An Interview With Warren Andrew Slay, Part 1
I have been trying to get an interview with Warren Andrew Slay for decades. Never heard of him? I am not surprised; he keeps a low profile. My talk with him will be presented in multiple posts. We covered a wide range of topics; most are interesting, some fascinating. I hope you enjoy this interview with a most elusive character.
RTNM: Hello, welcome. Thank you very much for agreeing to this interview.
WAS: Sure, I hope your preparation proves adequate. I will roast you if you ask me a bunch of uninformed questions.
RTNM: I did extensive research. I know you better than any other person, living or dead.
WAS: Fascinating. OK, I am here. Wow me.
RTNM: I want to start off with a discussion about music. You are a fan of Mozart. Tell me about your fascination with him and his musical abilities. How did that happen?
WAS: I know that Isaac Newton was most likely the greatest genius the world has ever seen, but I like to think of Mozart as 1A. The biggest Cosmic Ripoff in the universe’s history is that we lost him young. He was just coming into his own. He was on the cusp of reinventing music when he died. I don’t understand what good came from his death. That is because nothing good did come of it. We are all so much poorer; we will never fully know what we were deprived of.
RTNM: Do you have a favorite Mozart composition?
WAS: The Dissonance Quartet (String Quartet no. 19 in C major, K. 465). That might be the first great punk song. All due respect to The Stooges, Sex Pistols, and Ramones, but the movement, at least in my estimation, started with this piece. When everyone who looks at the sheet music thinks it is riddled with mistakes from the publishing process, you know you are dealing with something novel. Novelty, most certainly, is the true hallmark of genius. I only wish that I could hear the music through the ears of one of Mozart’s contemporaries. Our ears are not trained to pick out the dissonance that the listeners and musicians experienced in the late 1700s. I only hear the genius, not the angst.
RTNM: So, Mozart was the first punk rocker?
WAS: It depends on how you define punk music. If it is merely the standard chord progression known to all kids who pick up a guitar, then no, Mozart certainly was not a punk. If the punk rock movement was about attitude, I claim that Mozart was his generation’s Iggy Pop. Of course, Mozart was much more sophisticated musically than any practitioner of punk. Still, for me, it is all about attitude. Mozart looked around and didn’t like what he saw. The best way to get ahead in his day was to have wealthy parents. He knew he was infinitely more talented than people much more affluent than he was. He didn’t like that. I think there is more than a little social commentary flowing through the notes he wrote.
RTNM: Where is the modern-day Mozart? Why are we still listening to classical music that is hundreds of years old? Shouldn’t someone nearly as talented as Mozart have shown up by now?
WAS: Stephen Jay Gould asked this question decades ago. He wanted to know where all the great classical composers were. Why did we have so many of them hundreds of years ago but none now? There may be only so many notes that can be combined in so many ways, and no more novelty can be found. Sort of depressing but a possibility nonetheless. Of course, the best answer might be that today’s great composers are not working in classical music; they most likely are writing rap and rock songs. And of the two, it is probably rap because guitar-driven rock and roll is on life support.
RTNM: So, what about modern music? I agree that guitar music on dying a not-so-slow death. Does that impact the music you are listening to now? Do you have a favorite band?
WAS: I must admit I am a little curious as to why you chose to start this interview with this line of inquiry. I wouldn’t have guessed you would ask me any music questions, but here we are. Yes, I do have a favorite band. They have been my favorite for the last 15 years or so. Have you listened to Arctic Monkeys? I think Alex Turner is remarkable. He is extraordinarily talented, and I have been following his career very closely.
RTNM: What about The Last Shadow Puppets?
WAS: Yes, I am interested in everything Alex Turner does. He has created some great music with his side project. I like that group a lot.
RTNM: I want to do a bit of a slow burn with you.
WAS: Yeah, good luck. You know, I can walk out of here whenever I want. Tread lightly…
RTNM: Right. Can you tell me about your relationship with Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino? Is it true that you have listened to the entire CD hundreds of times?
WAS: Oh boy. When the CD came out, I was excited to listen. It is always a big event for me when Arctic Monkeys release new material. My curiosity was piqued due to a few reviews I had read. The critics loved the new CD, but they all made sure to warn the fans that the CD was very different from their previous music. When I got the CD, I played it and scratched my head. I played it again and got even more confused. I bet I have listened to the entire CD 400 times and still don’t know what to make of it.
RTNM: How is that possible?
WAS: I love the first two albums (Whatever People Say I Am, I Am Not and Favorite Worst Nightmare). The music was so energetic. The boys were young then, and the music reflected that. Then they grew up and matured. As they grew, so did their music. Even though I am not the biggest fan of where their music has gone, I will follow them to the end of the line. I am very curious to see where they go next.
RTNM: Is this a loyalty issue?
WAS: In many ways, yes. I think that Alex Turner is an unusual cat. His approach to lyrics is different than the average person’s. I attached my cart to him when I heard the early music, and I had no intention of ever jumping off. Even if he has decided to ditch the guitars, his music is still fascinating.
RTNM: Another example of the death of rock and roll?
WAS: Yes. And I’ll tell you, I am not optimistic about any resurrection. Maybe a hundred years from now, who knows? I know acoustic guitars are outselling electrics and young girls buy them. The guitar heroes of my generation have been replaced by Taylor Swift. On the face of it, there is nothing wrong with that. If you look a little deeper, it speaks to the death of the electric guitar. And if the electric guitar is dying, so is rock and roll.
RTNM: Yes. So, tell me, have you been to any concerts lately?
WAS: No.
RTNM: Why not? Coivd issue?
WAS: Certainly, Covid has put a damper on things like concerts, but no, I haven’t been to any in a long time.
RTNM: Yeah, I seem to recall you wrote a book about the last concert you attended.
WAS: Uh…you wrote that. It is on your blog. The Athena chapters, right?
RTNM: Yes, so sorry. It is easy to get confused. What can you tell me about limerence?
WAS: I only recently read about it. Before that, I had never heard of the term. You seem like you might know more about it than me.
RTNM: I came across the term while reading a review of some book on Amazon. I saw the word “limerence,” and I had to immediately look it up. I had never heard of it. I took a deep dive.
WAS: I’ll bet you did. Learn anything?
RTNM: Just because a phenomenon has a name does not mean we understand it. Ever heard of Dark Matter or Dark Energy?
WAS: Ah, that is true. Do any academics have a handle on what limerence is or is not?
RTNM: Not that I have seen, and, like I said, I took a deep dive.
WAS: I hear you suffered through a pretty bad case of limerence through much of your 50s. Is that correct?
RTNM: Wait a minute, I am supposed to be interviewing you. I am the one asking questions. The answer to that question is none of your business.
WAS: You started off this interview asking me about music. Of all the subjects you could have chosen, you chose music. A little transparent, don’t you think? You wrote that what happened to you at that concert all those years ago was a defining moment in your life. You turned a few hours of your life into a book. Sure, no one cares to read it, but that doesn’t matter. You aren’t asking all these questions for my benefit or the benefit of any readers. You are asking for yourself.
RTNM: Well then, tell me… Do you think there is anything to this limerence nonsense?
WAS: If true, if limerence is a thing, then we are all nothing more than slaves to our DNA. If certain aspects of our brain chemistry make us more susceptible to something as unfair and inexplicable as limerence, then the battle is over, and individual humans have lost to the genes that comprise us. Maybe Richard Dawkins was right all along. All of us are nothing more than vessels that carry collections of genes. If so, we are all along for the ride.
