The New 97's

American Primitive is finally in the world. What does it mean?

Hello. You’ve reached Time & Temperature.

Each time the cycle goes around I ask myself, "Does the world really need another new album from me?" Like, haven’t I done enough music already? I mean, it’s all pretty much the same thing — guitar guitar guitar, drum drum drum, yell yell yell, etc… But then I get the itch and I drag the band back into the studio, inevitably having to explain to them that THIS IS WHAT BANDS DO, WE MAKE RECORDS.

The other option is to be a nostalgia act, always and only celebrating anniversaries of beloved albums. Or if we had managed to squeak out a radio hit in the 90’s like so many of our friends and contemporaries did, we could play those Endless Summer tours that pop up on county fairs and cruise ships. Last year had an aura of that as we took a victory lap celebrating our band’s 30th anniversary, but I won’t need to do that again until we hit 40 or maybe even 50. I like making new music too much. Why? Because I’m still hungry. Not to prove how awesome I am, or to get rich or anything, but simply to take another crack at making sense of the experience of being human, being alive.