Customer Reviews

Innerviews - Music Without Borders

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The best book I've ever read in terms of artist interviews. IMHO, nothing even comes close. It's like the author is sharing a beer with each artist and the artist's entire guard is down. No talking points here. Each interview feels like an intimate conversation that the public is not intended to hear. With today's soundbites & propaganda machines at full throttle, this is such a breath of fresh, honest, introspective air. A+. I want more.

I'm about 2/3 of the way through this right now. I read a little every night at bed time. I'm a prog fan (the more well-known groups like Yes, Crimson, Genesis etc.) going way back, and have some interest in world music and more improvisational music like jazz, though I'm not as knowledgeable about it. I will definitely go through this again chapter by chapter, and look for some of the recordings I read about.

[INNERVIEWS - Music Without Borders - Extraordinary Conversations with Extraordinary Musicians - By Anil Prasad - (2010)] Editor and publisher of Innerviews, the longest-running online music magazine, Anil Prasad has compiled some of his in-depth interviews with various musicians from a variety of musical genres into a book that makes for somewhat engaging reading. Surprisingly, I wasn't as thrilled with it as I thought I'd be, considering the hoopla surrounding the product details listed on Amazon, along with several reviews. The claims that he asks original, uncompromising, intimate questions that deviate from the usual derivative queries that dominate most publications ("Who are your influences?", "What kind of strings and amps are you currently using?", etc.) are true to a point but, after reading the book from cover to cover, his tendency to utilize practically the same set of questions over and over again, just tailored to each individual, becomes plainly evident, and usually culminate in an inquiry about the artists spiritual beliefs. This tendency becomes both predictable and annoying after the first ten to twelve interviews, particularly the spiritual inquiry - if it's one thing I don't want to hear, it's the religious beliefs an artist subscribes to; after all, these are musicians, not deities, and the separation of church and state holds true in music as well. I prefer my interviews with artists to strip the veneer off the facade and expose the individual underneath the mask, not give additional self-importance to the musician's promoted image. You may feel differently; after all, this is just another opinion. But I have been consuming these interviews for over 40 years and, hopefully, have cultured some refinement by now. And I expect the same from the interviewer as well.

What struck me as unexpected were some of my favorite interviews within these pages - some by artists whose musical catalog I'd shy away from; not because they make foul or rancid music, just music I personally don't care for, for whatever reasons (again, this is an opinion). My absolute favorite was Chuck D from Public Enemy, who provided the most historically interesting comments regarding rap and black musical culture - this guy really has something to say, and never sugar coats his beliefs one iota. For me, his was the most interesting elucidation within. Bravo. Also of peculiar interest were the commentaries by Ani DeFranco, Leo Kottke (and I don't own one of their cd's, but saw Kottke open for King Crimson in 1973 when I was a kid), Bjork, Michael Hedges and Eberhard Weber. Head-turning stuff for sure.

Artists whose interviews I had high expectations for didn't fail to delight - Bill Laswell, Zakir Hussain, David Sylvian, Jonas Hellborg, David Torn, McCoy Tyner, John McLaughlin and Joe Zawinul provided monster reading. Bill Bruford, who's known for being extremely hostile towards interviewers yet manages to steer all interviews into a pompous 'more of the same' style response, again states little of importance (read his biography for further proof), and Jon Anderson's answers are rudimentary for a guy who's fronted one of prog rock's most challenging bands - he's never as deep as he thinks he is, IMO. By his own declaration, he's a by-product of the hippie era (not that I have anything against hippies, unless you're still living like one 40 years later) and some of his ideologies seem naive. Nothing really new here.

Some of these interviews are a bit dated, going back to the late 90's while tacking on more recent verbiage to flesh things out, and a few are simply boring, though this is no fault of Prasad, some musicians (and I'm being kind) simply don't have much to say. As a whole, I found the book interesting but not thoroughly engaging - maybe I'm jaded or cynical or both, but was anticipating a bit more. I would still recommend it for the most part, just don't expect to get your socks knocked off. But it does benefit from a well-rounded collection of artists from diverse genres, each with a different grasp on what they do and how they go about doing it. If you enjoy these types of books, search out 'Rockers, Jazzbos and Visionaries' by Bill Milkowski for another informative, illuminating study of great artists. 3 ½ stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed Innerviews - Music Without Borders.

I believe no matter what type of music you like, or don't like, you will enjoy this collection of interviews. In fact, I enjoyed reading about a wide variety of musicians. Some of the musicians included I hadn't heard of before, but after reading the interviews I sought out their music so I could get a complete picture of them.

What makes this book so good is in part what is not in it. It does NOT include suck up interviews with clearly canned answers.

Instead, all the interviews are insightful and the responses are authentic.

I highly recommend Innerviews - Music Without Borders.

This is an excellent collection of insightful interviews. Always well-researched, Anil Prasad manages to dig much deeper than the average music interviewer, and elicits some brilliant insights and considered reflections from his exciting and eclectic group of interviewees. Highly recommended...

I read and re-read this book and only hope there's a sequel ASAP.
Prasad employs an elegantly spare questioning technique
showing he did extensive homework on each musician before
the interviews began; the only agenda he has is to let the
artists reveal themselves as clearly as they are capable of - without
an instrument in their hands.

Victor Wooten's Foreward and Anil Prasad's Introduction to Innerviews echo exactly my own feelings on why I like this book and Anil's website (.org) of the same name. I want to know more about why and how musicians create their works and where they see themselves in a greater context. While the interviews are with (in many cases) celebrities in the music world, the questions asked and insights gained go far beyond the fame and seek artistic connections, influences and a depth of understanding that makes listening to music all the more rewarding. I have long since given up on most of the mainstream music press yet I find myself turning often to Anil's website (and now book) for musicians whose careers I have followed for many years as well as emerging talents. Excellent!

Frank Zappa may have been the one to say "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." To some extent, that's true. But I've always enjoyed reading musicians' thoughts about works that I like to hear. Unfortunately, so much of what we can read about music gets filtered through critics. Frankly, I don't really care what Christgau or Lester Bangs think about my favorite works. I already know what touches my heart. It's been said in other reviews that Anil Prasad knows how to submerge his ego and let the musicians carry the conversation. Thats true to some degree, but the real genius behind this collection of interviews in preparation. More than any other interviewer I've ever read, Anil Prasad asks the questions that I think about when hearing the music. You won't find another book with a higher music-to-BS quotient anywhere. This is a focused version of Prasad's wonderful website ([...]). The book also includes content (some of it new!) that was not in the website interviews. Highly recommended.

As a fellow music journalist, I know just how difficult it is to obtain useful information about the genesis and process of creativity from an artist. Most times, the artist has no real clue about his or her own talent. It takes someone like Anil Prasad to ask the right questions in the right way to help uncover the inner workings. This is a service to the reader and musician alike. There is no doubt in my mind that Prasad's interview subjects walk away knowing more about themselves than they did before they were interviewed and you will too. There is insight on every page of this book. I highly recommend it.

Written by Walter Kolosky using his wife's account :-)

Mr. Prasad engages the artists with the skill of a seasoned musician, setting the stage with the perfect question at the perfect time, then laying back and letting the artist take control, as they improvise over the rhythm he has laid out for them.
Wonderful insight into the creative process.