CEE LO GREEN: FORGET-YOU-NOT

Originally published in AU Magazine, November 2010

IT’S NOT every day that you get to hurl the phrase ‘fuck you’ with gusto down a phone line to a celebrity. It’s even less likely that the object of your outburst will respond with friendly enthusiasm. Then again, it’s not every day that you get to talk to the man behind one of the hottest singles of 2010  – thankfully, of the same expletive-focused title.

MARK KOZELEK: Q&A

Originally published on Entertainment.ie, September 2008

You have this reputation as a writer of very intense,  intricate songs. Are you really as intense as you’re made out to be, or is that whole persona just something that’s been invented by the media?

I don’t know. I write songs, but can’t help what’s projected onto me. I’m faced with the same day to day stuff as anybody else. I spent last week fixing things that were broken in my apartment and running errands. Most of the people I interact with on a daily basis don’t even know what I do for a living, so the ‘persona’ thing doesn’t amount to much. Even on tour, I spend two hours a night singing songs, and the rest of the time, staring at the back of people’s heads on airplanes, some fat guy coughing on me.

FAVOURITE BEATLE

“It’s like this: you’re either a dog person, or a cat person.”

“So McCartney’s a dog, and Lennon’s a cat?”

“Yep.”

“That makes sense. But what does that make Ringo and George?”

“George is a kitten.”

“But kittens grow into cats…”

“… a permanent kitten. And Ringo……?”

“… yeah?”

“He’s one of those horrible hairless Sphynx cats that no one likes.”