When Michael Penn began writing his latest release, Mr. Hollywood Jr. 1947, he was inspired by the usual observations on love and life that have formed much of his previous work. But this time around, with the war in Iraq, his distaste for the Bush presidency and a fascination with American history, he found his creative vision being traced back to the year 1947. This may seem a little weird, but as Penn explains, 1947 has a number of historical parallels with the modern day, culminating in an album mixing historical events, timeless stories of relationships and witty social commentaries.
"The record is not about any of the things that happened in 1947, it's about people and the same things I always write about, which is how fucked up we all are, trying to love somebody," he says. "I was thinking about Los Angeles and all the traumas that I have now, what it would have been like to be the guy coming back from war then, trying to rebuild a relationship with that trauma under my belt."
The album reflects those thoughts, with lyrics that speak to any generation and sound effects and subject matter that recall a bygone era. In saying it was an important year, Penn does have a point — the Cold War began in 1947, Palestine was divided by the UN, the foundations for the C.I.A. were laid and there were technological advances in TV and the invention of the transistor. All of these events are inextricably linked to today's world and Penn communicates this through his pop melodies.
"It was the year that ushered in the world we live in now," he said. "I was writing these songs that were emotionally about now, but there's such a connection to back then. That year also speaks to the nature of what I do and the business that I'm in, as it was the beginning of the corporate world."
It all ties in with his personal music history, having been involved in a series of record label disputes since the mid-'90s that frustrated his creative output. His cynicism towards the money-obsessed industry continues on the new record.
Penn hated the restrictions of being signed to a major label. He tried writing movie soundtracks to pay the bills and had a lot of success, most notably doing the score for Boogie Nights. However, the label wanted him to produce commercial hits and it created a battle of wills that made his releases sporadic over the years.
"[The label] knew they would never get me to write with a hit-doctor, but they did try to put me with producers that I didn't want to work with. RCA kept me under contract for four years and wouldn't let me put out a record," he explains.
Now free of the contract wrangling, Penn has his own record label Mimeograph and is enjoying a new creative freedom. Mimeograph is part of a collective of labels (also featuring his musician wife Aimee Mann) known as United Musicians that promote independent grassroots artists, to try to avoid what Penn had to go through. They use the internet to support these artists, but Penn has strong feelings about the evils of illegal downloading.
"Because of digital technology the music business doesn't make an object to sell anymore," he says. "The fact that a digital music file is a clone of a clone means that is hard to control piracy. Because the record companies are antiquated behemoths so insanely behind the curve on every level, they didn't see it coming.
"While the internet allows people to be exposed to lots of music, the fact that it is also a conduit to spread these clones around, it is extremely hurtful to artists like Aimee and I who are not on the radio and huge, so it affects our financial well being."
Penn is glad to be entering a new chapter of his career, but he isn't encouraged by the current state of the music industry for artists of the future. Ever the purist, he accuses the major labels of damaging the very sanctity of modern music.
"Major labels have devalued music by becoming a corporate model based on the bottom line over the development of music," he says. "For a lot of kids now, they think music isn't worth anything, so it's easier to bend their ethics. Can you imagine in the '60s, someone stealing a Bob Dylan song?"
Right now, Penn enjoys his residency at the Largo club in L.A. as it's a world away from the music business. The success of his Acoustic Vaudeville show reassures him that music culture can never fully be controlled by the big bucks. He hopes if the new record is received well, he can expand his live performance.
"I'm touring acoustically, taking the vibe of the Largo out on the road," he says. "It's more intimate, but I'm really itching to plug a guitar into an amplifier and have a band again, which if this record does well, I will be able to do."
Michael Penn played the Rivoli in Toronto on September 28 and 29.
Post a comment