Maximum Fun Forum

One of my favorite interviews of the past year - the inimitable Mavis Staples. Discuss!

I seriously could not have been more excited to interview Mavis Staples.

Between this and Dick Cavett next week, I was in Hero Heaven.

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The bums will always lose.

Oh man. IT'S ON.

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The bums will always lose.

This came together really beautifully. Special kudos to Nick for slipping the music under the interview with so much soul.

It's an incredible piece of work, too. Not what you might fear from a Staples/Tweedy mix. It's along the lines of that great Loretta Lynn album that Jack White produced: An examplar album produced by someone who seems to really "get" the performer.

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"Prince is a fucking superhero. Do you also covet Batman's cape?" - gladhands on styleforum, discussing Prince's jacket.

This morning, I finally listened to this interview. This is probably the interview I'm most likely to use as a gateway MaxFun drug for all my NPR-loving friends. Truly a delight. Jesse does a marvelous job of steering the conversation to interesting places while giving Mavis ample opportunity to talk. The songs playing under the interview work beautifully. And the song selection was perfect. In sum, this interview couldn't have been more engaging than it was.

An absolute delight. Thank you.

Great interview.

Ov corpse, I immediately followed it up with the new album by Burzum (whose connection to TSOYA comes through the Until the Light Takes You interview last year).

The juxtaposition was rich.

Mavis Staples rules.

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LOVED IT!

You guys, Jesse Thorn is a fucking great interviewer.
I love Mavis and would have enjoyed hearing her talk with just about anyone, but this was truly a special conversation. I may have cried a little bit. Okay I definitely cried. She's so great! The song selections were perfect! And I love hearing the fan come out in Jesse when he interviews someone he really admires.

This is probably the best interview you've done, Jesse. I finally got around to listening to it today. I knew nothing about Mavis going in, after the interview, I felt like I had a view of her as a person. I thought I was going to lose it on the subway when she talked about the last song reminding her of her dad. Nice job!