Has an interview with a musician ever changed the way you hear that musician’s music, for better or worse? I recently caught the tail end of a little piece on Janis Joplin on NPR that reminded me of this. Joplin’s appearances on Dick Cavett, excerpts of which, when I first saw them as part of some documentary on her that already began to turn my head on an artist I once despised, sealed the deal in helping me like her and even her music! As rock experts, we usually pride ourselves in not falling prey to the Sincerity Fallacy and issues of Look and the like and, instead, focus directly on the music, man. But sometimes the human side of an artist, as seen in an interview, is too powerful to overlook – and so powerful that it informs the artist’s work.

The quote that NPR used, which reminded me of all this, begins at the 25-second mark, but any clip I’ve seen of her few Cavett appearances since that documentary contains a raw, open, feisty, sexy spirit that, for me, is one of the payoffs in dealing with people, let alone the arts. Most folks really need some scratching to show this side of themselves, but Janis is overflowing with what makes her tick. I know, that’s a trait that can wear thin in a hurry, and to this day you won’t find me listening to more than three Janis Joplin songs in a row, but these interviews helped me see this overweight, ance-scarred freak as beautiful – and that’s not meant as a knock on overweight, acne-scarred freaks. I hope we all have moments when our inner beauty shines through.

The 5:35 mark of the following clip is also pretty cool in building empathy for this artist, not to mention her guitarist’s sloppy fuzztone in the partial clip that closes this segment. Continue reading »