30-Minute Music Hour

(city traffic noise) It's the 30 Minute Music Hour. I'm Andy Moore. Tonight, from New York, New York, and Madison, Wisconsin, Freedy Johnston. I KNOW I GOT A BAD REPUTATION AND IT ISN'T JUST TALK, TALK, TALK AND STILL I'M GONNA GIVE YOU EVERYTHING THAT I HAVEN'T GOT I COULDN'T HAVE ONE CONVERSATION IF IT WASN'T FOR THE LIES, LIES, LIES AND STILL I'M GONNA GIVE YOU EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES SUDDENLY I'M ON THE STREET SEVEN YEARS DISAPPEAR BELOW MY FEET BEEN BREAKING DOWN DO YOU WANT ME NOW? DO YOU WANT ME NOW? SUDDENLY I'M DOWN IN HAROLD'S SQUARE LOOKING IN THE CROWD YOUR FACE IS EVERYWHERE JUST TURNING AROUND DO YOU WANT ME NOW? DO YOU WANT ME NOW? ( vocalizing ) DON'T TRY TO BE AN INSPIRATION YOU'RE JUST WASTING YOUR TIME, TIME, TIME YOU KNOW ABOUT THE BEST I'LL EVER BE I SEE IT IN YOUR EYES YEAH, I KNOW I GOT A BAD REPUTATION WISH IT WASN'T JUST TALK, TALK, TALK AND STILL I'M GONNA GIVE YOU EVERYTHING THAT I HAVEN'T GOT SUDDENLY I'M ON THE STREET SEVEN YEARS DISAPPEAR BELOW MY FEET BEEN BREAKING DOWN DO YOU WANT ME NOW? DO YOU WANT ME NOW? SUDDENLY I'M IN ANOTHER PLACE LOOKING IN THE CROWD I THINK I SEE YOUR FACE JUST TURNING AROUND DO YOU WANT ME NOW? DO YOU WANT ME NOW? DO YOU WANT ME NOW? DO YOU WANT ME NOW? DO YOU WANT ME NOW? DO YOU WANT ME NOW? DON'T YOU THINK I'VE HEARD THE TALK? NOBODY'S GOING TO TELL ME WHO TO LOVE BEEN BREAKING DOWN DO YOU WANT ME NOW? DO YOU WANT ME NOW? SUDDENLY I'M DOWN IN HAROLD'S SQUARE LOOKING IN THE CROWD YOUR FACE IS EVERYWHERE JUST TURNING AROUND DO YOU WANT ME NOW? DO YOU WANT ME NOW? I'VE BEEN BREAKING DOWN DOWN, DOWN, DOWN BEEN BREAKING DOWN DOWN, DOWN, DOWN BEEN BREAKING DOWN DOWN, DOWN, DOWN BEEN BREAKING DOWN DOWN, DOWN, DOWN Thank you, friends. Thank you, Wisconsinite and non-Wisconsinite friends. Well, we'll go ahead now, and go ahead with the ukulele on this one. Call me Freddy Vedder. Or don't. HEY PENNY WHAT'S GOING ON SITTING HERE ON YOUR OWN ARE YOU WAITING FOR SOMEONE? PENNY LONELY PENNY HEY PENNY WHO LEFT YOU HERE DID THEY HOLD YOU SO NEAR AND THEN DISAPPEAR PENNY LONELY PENNY YOU'RE SUCH A PRETTY THING AND I'M A STRANGER WHO STOPPED IN THE STREET 'CAUSE I COULD SEE IT WAS ARRANGED IN THE STARS WE SHOULD MEET ( vocalizing ) ( vocalizing ) HEY PENNY ARE WE THE SAME? ARE WE BOTH JUST WAITING TO BE TAKEN AWAY? PENNY LONELY PENNY HEY PENNY HERE IS MY HAND 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT TOGETHER WE'LL UNDERSTAND PENNY LONELY PENNY YOU'RE A WONDERING THING AND I AM LOST IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN CAN'T YOU SEE IT WAS ARRANGED THAT WE MEET HERE JUST NOW PENNY LONELY PENNY PENNY LONELY PENNY (vocalizing) PENNY LONELY PENNY You can barely see Joe there, through the chair slats. Camouflaged. It was on sale, but it's still Joe -- Well, folks, this song I wrote years ago when my little niece took a guitar that I had bought her and did this with one of the strings. Because she was four years old at the time, and it seemed like the thing to do. So I wrote a song. (tuning guitar) I wrote a song with that very tuning. Now I'm going to play it for you. It's called "Rain on the City." It's probably a good time to adjust yourself on the couch, or run to the fridge, if you have to. RAIN ON THE CITY RAIN OUT ON THE SEA RAIN DOWN ON THE PEOPLE IN THE STREET RAIN ON THE WINDOW FROM FAR OUT IN THE LAND RAIN COME DOWN TO REST IN MY HAND AS A COUPLE OPENS ONE UMBRELLA AND GOES ALONG THEIR WAY THERE'S A GUY WITH BAGS LOOKING FOR A CAB AND IT IS NOT HIS DAY RUNNING TO THE CORNER A GIRL WITH FLOWERS HAIR DOWN IN HER FACE AND EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO GET AWAY TEARS COME ON DOWN AND JOIN THE FALLING RAIN GO BACK TO THE PLACE FROM WHERE YOU CAME YOU KNOW IT'S HARD IN THE CITY AND THIS PLACE GETS SO COLD RAIN, CAN I GO WITH YOU WHEN YOU GO? THERE'S AN EMPTY BED A BROKEN DESK A TEMPORARY HOME THERE'S A THING I SAW AND THEN I HEARD AND IT WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE WE'LL GO WALK THE STREETS YOU AND ME FOLLOW ME IN THE GUTTER WE ARE GOING DOWN TO THE RIVER RAIN ON THE CITY RAIN ON THE CITY WE WILL ALL COME DOWN A PEACEFUL SOUND AND RISE UP WITH THE SUN WE WILL GATHER THERE UP IN THE AIR AND FLY OVER EVERYONE WE COLLIDE AND CHANGE AND FALL AGAIN ON SOME CITY DAY AND HELP SOMEBODY WASH SOMETHING AWAY RAIN ON THE CITY RAIN ON THE CITY That was great. - Thanks, Andy. I appreciate it a lot. Well, it's a lot of fun having you here. Freedy Johnston, everybody. That was "Rain on the City." That comes from one of your newest packages of songs. Despair and hope kind of all co-mingle. I think a lot of people who love your music might wonder, is it more interesting to you to write about hapless people than happy people? I don't know how to answer that. But I think that it just comes out that way, you know. I'm obviously-- I've got that in me. You know, as the great Elton John said, Andy, "Sad songs say so much." I mean that, you know. I love Elton John a lot, but I'm cracking on the song a little bit. Sad songs do say so much. I'm not really-- Because I talk to you and you're upbeat, you know, optimistic. Yeah, I'm a barrel of fun. ( laughter ) I am. More than my songs, maybe. I think that happens a lot. I know a lot of songwriters that can't write, sort of, out of their box, you know? There's a sad song voice in me. It's hard for me to write, you know, I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day. And of course, you started with "Bad Reputation," which is one of the best crafted pop songs of the last 30-40 years. - Gosh. It must be. Well, I've seen it covered a million times. What's it feel like to have a song that's covered? Well, it's a fantastic feeling. Have you ever walked in a club cold and seen somebody do it? No, I never have, no. I've seen people do it on YouTube, very well, really. On all kinds of instruments, too. Yeah, I want to hire them and have them come on stage, you know. Cover you. - It'd be really cool. You could take a break. - Yeah. Before we got started, you had mentioned that you had to work hard at becoming a songwriter. You told me it didn't come as naturally as some people might have guessed. I think so, yeah. I wasn't always able to sing pretty. You know, and I'm not always able to do it now, but I try. But you know, my voice did take a few years to come around. You were hyper critical of the songs that you heard on the radio. I guess I did say that back in the green room, didn't I? No, but what it was, I became a songwriter. I was a kid, I would always listen to records, and I'd think, oh, I can do that, or I want to do that. But I didn't play anything and I never wanted to play anything. I just wanted to be a critic, I guess. And all my friends would always complain about that when we'd be listening to records and, "You're no fun, 'cause you're always complaining." So I guess I just got into the biz because of that. Sticking with it, what would you recommend that young songwriters do and listen for? The number one thing that I always tell them is to try to find a group or a band, or at least one other person to play with, and try to stick with them through thick and thin, you know. It's not always possible, but if you can, you're miles ahead. Get in a band and stay in it. I wish I had done that. I stayed in my bedroom with my four track, you know, for years and years and it's fine; it's a great way, but now later on, I'm learning how to play with other people. It should be the other way around. How do you think that the Shuffle age and iPods, you know, I guess we're coming back to vinyl, too, but leave that alone for a second. How do you think that that is changing the way people appreciate music? Oh, I think it's helping. It's certainly helping the way they appreciate it. I mean, it's not helping the way that they pay for the music. Their music is free now, but that's fine. It makes it more available. I'm of two minds about that. Of course, I don't want people to download my songs for free, but then I do, also. I want them to listen to the darn thing. You don't have to necessarily pay. So, I think that it's only helping music. You know, I did a gig in my hometown recently, about a year and half ago, and I played "Surrender," by Cheap Trick. I had a band there. And all of these 10-year-old kids are out front dancing and singing along to the song, and it was because they know the song from Guitar Hero. From the game. - Yeah. That says it all. They knew Ziggy Stardust, too. These are 10-year-old kids. Otherwise, maybe they wouldn't. - I think that's really good. You're a New Yorker in the Midwest. This last record was recorded down in Nashville. But you also spend time in Sturgeon Bay. We talked with artists on this program who spend some time up there. Just as we wrap this little, brief conversation up, what's in it for an artist when they wander across the bridge into Sturgeon Bay? Sturgeon Bay? Well, it's a great community of musicians. You know, Pat MacDonald started it with Melanie Jane. They run it. It's like a summer camp for musicians. It is a summer camp for musicians. You learn how to work with other types of musicians. They put you together to write songs together, not something you'd naturally do. But when you work with someone who is just totally from another world, it's only good. That goes back to your first point, too, about getting with people in that way. Music is about that. It's supposed to be a communication. Yeah. - I think that's my point. I was communicating with myself through a four track, you know. And so, things like Sturgeon Bay make me realize that music is really about communicating with other people, not a microphone so much. Well, let's get back to the music then. Sure. - Thanks again. Sure, Andy, thanks for having me. - You bet. So, I'll play a new song for you, Andy. It's a song that's not recorded yet. It's going to be on my next record. I guess my next LP, even, you know. I'll probably put it on vinyl. It's called "A Little Bit of Something Wrong." (tuning guitar) I have to say, for the song to make sense, I have to set it up that it is a return serviceperson, serviceman or servicewoman singing this song. And I don't mean the food service. Though you could be in the food service in Iraq. That could happen, I guess. You could be a sergeant of, you know, a Mess Sergeant. WITH MY HEAD ON STRAIGHT YOU KNOW THINGS CAN GO JUST GREAT BUT WHEN MY HEAD'S ON WRONG YOU'LL BE SINGING A DIFFERENT SONG I GOT A WIFE AND KID BUT I'M SUPPOSED TO STAY AWAY FROM THEM I AIN'T BEEN BACK LONG I GOT A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING WRONG YOU KNOW, I SAW THE OTHERS RUNNING FOR COVER AND THAT'S THE LAST THING I KNOW WELL, MY OLD SICK DAD HE SAID YOU JUST GOTTA BE A MAN AND THOUGH HE'S BEEN THROUGH HELL YOU KNOW HE JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHEN THE NIGHT CLOSES IN IT ALL COMES BACK AGAIN I'LL SLEEP TILL DAWN I GOT A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING WRONG YOU KNOW, I SAW THE OTHERS BLOODY IN THE GUTTER AND THAT'S THE LAST THING I KNOW EXCUSE ME BUT I'M SORRY BUT WHAT WAS YOUR NAME PLEASE AND COULD YOU JUST SIGN FOR THESE 'CAUSE YOU GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE TO SEE BUT I'VE SEEN A MAN'S INSIDES AGAINST A CLEAR BLUE SKY AND WHEN YOUR HEAD'S BLOWN OFF IT'S LIKE YOU'RE REALLY, REALLY GONE AND YOU'RE NEVER COMING BACK NO MORE AND YOU CAN'T BELIEVE IT WHAT IT'S LIKE TO SEE YOUR OWN HANDS ON THE FLOOR I GOT A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING WRONG YOU KNOW, I LEFT MY BROTHERS BACK THERE IN THE GUTTER AND I DIDN'T EVEN MAKE IT HOME ( vocalizing ) Thanks, studio audience, and those of you at home. This is an old song that I'd like to play for you, from 1992. GET YOUR RED DRESS ON AND WE'LL GO OUT TONIGHT WHERE THE BLUE LIGHT'S RIGHT WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE BABY, GET YOUR RED DRESS ON AND WE'LL GO OUT TONIGHT WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE LIKE THE STARS WINDING DOWN WITH THE HOURS I WILL SHAVE IN MY SLEEP I WILL DREAM IN MY SHOWER YEAH, I BROUGHT YOU HERE BUT YOU DON'T COMPLAIN AND I FIND YOU CRYING ON YOUR BIRTHDAY GET YOUR RED DRESS ON AND WE'LL GO OUT TONIGHT WHERE THE BLUE LIGHT'S RIGHT WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE BABY, GET YOUR RED DRESS ON AND WE'LL GO OUT TONIGHT WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE WHERE I MET YOU WHEN DOWN ON WHAT'S THAT STREET HOW YOU KNEW MY NAME WHY I WAKE UP THERE SOMETIMES NOW I'M FIVE DAYS TIRED AND I'M 20 YEARS POOR HEY, I'M SORRY ABOUT YOUR FLOWERS I GUESS I SLAMMED THEM IN THE DOOR YEAH, I BROUGHT YOU HERE BUT YOU DON'T COMPLAIN AND I FIND YOU CRYING ON YOUR BIRTHDAY GET YOUR RED DRESS ON AND WE'LL GO OUT TONIGHT WHERE THE BLUE LIGHT'S RIGHT WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE BABY, GET YOUR RED DRESS ON AND WE'LL GO OUT TONIGHT WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE WE WILL SHINE Well, one more song, then. Thanks for having me here at Wisconsin Public Television. I guess I'm an honorary Sconnie by now, right? Like you said, Andy, keep the happy songs coming. This isn't one of them. But you know, you're happy when it's done. YOU OUGHTA SEE YOUR FACE YOU OUGHTA HEAR YOUR VOICE LAST TIME I WAS HERE I WOULDN'T TURN AROUND YOU OUGHTA LOCK THAT DOOR SOMEBODY MIGHT GET IN DIDN'T I TEACH YOU THAT THIS PERFECT WORLD SO BLUE I CAN'T BEGIN TO SAY THIS PERFECT WORLD I KNOW I NEVER SHOULD HAVE GONE AWAY BUT I STILL DESERVE TO SAY GOODBYE NO MATTER WHAT I'VE DONE NO MATTER WHAT I'VE DONE I SEE HER IN YOUR FACE HEAR HER IN YOUR VOICE LAST TIME I WAS HERE THEY FOUND HER BY THE LAKE YOU OUGHTA SEE MY SCAR YOU THINK I'M MADE OF STONE DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT THIS PERFECT WORLD SO BLUE I CAN'T BEGIN TO SAY THIS PERFECT WORLD THEY SAY THAT SOON I WILL BE GOING AWAY BUT I STILL DESERVE TO SAY GOODBYE NO MATTER WHAT I'VE DONE THIS PERFECT WORLD THIS PERFECT WORLD NOW I'VE COME AROUND IT'S FAR TOO LATE AND THESE PILLS WON'T EVEN LET ME CRY NO ONE KNOWS YOU EVEN WHEN YOU'RE GONE BUT I STILL DESERVE TO SAY GOODBYE NO MATTER WHAT I'VE DONE NO MATTER WHAT I'VE DONE YOU OUGHTA SEE YOUR FACE YOU OUGHTA HEAR YOUR VOICE LOCK THIS AFTER ME (applause)