Superlatives
A Vulture series in which artists judge the best and worst of their own careers.
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Something happens during a goodCat Powerperformance.
The dimension arrives, explainsChan Marshall, whos performed under that moniker since the 1990s.
A little tiny portal arrives, and its like,Oh, shit, did that just happen?
Oh, that felt really good.
It happened last September, when she headlined the side stageat Pitchfork Festival in Chicago.
But her first show back with a full band since the COVID-19 pandemic felt different.
That night was just, for me, it was one song, she says.
Sweet Nuthin, and Shivers by the Boys Next Door.
Its like an itch, she says.
(Its not something that they want to do.)
Even one of her own songs,The Greatests Hate, appears in a new performance as Unhate.
All it does is it just creates a sense of community, you know?
I think I was 13.
I heard that someone else felt truly lonely.
There are two pivotal songs for me.
But when I heard Billie Holiday sing, I could feel her.
I felt like she was a homing gear.
Id never played that song before.
The first four songs forCoverswere recorded in the same way that I was describing.
I grabbed his phone and I played Against the Wind.
That was one take.
I jumped out of the booth and composed the music again,forI Had a Dream Joe.
I mean, Against the Wind, sure, maybe one day I might think of that.
Then the third one was In the Sea, which is so sad and groovy.
And then the last one was You Got the Silver.
Favorite cover of a Cat Power song
No, you know whats one of the beautiful things?
Johnny Cash, three weeks before June passed, his granddaughters contacted me.
It doesnt bother me thatthat never happened.
Or, oh wait, oh no, Metal Heart, I play ita different way now.
Id say either The Moon or Metal Heart.
I play them both differently now.
So I think The Moon.
Least favorite song to play live
It would have to be Hate.
I recorded this album with a band in L.A. for four days.
I stayed in the studio for another week, so I was doing mixes, mastering and different things.
And it had never occurred to me that after that, I wasnt anymore.
So Unhate is the one song I can play now that I didnt wanna ever play.
Song you couldnt have written when you were younger
Probably Nothin But Time.
Doing that performance in that place with those friends, Jim and Mick we were older, you know.
If she only knew then that she was gonna be okay.
Thats what Nothin But Time is about for me, for other young people.
And older people looking back on their life.
Yes, things are hard, but yes, everyone has a piece of fortune.
Not everybody is allowed to ever see it or hold it or experience it.
Most of the world is never allowed to even sense that it exists.
Your sons favorite song
He likes Pa Pa Power.
He doesnt like any of my songs.
His names Boaz, hes my best friend, hes my worst enemy Im just kidding.
But [laughs] hes the coolest dude.
I have a little macho boy, hes like straight-up fuckin Taurus.
God sent me backup.
And I looked at him and I was like, Are you okay, honey?
and hes just [whining], and I didnt understand.
It was the music.
He couldnt deal with me playing The Greatest.
He says, Mom, you know I hate beautiful music cause it makes me sad.
Like, I cant listen to jack shit at home that I would normally listen to.
But he likes Pa Pa Power.
He likes the bass, he likes theboom-dun, boom-boom-dun, boom-dun.
And he likes the lyrics.
Because, he got really interested when Black Lives Matter happened and he was hearing the chanting.
So I told him everything, you know.
Or, thats the only song he likes.
They had asked to use a song of mine, for like, Victorias Secret or something like this.
And there was no money, but it would be exposure, whatever.
And I was like, Fuck you.
So thats the weirdest place Ive seen my music.
It wasNude As the News.
I didnt have a lawyer or a manager then.
Ive had a manager now for the past four, five years.
Thank you very much, thank you very much.
I have a lawyer now who was not Harvard dorm roommates with the guy who ranmy labelfor 20 years.
I have a new lawyer now.
Biggest misconception about you
That Im a train wreck live.
WhenMoon Pixcame out, I was suffering from depression.
I didnt really have a support system in my life.
The first show for the album and this and that.
We werent very close at all.
He was a junkie.
And I looked at them like,Oh, of course, of course Im dealing with this shit.
And he did his walkie-talkie thing.
So I go out and I start playing, and its packed, its the Bowery Ballroom.
Ive never played the fuckin Bowery Ballroom before.
They didnt believe me.
And I watched them.
By the fifth song, he starts making his way through the audience.
And I internalized it, like I did as a kid, growing up with the trauma.
I just suppressed it.
Yeah, that Im crazy.
That I have no idea what Im talking about.
I finally dont struggle with that, you know.
It took me many years not to.
Cause I think thats like an illness, that construct that men have against women.
I dont wanna go down there.
I dont wanna talk about this shit!
Im cool, and I think were all good around here.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
