Not So Friendly Fire
So the British press may unfairly razz Sean Lennon 'cause of his regal surname, but Yoko's boy does himself no favors with press like this conversation with the SF Chronicle. It's an interview to promote his album! Sure, journalists can ask some retarded questions, but these were hardly offensive. Were they? (Thanks, Tugboat!)
Q: How do you get along with your brother, Julian? You seem to take swipes at each other in the press.Yes, it is the question that's to blame here. That's one heavy chip on your shoulder, dude.A: When did I do that? I don't think I've ever said anything that was a swipe at him. If you can give me an example, I'll answer to it. But I don't think you have one.
Q: You recently said that you were glad you never took the cheesy pop route with your name.
A: That has nothing to do with him. He taught me to play guitar. I used to, like, worship him. Trust me: When his record was No. 1 I was, like, 14, and he was a god to me. He's one of the reasons I started playing music.
Q: Do you ever call him for career advice? Do you call anyone for advice?
A: Do I ever call anyone for advice? That's a really stupid question, dude.
Q: It is?
A: Well, I mean, "Do you ever call anyone for advice?" It's so vague. Have you ever called anyone for advice? Yes, sure. I mean, what are you trying to say? Do I call celebrities that might be interesting for me to give you an anecdote about?
Q: That's what people want to read.
A: You're so transparent, dude. Get over it. Why don't you just say, "Do you ever call celebrities?" You didn't say that because that sounded too stupid. You had to say it in this sort of backhanded way.
Q: Wait, let me rephrase it: "Do you ever call celebrities?"
A: It's just such a dumb question I can't even dignify it with an answer, dude.
Posted at 10:32 AM
Tags: Sean Lennon
I think Sean is totally right, cutting through the interviewer's false pretenses. He was also polite in the process. Always call someone dude when revealing him to be a douche and/or bad journalist.
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No, Good for him: he's honest. I f@#king hate stupid interviews and those silly questions, Lennon called that reporter on it and I think it is hilarious.
Why would you possibly think it is a chip on his shoulder? So he deals with the media differently than you would. Personally? I would do the exact same thing.
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Go Sean Fruck the Press!!! I mean i may not like his music and all but atleast he understands all of the bullshit in the media. A true son of john lennon
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Hmmm... yeah, he kinda sounds like a prick but if you ask me, those kind of things are being said all the time but they're just not printed
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i doubt it's a chip on his shoulder, but rather an awareness that whatever answer he gives is going to be loaded, because of his lineage & because it's a loaded question to begin with.
he's like hillary clinton, who in last month's atlantic monthly acknowledged that she must be much more measured & precise than anyone else in her public persona, because everything she does or says winds up being big news.
it was a pretty transparent question, nothing wrong with sean lennon being a little bit prissy & calling the interviewer out for being gossippy.
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I agree with above posters, I saw nothing wrong with what Sean said...and I have never been a fan of his in the past.
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so, the "reporter" tries to dredge up some imagined conflict with his brother, clumsily, and then asks a question that rivals the barbara walters' classic "if you were a tree what kind of tree would you be" for it's inanity and complete worthlessness, and SL is somehow at fault for slapping them back? "stereogum" (whichever poster that would be) is the one coming off like an idiot, here.
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possible answers he could have given that would have been charming and indirect:
1. Ringo.
2. George Harrison via crystal ball.
3. Your mom.
4. Phil Specter.
5. Not my mom. She killed the Beatles.
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I'm going to agree with stereo here. No one tied him up and made him do the interview. Sure, his label probably pressured him but that still didn't mean he HAD to unless it's written into a contract somewhere how much publicity he has to do. The smartest (and most fun to read) interview subjects answer questions any way they want. Beck and (lord love her) Courtney Love are the supreme masters of this.
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Don't they usually edit out the "likes" in interviews?
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See? Any of d's answers would have made me temporarily love Sean Lennon.
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For those not from the SFBay, Aidin Vaziri is kind of like the "Borat" of indie music journalists. He purposefully asks naive and goading questions and consequently the printed product is more humorous than deep. Not sure if that makes it any better or worse, just wanted to point out that A-Viz was being somewhat facetious.
For what it's worth, Sean Lennon utterly blows. But I can't imagine growing up the way he did and not blowing. So it's okay.
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Um, wasn't Sean Lennon the one that released his album with a DVD packed with celebrities: "Lindsay Lohan, Jordana Brewster, Devon Aoki, Asia Argento and (Bijou) Phillips"?
Now he doesn't want to talk about it????
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I don't buy into him too much...
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where did all these sean lennon "street team" people come from?
what else was he supposed to ask that whiny swiss boarding school prick, why he sucks so much?
actually, that might have gotten a better answer.
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Now THIS is an example of him not being his father. John Lennon handled even the most idiotic questions with sharp wit and flair. Sean's responses had none of that. I understand that it was probably hard growing up the way he did, but why take it out on someone who is providing an opportunity to promote his music?
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I have so much more respect for Sean now. that was fucking awesome. Way to call the guy out.
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I kind of think it was a little egotistical of Sean to assume the interviewer meant "call celebrities for advice" on first reference.
He doesn't have any close friends/family who AREN'T celebrities?
He chose to interpret the question cynically and if he wants to bitch about answering stupid questions for interviews, he can either not do press or stop making music.
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I agree with the pro Sean Lennon camp on this, and I have no idea what his music sounds like.. the interview was obviously trying to stir up shit with the questions about animosity with his brother, and the tetchy non-reply to the following question is the kind of thing a normal interviewer would edit out.
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I think the Stereogum poster is Amrit. Scott is much more oblique in his comments.
I don't really find what Sean is saying to be that offensive. The dude is not upset that he is being forced to answer questions; he is upset that he is being forced to answer stupid questions.
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This is a fluff piece of journalism. Of course it has throw-away questions. It's not like they're discussing the arms race, and even if they were, who gives a shit about Sean Lennon's opinions on anything but the music he's making?
People need to lighten up man.
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bottom line:
nobody would care about sean if his last name wasn't lennon. there are so many more talented musicians out there to make fun of. come on!!
and by the way, he sounds like as much of a dick as his dad.
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bottom line:
nobody would care about sean if his last name wasn't lennon. there are so many more talented musicians out there to make fun of. come on people!!
and by the way, he sounds like as much of a dick as his dad.
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Not to pick nits, but Sean Lennon was only about 10, not 14, when Julian had a number 1 hit. It's weird that I know this, and he doesn't.
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For once, a comment was so right on, I didn't mind reading it twice.
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jotoole nailed it (twice). Funny Vaziri and Sean would clash--both are guys who go through life frontin like they're rock stars while struggling with the deep-seated insecurity of knowning that they're really not.
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Sean is a dick ... once on Loveline someone asked him the Beatles reunion question and he went off ... nobody gives a shit about Sean Lennon the "musician" it's Sean Lennon son of John the is the only reason people interview, he's the one that needs to be honest about why he's being interviewed, he can't play the Lennon card then bitch about it
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anyone related to the former dictator of the soviet union rawks.
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The question wasn't stupid. No one gives a shit about Sean Lennon other than his connection to other people. No one would know who he was if he wasn't John & Yoko's kid. He needs to learn to accept that, or find another line of work.
People always get so mad at journalists for asking "inane" questions, which really just means, "why didn't he ask him my retarded fanboy question?" Newspapers are for the masses. The guy was actually helping Lennon out by even doing an interview in the first place, and helping him out by asking him a question that might have made him more accessible to people who didn't know his work. Moreover, the dude didn't make up anything about animosity between him and Julian -- he said the thing about the cheesy pop route. The reporter was giving him a chance to clear up things, and Lennon screwed it up.
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Three reasons why Sean Lennon is full of shit:
1. Julian Lennon never went to number one.
2. Earlier in the interview, he calls Bijou Phillips a "songwriter."
3. He's related to Yoko.
If you had to interview him, what would you ask?
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See, Sean could have taken the high road, said something clever and gotten some pretty good press. While I agree with his attempt to fend off canned, vapid questions, he did so with a long streak of petulance.
Didn't do himself any favors.
DwD
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Q: Wait, let me rephrase it: "Do you ever call celebrities?"
No one else thought this line was hilarious? Sean Lennon sucks. Fuck anyone who chooses to be part of that world and then can't handle an interview. No one asked him to pretend to be a rockstar like daddy. Someone should tell him that if you're gonna be a dick, you should at least have some talent. But... I guess it doesn't really matter when you're going to be rich at the end of the day no matter what.
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"1. Julian Lennon never went to number one."
I believe Sean is referencing "Saltwater" which was a significant worldwide hit for Julian everywhere but the U.S.A. in 1991 (when the younger Lennon was 15/16 and hanging out with Lenny Kravitz).
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"1. Julian Lennon never went to number one."
I believe Sean is referencing "Saltwater" which was a significant worldwide hit for Julian everywhere but the U.S.A. in 1991 (when the younger Lennon was 15 and hanging out with Lenny Kravitz).
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He's obviously been dealing with this shit all his life and evidently he doesn't want to be viewed as some product of nepotism.
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We Seans can detect assholishness in eachother. So speaking with authority as a Sean, I'll be blunt. Sean Lennon is an asshole. He could have just gone along with the goofy interview and been clever like dear old dad. Instead he just decided to whine like he was fronting an emo band.
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Wow, he's really anal. Bitch-slap him, quick! Still, I did like what he said about Julian. I hope it's true. Overall, though, an unnecessarily rude response from him. I thought the interviewer handled it well.
Don't do this, Sean. I really want to like Friendly Fire.
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why does stereogum have it in for sean lennon? this is like the third post in three weeks talkin smack. did scott get snubbed at some shitty industry event and this is his way being a bitch? by writing some shit on his web diary?
how about another klosterman post too?
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I'll admit something here. You do sound a bit like a pussy when you flip out on some simple shit like "Do you call anyone for advice?" Sean probably got pissed after he was asked a question about Julian, but still... simple, small shit. Though, it doesn't make me stop listening to his music or whatever. I still applaud him for answering the Julian question well though.
I hear Julian is a bigger asshole than Sean, even a bigger egotistical wuss than Tom Delonge. Not trying to stir up shit here...
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I am pretty neutral towards sean, but to not side with him here is ridiculous. The interviewer was terrible, his questions sound like something a snide 10th grade would say. You get the feeling that the interviewer thinks he's being clever and that his subtle questions will get some dirt out of sean. In reality the attempts are so horribly disguised that sean immediately picks up on them and call him on it. He should have gone with? Why? To humor some smug asshole?
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I actually really like Sean's music. The interview was stupid, and I guess he could have handled it with a little less hostility towards the person asking the questions (who probably hasn't heard a note of Sean's music), but I kind of agree with him. He's rather blunt and uses many pseudo-intellectual phrases a lot, but he's a pretty cool guy and I think he's quite talented. I like Julian's music as well. Of course, their father was the greatest thing ever, so even if they got a few sprinkles of his genes they'd be pretty gawdamn great.
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Apologists suck, and are always obvious in their apologizing.
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You got your angle wrong, 'Gum! Sean killed it, and you should be applauding it! Go Sean!
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