Mini Interview with Max in Rolling Stone

[georg_e]

        Hey, there's this great special Rolling Stone issue out called "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and they gave Max his own little "sidebar" interview which I copied below.  I think "Since U Been Gone"  is the only Max song on the list, no Britney songs at all, which I totally disagree with -- "Baby One More Time" shoulda been on there --  but hey, it's a good interview with him anyway ;-)

                    What makes a great song?

                             "A great song has that 'What the fuck?' factor -- when you put it on you react to it. A great song grabs your attention right away."

                    Which of your songs come closest to that ideal?

                             'Since U Been Gone' for me has that. The marriage of that song and where Kelly Clarkson was at the time with American Idol really surprised people. That made her real. Also, not alot of things out there sounded like that at the time. The song came out in a world that was really rap oriented, alot of rythmic stuff, not alot of pop. Sometimes you need a bit of luck to be unusual.

                    When could you tell that the song was special?

                             "The demo was just me and Luke singing, but when Kelly started to sing, she killed it. When we listened back she had taken the song to a totally different world, so I really loved it.  But that still didn't mean it was gonna work. I don't ever know if it's a hit or not. 'I Kissed A Girl' was another total surprise. We wrote it with Kary Perry and she wasn't even really signed, at a  time when everybody said you needed a TV platform to have a hit. Then she became an overnight star all around the world.

                  How has technology changed your relationship between songwriting and producing?

                           "I'm an old school writer --I start very simple, usually with the melody only. I'm a Dictaphone kind of guy. But I don't believe in right or wrong ways to do it. I love the way technology has developed into kids making crazy beats. It's so cheap to get a real studio onto a laptop, and not to have to rent a studio for two grand a day, so I do write to beats as well. I used to be more conservative, but I don't care anymore. Now I use all the tools I can".

[Izalightblue]

Very nice interview, thank you!!

[Rebecca]

Thanks George, that's fantastic.

Is this from a current issue? I must buy it!

[georg_e]

Thanks George, that's fantastic.

Is this from a current issue? I must buy it!

Glad you liked!  Yes, it's a current issue -- it's an updated version of a "500 Greatest Songs" issue they did in 2004. It really is great --no advertising in it, each song has has it's own little article with interesting stuff, and then they have these little 'sidebar' interviews with certain artists, songwriters, etc, like the one with Max  (Kelly Clarkson has one, too). Also alot of cool photos, like of the original records, etc. I ran across the issue by accident in my pharmacy ;-)

[Rebecca]

great, thanks George, I'll look out for it

[Raul_esp]

great!! since u been gone is a amazing song , baby one more time should be there !! it's the best pop song ever!

[Izalightblue]

great!! since u been gone is a amazing song , baby one more time should be there !! it's the best pop song ever!

BOMT definitely is the best pop song ever, I think the same, why is not there?

[Feelgoodlies]

Great one!

He wasn't conservative, all of Cheiron copied and pasted alot of their beats!

[georg_e]

great!! since u been gone is a amazing song , baby one more time should be there !! it's the best pop song ever!

BOMT definitely is the best pop song ever, I think the same, why is not there?

I think that alot of rock journalists (since "Rolling Stone" has that background) are afraid to list a Britney song, even if in their hearts they know it's great!!  They feel safe including "Since U bEEN GoNe" cuz it's more "indie/edgy" etc. (Although it IS  a great song!!) 

[Izalightblue]

Yeah, I have to agree with you there, George!!

[Rebecca]

so true, most critics are music snobs, way too afraid to list a Britney song, it's quite sad really. Occasionally some will say they like I'm A Slave 4 U because it's by The Neptunes or maybe they'll say the like the Lily Allen version of Womanizer or whatever.

Although in 2000, Rolling Stone did put BSB's I Want It That Way in their Top 10 Greatest Pop Songs of all time and Baby One More Time at no.25, Nync's Bye Bye Bye at 55 but of course that was when BSB etc were huge. http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2000/rsmtv100.htm

[Izalightblue]

Yeah, Rebecca, I remember that, good times!!