatever, I can’t say I’m not interested in hearing this solo album, the description is intriguing. I don’t think it’ll hold a candle to MJ’s songwriting, but then I think Matt’s a brilliant songwriter, and there’s no sign of brilliance on the last couple of Ministry albums. This is certainly news out of left field.
Um, what? First…my marriage kicks into high gear after about 15 years of dormancy and now my old bandmate admits that maybe 80’s synth-pop wasn’t so bad after all?
I can explain the rekindling of my marriage (kids have grown up, one’s away at school, almost empty nesters, more time to ourselves, etc) but I’m at a loss to explain why Al, after all this time, would suddenly record a synth-pop album.
I wonder if he found an old box of Chas Jankel 12-inch singles in his attic and that’s what prompted this. If he mentions the Thompson Twins in the near future we’ll have our answer.
Um, what? First…my marriage kicks into high gear after about 15 years of dormancy and now my old bandmate admits that maybe 80’s synth-pop wasn’t so bad after all?
I can explain the rekindling of my marriage (kids have grown up, one’s away at school, almost empty nesters, more time to ourselves, etc) but I’m at a loss to explain why Al, after all this time, would suddenly record a synth-pop album.
If your Mrs. is in her 40s to early 50s, it’s her hormones kicking in. The drive is comparable to an 18-year-old male’s drive. Enjoy!
What’s the deal with people wanting Buck Satan when it could, and probably will, suck?
It’s not that I want Buck Satan it’s that he’s said he’s gonna do it for how many years now? That’s all.
The The DUSK is a bad ass Album. I have the newly remastered disc.
Late,
grmpysmrf