Those who have worked together with Kurt Cobain, members of Pearl Jam and Marianne Faithfull or contributed to the milestone "Songs For The Deaf" of the Queens Of The Stone Age, almost inevitably have legendary status themselves - an expression which, however, always has something of the past. MARK LANEGAN, however, is still a highly productive artist who loves to do his own thing and also likes to collaborate across genres.
In November Lanegan will turn 55 and next spring he will publish an autobiography of his ten years in Seattle under the title "Sing Backwards And Weep". Now with "Somebody's Knocking" there is an album inspired by memories. In an interview the musician explains why he doesn't want to send messages to the listeners with his songs.
eclipsed: Which story is connected with "Somebody's Knocking"?
"When I first heard his new album, I thought, "Something's wrong here," laughs Mark Lanegan's bosom buddy Greg Dulli from the Afghan Whigs. "Mark sounds happy for the first time. I said to him, 'Dude, what's the matter with you?' And he said, 'I guess I'm completely satisfied with myself and the world.'" No wonder, at 52 Mark Lanegan has reached the point he always dreamed of, both professionally and privately. He is in a steady, stable relationship, renounces nicotine, alcohol and drugs, lives in a nice little house in Glendale, a bourgeois corner of Greater Los Angeles, has two dogs and two cats as child replacements and can live very well from his music.
