About Gainsbourg and "Paper Tiger":
"I've always listened to him. When Air came out and some of the other mellow (French) pop musicans I felt like it was their territory. I've been listening to Gainsbourg for years and I've always wanted to do something influenced by him. To me, a record like Melody Nelson has so many possibilities.
But when we were making the record, I wanted to do something with strings that was very dramatic. And we were listening to that. And (he chuckles) we ended up with something (Paper Tiger) that sounded exactly like it (Melody Nelson). I didn't intend that. But we did it and it came out so good, in my opinon, it sounded like a tribute. But it transcended that. And it was a good song. I remember, my producer is very particular about that kind of thing. I was like: 'I don't know, can we put this out?' And he said: 'It's fine. It's a good piece of work.' But yeah, I love the way Gainsbourg uses the orchestras. It's not afraid to be dramatic and bold and emotional. There's something really cool about the sound too."
On Scientology:
"I've been around it my whole life." The conversation on this theme is archived on my blog.
The CD is released today.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Thanks E! This is terrific - great timing too.