I couldn’t sleep last night. I had done my usual thing of listening to The Archers (Can’t believe how long I have been listening to it now. I still avoid the theme tune like the plague though – timing it to perfection. As soon as I hear the man say “you’re listening to” – I hit that 15 second forward button and it’s just the perfect length to avoid the whole intro tune. Lol), and then I followed it with listening to a radio adaptation of Dickens’s Barnaby Rudge.
After that, I couldn’t settle. I couldn’t switch my mind off. I thought I’d listen over Jim’s interview with The Rockontuers (aka Guy Pratt and Gary Kemp) as when I had previously listened to it I started to drift off to sleep rather quickly as I think I gave it a listen late one night between the two sets of gigs I went to.
I had missed the end entirely the first time round. I love how Guy and Gary are with him towards the end, calling him a “dream guest” (to paraphrase) because he went overtime of any previous guest by some way. I love that! I just adore how chatty Jim is now.
And I know it’s a stupid dream, it really is because after the past couple of weeks it is more obvious than ever to me that I would NEVER be able to have a wonderfully at ease, fluid, intriguing, thought-provoking conversation with this man if my life fucking depended on it!
I always end up with even MORE questions for him by the end of each interview. Even though he sticks to a core …. dialogue – because he’s pretty much being asked the same questions over and over – he has a repertoire, you know.
It is why of the more recent bunch of interviews Jim did, I loved his interview with Mark Millar from XSNOIZE so much because Mark asked questions not normally asked of him. Questions a diehard SM fan would ask.
Having said that – I was surprised to hear Guy and Gary ask Jim about Lostboy! That was refreshing!
I bring up all the stuff I brought up about this blog yesterday. I still want it to be SOMETHING. I still have dreams of interviewing others. I’d love to interview Sarah for the blog. I’d still love to interview John Leckie, Steve Hillage, Pete Walsh – but I’m NOT a journalist and I still see the reply from management I got some years ago of “Jim and Charlie don’t do blogs” ETCHED in my mind’s eye each time I dare to dream of interviewing Jim.
I got one question at the soundcheck in Glasgow, I guess. One question – when I have at least 20 more! Well…I guess I tried a second asking about Sanctify Yourself at Newcastle – and that went really well! (Not.)
Perhaps I would find it much easier to talk to Charlie – without Jim around? I think Charlie would put me at ease more as I think “Mr Taxi-Fer” takes too much relish in making me squirm – I guess seeing that effect you have on certain people never really gets old.
I’d like to think that perhaps with some distance between us – more than just a few feet and a stage barrier between us, that perhaps I COULD manage a fluent and intelligent interview with His Kerrness, but I am pretty much resigned to the idea of it only ever being a dream. That my 1.65 questions will most likely have to suffice.
This boy that looks at me as I type away on my keyboard at my “workstation” – this one right here (see pic above) looks at me like “nae chance, woman” – with the exact same look the Kerr of today looks at me, though I think there is usually a furrowed brow of bemusement underlined with exasperation in the facial expression of today’s Mr Kerr – mixed in for good measure.
Anyway, I mostly wanted to post how much of a joy it was listening to the podcast and it was worth a mostly sleepless night for it.
Jim never stops making me feel in awe of him. Someone said to me once – of Jim – “Oh, he’s really boring. You wouldn’t want to know him that well.” That person is probably right….but I personally don’t think I could EVER see, feel or think Jim is boring!
Who knows?
I really need to get back to study! I’m doing this post more as an exercise in avoiding the Creative Writing unit of my study than anything else. I am now at the week I have been anticipating the most and it’s scaring the crap out of me. The fear of failure that gives me avoidance tendencies is rearing its ugly head again. I must not let it win! Tackle it head on! Conquer the fear! Fail better!
Link to the Rockontuers podcast featuring Jim is below:
