Gabe Hudson talks to the iconic writer abt his lunch w Kurt Vonnegut, McSweeney's "happenings" w David Byrne, and his new novel, The Eyes and the Impossible
Can dogs talk? Of course dogs can talk! Anyone who has ever loved a dog knows this. The most memorable thing my dog Mortimer ever said was, "She can do better," after he walked us right into the middle of a messy break-up between our bozo of an apartment manager and his girlfriend at the time. Mortimer was right!
Favorite Talking Heads song? Is it cheating if I say all The Talking Heads songs? That's the right answer, right? But if I had to pick, Life During Wartime.
Favorite McSweeney's piece? "It's Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers" still makes me laugh every year. It's more than a decade old, so in internet time, it's ancient, practically written on stone tablets. This one stands the test of time, and these days, that's really impressive.
My marching band's name? Goat Rodeo Brass & Drums
What would I ask Kurt Vonnegut? I'd want to hear about his experience working on the movie Back to School. I know there's more weighty stuff to ask, but I figure he gets that a lot, and I'm so curious about how it came to be that this giant public intellectual came to do a cameo in a Rodney Dangerfield movie.
I love Life During Wartime & one of my favs is Mind from that same album. Would totally go to Goat Rodeo Brass & Drums concert (I'm assuming Mortimer would be in the band). I always forget Vonnegut was in Back to School, whoever thought to put him in there that was a stroke of genius.
Part of me thinks that Rodney Dangerfield and his producers left the script open and figured they'd cast any public intellectual who would say yes. But another part of me thinks that maybe there was some Rodney Dangerfield fandom at work there, and that he used his movie, or part of it, to put a spotlight on a writer he really admired. I'm also hoping that maybe Kurt just wrote Rodney Dangerfield a letter that said, "I respect you, and if you ever make a movie, I'll be there, buddy!"
I know this'll sound nuts, but I think KV prob found Dangerfield's mantra relatable, bcuz he even tho he was widely read & beloved, he never got a formal tip of the hat from institutional literati, no big prize or lifetime achievement award from national book foundation, & based on his interviews it did seem to trouble him (I think that's why he cites teaching at Iowa's famed workshops in his preamble to Slaughter-House Five.)
It doesn’t sound nuts. I’ve always been struck by the fact that KV was sorta seen as a sci-fi and comedy writer for most of his, and then gradually became seen as an important literary figure late in his career and after his death. So yeah, I could see him vibing with Dangerfield’s “I don’t get no respect” schtick. I also think the audience sorta needed both those guys to become old men before they could take them seriously. That’s especially true for KV. All of the depth and humanity was always there in his books, but the old guy image really sells the wisdom.
Kindly remind Dave that the How's Your News crew was also at that Cell Space event! Wild night, indeed.
Omg, Mieka, I love to hear this & will absolutely do, I'm emailing him later today. Sounds like such an incredible night.
Can dogs talk? Of course dogs can talk! Anyone who has ever loved a dog knows this. The most memorable thing my dog Mortimer ever said was, "She can do better," after he walked us right into the middle of a messy break-up between our bozo of an apartment manager and his girlfriend at the time. Mortimer was right!
Favorite Talking Heads song? Is it cheating if I say all The Talking Heads songs? That's the right answer, right? But if I had to pick, Life During Wartime.
Favorite McSweeney's piece? "It's Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers" still makes me laugh every year. It's more than a decade old, so in internet time, it's ancient, practically written on stone tablets. This one stands the test of time, and these days, that's really impressive.
My marching band's name? Goat Rodeo Brass & Drums
What would I ask Kurt Vonnegut? I'd want to hear about his experience working on the movie Back to School. I know there's more weighty stuff to ask, but I figure he gets that a lot, and I'm so curious about how it came to be that this giant public intellectual came to do a cameo in a Rodney Dangerfield movie.
I love Life During Wartime & one of my favs is Mind from that same album. Would totally go to Goat Rodeo Brass & Drums concert (I'm assuming Mortimer would be in the band). I always forget Vonnegut was in Back to School, whoever thought to put him in there that was a stroke of genius.
Part of me thinks that Rodney Dangerfield and his producers left the script open and figured they'd cast any public intellectual who would say yes. But another part of me thinks that maybe there was some Rodney Dangerfield fandom at work there, and that he used his movie, or part of it, to put a spotlight on a writer he really admired. I'm also hoping that maybe Kurt just wrote Rodney Dangerfield a letter that said, "I respect you, and if you ever make a movie, I'll be there, buddy!"
I know this'll sound nuts, but I think KV prob found Dangerfield's mantra relatable, bcuz he even tho he was widely read & beloved, he never got a formal tip of the hat from institutional literati, no big prize or lifetime achievement award from national book foundation, & based on his interviews it did seem to trouble him (I think that's why he cites teaching at Iowa's famed workshops in his preamble to Slaughter-House Five.)
It doesn’t sound nuts. I’ve always been struck by the fact that KV was sorta seen as a sci-fi and comedy writer for most of his, and then gradually became seen as an important literary figure late in his career and after his death. So yeah, I could see him vibing with Dangerfield’s “I don’t get no respect” schtick. I also think the audience sorta needed both those guys to become old men before they could take them seriously. That’s especially true for KV. All of the depth and humanity was always there in his books, but the old guy image really sells the wisdom.
What a fun interview to set the tone for a Monday morning.
1. Yes, I believe dogs can talk. Cooper: ruff, ruff, RUFF means get me a biscuit NOW.
2. Psycho Killer.
3. Hah, easy enough, gourd season essay because a few weeks ago I met a woman who introduced herself as “I’m Carol, I do gourds.” I mean…what?
4. The Wenches
5. Wanna get out of here?
I love the answers, Maureen, esp that last one lol
hehehe
The flow of this interview was remarkable! I loved the KV stories and can't wait for the next part. Thank you, Gabe!
I'm so thrilled you connected w this episode, Jeffrey, pretty early in interview I was thinking wow I can't wait to share this w KVR listeners!