Matt Bettinelli-Olpin: What role does an artist have in the political sphere?  What’s the function of art and music in politics?

John K. Samson: I don’t know that the role is always conscious. I think they’re political in really complex ways because of living in a market economy…it gets quite confusing. I think the easiest answer is just that all art is political. It’s always political implications out there in the world and in the market, and I think it should be treated as such, as a political object.

Matt: How does the market affect that?

John: That’s the big question--it’s really hard to say. That’s one of the things that makes it political–what does commerce do to expression? And I don’t know the answer to that, but it’s something to think about, for sure.

Matt: How does it affect you?

John: There are things you do consciously and subconsciously because of that. I think it makes me hyper-aware of how things are consumed.

Matt: What role does punk rock and the underground community in general plays in the world of big media as an alternative voice?

John: It’s important. It’s also kind of a requirement for the market as an avant-garde, so in some ways, it’s just as susceptible to being homogenized and pointless. And I think the impulse behind punk rock ethics is great and should be cultivated and respected, and that’s why I still think that we’re a punk rock band. It’s the kind of music that I come from, so it’s totally ingrained in what we do. An outsider might not hear it, but I think it’s still very prevalent in what we do. It’s those formative experiences.

Matt: Is your music a form of protest?

John: The one thing you can say about almost all music is that it makes people feel less alone, and that’s incredibly political, especially in the kind of society we live, and I think that simple fact is really powerful.

Matt: Why do people feel so alone lately?

John: I think they always have. There’s no huge difference. It’s an existential thing. But I think it also has to do with alienation in a pretty Marxist sense of the word, just the way we’re encouraged to be isolated and alone. Empathy and sympathy aren’t really included in the way the world works. It’s a terrible thing.

Matt: How do you think the idea of musical genres effect the music itself? Is it an outdated concept?

John: It’s a way to sell something. You need to contain something in order to sell it. I’d prefer if there were no labels and genres, but that’s what happens when you put a record out. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. It’s music, you know? It’s all music.

Matt: How would you describe your new album?

John: I wouldn’t, really. I’d describe it as a record that we made. We worked on it for three years, writing and recording it, and this is it.

Matt: Do you thinking writing about communication and relationships helps you deal with it in the real world?

John: I wouldn’t say it helps.

Matt: Hurts?

John: I wouldn’t say that either. I think of that aspect of it as more descriptive than therapeutic. It’s more like trying to describe it, to describe the fact that it’s universal, all these problems. Specific and universal at the same time, those are the kinds of things I like to write about.

Matt: What would you hope someone listening would take away from your music?

John: The best thing would be that they would want to express themselves, that kind of response or a spark in some way, to get people to do the same thing in different ways. I think that the best kind of art is art that provokes people into doing something themselves.

Matt: Do you remember who did that for you?

John: Yeah. A lot of people, the list is too long.

Matt: What do you think of the current state of pop culture?

John: I think there’s a lot of great things coming out of the mainstream and coming out of the margins. Being in America, I’ve noticed an increased in an anti-intellectualized intellectualism. There’s this current running through the culture of how cool it is to pretend that you’re dumb. And it’s funny, but it’s also pretty dangerous. I’m against that. I’d rather err on the side of being pretentious than err on the side of being stupid. That’s the kind of work that I like, work that pushes the line more towards trying to think about stuff than the opposite. But having said that, there are great songs about nothing out there. But I guess in the broad context of the world, it’s almost like we’ve reached a saturation point with garage music and Jackass wannabes. It doesn’t seem very encouraging to me.

Matt: What do you see as the alternative to that?

John: There are tons of amazing people doing amazing things. It just seems that the world is paying more attention to the stupefied parts of the world. You know what I mean? I think all that stuff is interesting and fun, too…maybe I’m becoming cynical, but it’s just a little overwhelming right now. There’s got to be some kind of balance.  You know, I’ve done some interviews where people say they don’t understand certain things I’m talking about, in articles I’ve seen people kind of play the dumb guy, like ‘Oh, there a reference to a writer on this record.’  I mean, come on. I’m not so smart--I read books, but lots of people do. It’s not some new thing.  Also, it seems to be a North American thing. Being in Europe, I didn’t notice it so much. And certainly the way mainstream politics of the world are dividing themselves along certain lines. The politics of North America seem incredibly stupid. Drastically, insanely stupid…the foreign policy and such, as opposed to Europe.

Matt: Speaking of stupefying, how do you view Bush’s foreign policy, being from Canada?

John: Mainstream politics in Canada are marginally against it, but they go along with it eventually. They have to. We’re pretty much the fifty-whatever state. It’s disturbing. It’s kind of sick to think that there are people in Canada who can’t get into the United States because they happen to be born in another country.  And the fact that I can be put in jail for as long as they want to put me there because I’m not an American citizen, while in the United States, according to the Patriot Act. And the Patriot Act itself is Draconian and horrifying and totally defeats the purpose of everything that was great about America. It’s a scary time to be alive, but also really interesting and I think there’s got to be some hope wrapped up in that, because politics are being pushed to the surface of peoples lives more than they ever have been, because of these things.

Matt: What’s the hardest part of being in the band?

John: Touring. Being away from home kind of seems a bit silly sometime. It doesn’t seem like an appropriate way to live.

Matt: The best part?

John: The same thing. Being able to get up in front of people and play for them…those rare and great times when it feels like a dialogue, a communication occurs somehow. It’s the best job ever and I’m very grateful for that.