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If someone is using their phone, I take it and th
row it behind the drums. They understand that it goes both ways. “Yes, I can. But why would I want that? It grated on me that they played music that sounded vital and lovely while all they talked about was how sorry they felt. The idea that everyone who sings about being depressed is so damn genuine, is it really that simple? Can’t we agree that it’s not that simple? “Yes! It’s nice that we can agree on that, haha. What I might question is depression as an aesthetic in music. That it would be proof of a genuine feeling, a more genuine suffering. Yes. Why isn’t there true joy then? Why is it perceived as more fake? Do you feel true joy when you sing? “I don’t like singing. But I feel true joy about the music. It’s one of maybe two, three things that have given me the most pure joy in life. Rock and performing with this rock band. Now we’re going out to play again. Will it be fun this time too? Time will tell.” Last spring, the band embarked on a tour that currently extends a year and a half into the future. A few cities in the USA have already been played, followed by an arena tour with Arctic Monkeys in the UK. This summer, the band plays in Europe before heading back to the USA and England. It’s good manners to tour if you’ve made a record, says Pelle. “I think I’m afraid of two things. That I’ll no longer find it fun. Then there’s so much I have to change in my life. And that I’ll stop coming up with things to say. It would be boring if it just became silent in my brain.” Do you think that could happen? “I think history is full of people who have had it and then lost it, and haven’t noticed it themselves.” I think most people would be fascinated. “Yeah. In a way. I could probably sell it well too.” If you woke up tomorrow morning... “Yes, please, that sounds good.” …And you were fourteen years old again. You’re going to do it again... “If I did it the same way, if I knew everything that I know now? There are things I would have done differently, absolutely. If I had been keen on doing it again? What’s the question really?” What would you have done differently? “God. There are people I wouldn’t have hired. It would probably have been good if Hives took a complete break sometime too and didn’t book gigs for a while. When it was most bitter between us. We continued instead. Those are the first two things that come to mind.” Not that you moved to Australia and started surfing instead? “Right. Didn’t even think of that. If Australia was closer, I might have moved there now. But now it’s quite far away.” You surf? “I like to do it. But since I consistently do it about three days a year, I’m not good at it. “ But living in different places, you could have done more of that. “Ever since I entered the music industry, people have loved to tell me how unfashionable and hard-working rock music is. A silly and completely baseless argument if you look at the type of artists who actually manage to tour year after year, without tearing down streams on Spotify or doing Coca-Cola commercials. Lately, bands like Fontaines D.C, Idles, and Viagra Boys have thankfully problematized the mossy argument about the death of rock.” However, Pelle notes, it has become more talkative. “It’s 100 percent as weird as everyone starting to sing like Eddie Vedder. It’s the weirdest way to deliver a text. But if you like shoegaze and stuff, do you even want to hear the vocals?” Preferably not, but most people in the audience seem to want it. “It’s the same for us. Especially if you’re playing at a small venue and the PA is way out on the sides, then there are ten people standing in front of the guitar amp and bass “And the Wee Stores used to open on a Sunday. Because they were Prods. They’d open and sell the newspapers, while all the Catholic stores were closed.” The Hives play The 3Olympia on Monday April 8th. The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons will be released on August 11th. drum signaling wildly that they can’t hear anything. Shit messy. I have other things to think about besides the mix.” If you often play support, it’s hard not to notice the bunch in the front row who look half-conscious with boredom. “That’s something people get a kick out of doing. When we were the support act for the Rolling Stones, the entire front row was people making an effort not to like the support band, they think they’re bigger Rolling Stones fans if they don’t.” Maybe they think you can’t see? “Like watching TV or something? I think that’s been half the deal with our live concerts, that we’re always addressing that we see the audience. If someone is using their phone, I take it and throw it behind the drums. They understand that it goes both ways.” Difficult if you also have to exude depression. “You’re not really depressed. You’re actually happy inside, completely ecstatic. The whole thing about shoegaze bands turning away from the audience is actually because they have to smile because they think it’s so fun to play guitar with loud sound. They take a big smile and then turn around and pout with their lips.” Has your attitude towards music and what you do changed? “Unfortunately not. It’s probably still as important to do something we’re proud of and fight for. We might be less stuck in the hip, because we used to hang out every hour. We also live in different cities and stuff now. But no, it probably hasn’t changed the attitude towards music. So is this an ending or not? “It is, in a way. Since we don’t know if there will be more. But really, we see each album as an ending. It should feel like a last will and testament every time. You should squeeze out everything. Then there’s the thing that you have to come up with what to do instead. I haven’t cracked that yet. It feels too late to become a surfing pro. 45