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MTV: Why that title?
DG: You know, we really haven't even talked about it that much, have we, guys?
Taylor Hawkins: I think it sucks. No, I love it! I was kidding! I love it!
DG: I came up with the phrase when I was talking to a friend about the feeling that you have when you've made your way through a long journey or if you've been committed to something for a really long time, and you've felt restricted by it, and you get to the point where instead of torturing yourself over it you start to kind of celebrate it, and you think, "I have nothing to worry about, there's nothing left to lose," and you kind of surrender to that feeling and then, all of the sudden, you feel great.
MTV: Kind of heavy subject matter for the title. Is the record along those lines, as well?
DG: You can go two ways with it. It's either this desperate feeling, or it's sort of optimistic.
Nate Mendel: But it sounds pretty desperate.
DG: It does sound kind of desperate.
NM: But it can be optimistic.
MTV: Are there any collaborations or guests on the new record?
DG: Just us three. Well, actually Adam Kasper played on it, too.
TH: He played piano on one song.
MTV: Tell us about Adam. Who is he?
DG: He's a f***ing jerk!<
TH: Pretentious as hell.
DG: He thinks he's hot sh**!
TH: Ever heard "Black Hole Sun?" That's his masterpiece.
DG: Adam Kasper is from Seattle. He was the last person to record Nirvana, and he recorded the demo session that we did, I think in January or February of '93, and he was just so nice and mellow and quick. He worked on the last Soundgarden record and he's recorded Aerosmith and Ozzy [Osbourne] and millions of bands. He's good with drum sounds and every other sound.
TH: Good natural sounds.
DG: It was important, going into this record, that we didn't work with someone who was into things like digital editing and stuff like that. We just wanted to build a studio and record in the basement, and Adam was the perfect person to do that. If you listen to the last Soundgarden record, the guitar sounds are great. The drum sounds are great. It's not the same guitar sound that you hear on alternative radio stations every day. It's not processed and really clean, tidy distortion. It's kind of a real guitar sound. Adam is good at that and that's why we had him. Plus, we knew we could push him around.
TH: We didn't want a heavy hand in doing this.
DG: Right. We didn't want Glen Ballard coming in and writing our songs for us.
[Kasper] helped us build the studio, too, where we spent four or five months just messing around, working on things and re-arranging them. We re-arranged every one of the songs at least ten times. We're supposed to be recording b-sides this weekend, but instead we've resorted to doing weird covers because it's easier to just learn someone else's songs.
MTV: What covers?
DG: "Baby Hold On" by Eddie Money. A song called "Ironed in Stone" by this awesome D.C. metal band called The Obsessed. "Have A Cigar" by Pink Floyd.
NM: "Invisible Sun" by The Police.
DG: We're not sure how to do it yet. We're thinking about doing it backwards.
TH: There's no point in doing something that sounds just like the original.
MTV: Did you talk to any of the people you're covering and see what they had to say?
TH: Sting came over for a little yoga session.
DG: We were practicing our 24-hour Tantric orgasm, and he thought "Invisible Sun" was a great choice for a cover.
TH: He wanted to collaborate, but we said, "No, we don't do collaborations, sorry."
MTV: Did Adam spend a lot of time out here in Virginia? Did he stay at the house with you all?
DG: Yeah, we all lived here as a happy little family.
TH: It was like "The Shining" after the third month.
MTV: How would you describe the stuff on the new record?
TH: It's moods, it's about moods.
DG: It's the album we always wanted to make.
NM: I think that some of the songs sound like the band. Some of the songs sound like we smoke weed, which we don't. There's a song that sounds like "Slow Ride" by Foghat.
TH: We'll definitely get sued.
DG: The last album we did sounds to me like a hardcore band trying to be a melodic rock band. And I think the new record sounds a lot more comfortable, like we've finally gotten comfortable with writing songs that sound good and we're not scared of it. And I always used to feel like I was trying to sing, and now I kinda feel like I can.
MTV: There are now as many former Foo Fighter members as there are current members. Are any of you still in touch with [ex-drummer] Will Goldsmith, or [ex-guitarists] Pat Smear or Franz Stahl?
NM: I talk to Will.
DG: I haven't talked to Pat at all. It's been a couple of years. I don't know what he's doing. And Franz is living in Texas. I think he started another band, or is recording something now, so they're still kicking.
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Photo: RCA
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