Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O Ponders Leaks, Doubts and Rock Star Fantasies

It's been only three years since the Yeah Yeah Yeahs released their last album, but they got a big dose of how the music world has changed when the New York trio was forced to push up the release date of their new album, 'It's Blitz,' almost a month, following it being leaked. Frontwoman Karen O admits some frustration over the leak but is trying to see the good in the move, telling Spinner, "The one really positive thing about the leak is we didn't have to wait to hear what people were thinking [laughs]. We started getting a sense of how this record was going to be received when we were really nervously excited about it."

One thing the unplanned early release meant for Karen O was playing some catch-up in the album's promotion, which she did during a jam-packed press day in L.A. last week. Despite being herded from interview to interview, the singer was in very good spirits as she spoke with Spinner about recording in a pecan orchard in Texas, her doubts about the band when they went in to record 'It's Blitz' and how turning 30 is freeing her to live out her rock star fantasies.

You've said you had to get psychologically prepared for the album's early release. Now that it's been out for a few days, are you more ready for it?

Sort of, although it does seem really abstract that it's just out digitally. But we're almost there, we're getting there, definitely.

You seem to have a really good attitude about this, compared with other artists I've spoken with who were furious at the leak situation. Was there any frustration for you, or you just accepted it from the beginning?

I'd be lying if I was to say, "I'm totally cool with it, man." There's a certain amount of frustration. We still have a really outdated way of thinking about a record release and about building up towards it and that everyone gets it at the same time and it's this exciting thing. That's just not really, I guess, how it goes anymore and it's hard to get our heads around it. But we have no choice. So the whole thing is it's out of our control and what's the point of really being angry about it or putting that kind of emotion out there into the universe when it's just the way things are. I think the more unfortunate thing about it is just that it does feel it's so lawless the way people acquire things these days and everyone's guilty of it, including me. But at the same time I can't help but feel like that sort of lawlessness and really scattered way of acquiring things is really doing a disservice to the way that you experience music. For me it's exciting to get a record and to be able to listen to it from start to the bottom; that format of it is important to me and a record is not just a bunch of singles put together and all that kind of stuff. All that kind of stuff goes through my head, but at the same time the one really positive thing about the leak is we didn't have to wait to hear what people were thinking [laughs]. We started getting a sense of how this record was going to be received when we were really nervously excited about it.



What was the last thing you lawlessly acquired?

I would say the last lawless thing I acquired was 'Monster Mash' for a Halloween DJ party [laughs]. Yeah, that was probably it. I got it on a file-sharing site, so there you go [laughs]. But is there really a difference between getting something like a track like that free and like a new record for free? And the thing is I do definitely support and buy all the new records that come out; I don't find those or steal those because I'm an artist and I want to support other artists. But you can't really just say, "So, that's OK to get the 'Monster Mash,' but it's not cool to get Yeah Yeah Yeahs' new record."

You mentioned the experience of getting a record and listening to it from start to finish. What records do you remember having that experience with and what was the first one you said, "I have to have this"?

Well, this is really embarrassing, but I think Mariah Carey's first record because I was, like, 10 or something, I was young, and I really liked how she hit all those insanely high notes and stuff, and I was listening to [Top 40 radio station] Z100 in New York, so that's the kind of stuff. But I don't know, it might have been after that I was also a big fan of Pavement, so Pavement records and Pixies records I was really excited about getting. But definitely towards the end of high school I was like really into the alternative '90s rock, so there were probably a few records like that.

Well, that redeems you nicely from Mariah [she laughs]. Onto this record: I'm a big believer that environment affects writing and recording, so tell me about how recoding on a peach orchard in Texas affected this album.

It was actually a pecan orchard, but you're close. I guess it affected it in several ways, one was that it felt like a retreat; there was so much space. We weren't chained to the studio at all times; we came in and left at our discretion. And the environment itself was such a world unto itself, it was surrounded by this orchard but also the desert and almost middle-of-nowhere feeling in Texas, outside of El Paso. And there's a kookiness about things that happened on that ranch or the residence on that ranch, which included Geronimo the domesticated raccoon, that also lightened the pressure of making a record. It felt like we were doing it for the love of it; we loved where we were, there was so much space to spread out and to really dive in and it was pretty much the ideal place to work.

In terms of lightening the pressure, I know you've admitted there was real strife in the band between the last album and 'It's Blitz.' Was there sort of a turning point moment in making this record where you knew you guys could work together again?

I entered the studio, the writing sessions, trying not to enter with baggage or anything like that, but I had a lot of concerns. I was like, "Do we even have it anymore? Do we have a vitality? Are we gonna see eye to eye on anything?" Just tons of questions and doubts because that what my personality focuses on, that kind of stuff rather than, "It's gonna be great." But I'd say that after we set up our stuff, the first place we recorded was Massachusetts; we had a couple of beers and the first thing that came out of us was 'Soft Skeletons' on the record, which just felt amazing, it felt so vital and beautiful and it felt like us as well. As soon as that song was created and knowing right out of the box that's what came out, that probably was a turning point in just feeling like, "We can do this, we're gonna have a great time, it's gonna feel good, and we're gonna move towards the good feelings."

The requisite question I have to ask about Coachella is who are you psyched to play with and will you get to see anybody?

We're really psyched about the sandwich of Throbbing Gristle and My Bloody Valentine, to be between those two slices of bread. But unfortunately because we're playing right after Throbbing Gristle, I'll probably be in full get-ready-to-rock mode then. Then I have to look more at the list, but it does seem like a really exciting day to be playing there and kind of closing the festival with.

I like the way you put it: the Throbbing Gristle and MBV sandwich. You've said this album is about exploring rock star fantasies. Where does that fit in and what sandwich would you most like to be part of as the fantasy?

Oh, come on, you can't ask me that with like one minute to go, that's too much! There's no way I'm gonna be able to answer that right now. But this is the record for sure for me to really lean heavily in to the rock star fantasy thing, and I think part of that also has to do with turning 30 and really embracing, "Hey, I always wanted to do this. Why not?" And I feel more comfortable more than ever doing that kind of thing, so we're in the midst of working on the shows, but we're gonna try and really make them experiences as much as we can to sort of match the feeling, the pulse and energy of the new music. We want to really make an impression with it.

I like that you use the term "rock star," 'cause it's taken on such a dirty connotation, and I remember when it was cool. So when you're preparing to explore these rock star fantasies, who's in your mind and who are the ultimate rock stars to you?

Well, Freddie Mercury is a really huge rock star in my head. I've always thought he was just so tough and such an amazing entertainer, really a contradiction in many ways as well. So he was incredible. And David Bowie, I even think Grace Jones is a rock star but deconstruction/reconstruction. She totally dismantled that and made it something else as well.

You mentioned this album is a departure sonically. Have you thought about incorporating the old albums with this one in the live show and what older songs you're excited to mix with this new one?

I listened to the other two albums for the first time in years with that question in mind and it's interesting. I feel like the pulse is gonna be really important in drawing these songs together, so songs like 'Cheated Hearts,' 'Rich' and 'Y Control,' even though a lot of those have this one drum machine that was one of the cheapest drum machines you can get that made those sounds, those will meld in really well. But then there's the desire to still play songs like 'Warrior' and 'Cold Light,' stuff like that, just for some contrast and to make a really well-rounded set. But I think the theme of the set will definitely be this pulse that's running through a lot of the songs on this new record and where we can find it in older songs.