Courtney Barnett Talks About Her Album, "Tell Me How You Really Feel"

[@BUILDSeriesNYC]

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[@lequinntessential]

"... It's just that I've never paid too much attention..." - this phrase from Courtney says a lot for me about how difficult I would imagine this interview would be for her. The interviewer and the audience, especially the second person during the Q&A asking about whether rock artistes find themselves having to work harder, have been bombarding her with so many unnaturally technical questions, so much so that I certainly won't want to go for an interview like that unless I really needed the publicity. Although interviewing someone, particularly a person who can seem to behave a little awkwardly if not made comfortable like Courtney or Kurt Vile, is never an easy job, the interviewer could have put more thought into what he was going to ask. The question ”do you feel like you need a little time out too?" comes off as so redundant to me, and even to Courtney who then said "everybody does". A better question could have been "could you share what your inspiration behind the lyrics to that song was?" Moreover, the interviewer put on a straight face almost the entire time, even when he told her he liked Sunday Roast and Hopefulessness, displayed negative body language, and frequently mistook Courtney's lack of words, thanks to some rather senseless and job interview esque questions - some art just flows naturally, so you don't really have to treat it so scientifically and relentlessly question how each and every detail has been derived - for probably anxiety and so, intersects her. Perhaps he was thinking that he was doing her a favour by completing her sentences or moving onto another topic, but that's far from the truth. I really do hope Build starts regarding making an interviewee or guest feel comfortable and welcomed as the most important factor in the future, such as in KEXP's informal style of interviews and BCC's casual interviews. Nonetheless, thank you for the upload Build!

[@wormRock21]

yep the inverviewer acts like an idiot I hated him

[@breland7809]

she’s so good live just seen her

[@ethomas1995]

Breland Reynolds Yes! She's phenomenal, live! I saw her a couple nights ago.

[@altitudus7412]

Small poppies live is 🔥

[@herbertrude1689]

Very gracious and candid and patient and modest and an authentic musician. One to watch.

[@omniversiddhialterdestiny]

still waiting for the interviewer to ask her the question tell me what you really feel

[@Larry...W]

I feel like I've been waiting forever for this new album and it's finally here yay!

[@danaelona4081]

Horrible interviewer.... couldnt even say her album right.... asked really pointless questions... did not do her justice.

[@campbellrocksagain]

No ones born to hate.

[@AuguryPress]

How many white men do I have to watch interviewing CB? They are super awkward and don't understand her at all. Can a woman interview her for once?

[@zacharymontoto9646]

You might want to watch KEXP where Cheryl waters interviews her

[@omniversiddhialterdestiny]

wtf is wrong with these interviewers !?!

[@macgamingyt3451]

Yeah exactly that's what i'm thinking

[@sesshomaru322]

I don't think the interviewer was as terrible as everyone is making him out to be. He was friendly enough and tried to ask both basic questions and more in depth questions. I do really like Courtney Barnett as a person so I'm not saying this negatively, but I think it was maybe her anxiety that got the better of her and so she was really withdrawn and disengaged from the questions being asked.

[@trippyvenus6062]

so true. the interviewer seemed really interested in engaging with her but obviously courtney has anxiety that really came through in this setting. i absolutely adore her, she's one of my favorite artists and it's difficult to watch this seeing how uncomfortable she is with all those people sitting right there staring and expecting long explanations and answers. i did think the interviewer tried to over-intellectualize some of his questions, but he was super friendly and seemed like a genuine fan of CB.

[@sesshomaru322]

I agree! I think he was a trooper too because even though she seemed uncomfortable, he didn't let it faze him and still continued to try to be friendly. I myself pick up and respond to the kind of energy I feel a person is giving off. So if I had been in his position, I think it would've been difficult to maintain a positive attitude towards someone who seemed as if didn't want to talk to me. Again, not her fault though, haha. I'm just bringing it up as a kudos to the guy for carrying on. Additionally, I think a lot of people are really harsh when it comes to interviewers. But I feel as if musicians are infamously hard to interact with. A lot of them go through mental health issues, anxiety, addictions, or they're just aloof and disengaged in general. It's hard to get meaningful answers out of someone who doesn't want to disclose much. lol and this is coming from a musician himself who also has bad social anxiety and mental health stuff. Haha and so even then, I still empathize with interviewers because I know that artists can be difficult to talk to at times.

[@danaelona4081]

It was like he wasnt having a convo with her, anything she said he would just ask a completely different question that didn't make sense. Also, the questions clearly confused her... they were basic for anyone and he couldnt even tell that she was confused. No common sense.

[@Jma952]

2015 bud, her debut album was 2015...

[@suzabinnelli]

This is painful. I'm sure this man means well, but how did he get this job? It's not an issue of the individual, I don't think. It is difficult to find interviews that do musicians and artists justice, and I think it's normally done best by a fellow musician or artist, or in the case that the artist is given complete freedom in expression. Maybe the platforms providing reasonable enough compensation for talk time don't actually have a vested interest in the artist or their art? I won't pretend to know. I think that this recent interview with Donita Sparks of L7, by Emily Rems of Bust, is an OK example [bust.com/poptarts/l7-s-donita-sparks-gets-real-about-music-biz-sexism-rocking-for-choice-and-the-code-of-the-road-on-bust-s-poptarts-podcast.html]. I wish Rems would have delved into the music itself a lot more, and I know nothing about Bust, so I'm not endorsing the publication. This also makes me think of how disappointing it is to watch old interviews with, for example, The Cramps, where the focus was their appearance and "how weird" they were [kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoKaqIWtqK2qgaM]. I love this "interview" with Lux and Ivy, and I wish we had more of this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4WzZoqVoM6Ne6s.

[@millennialanimal]

I fell asleep, but yeah great interview haha

[@diegodecilealgo8354]

Viva Courtney!!

[@Sportingalagrieska]

I dunno why, but her amusingly disorganised speech reminds of ACDC's Young brothers. Must be an aussie thing or something.

[@50ShadesOfEndo]

Wouldn't be surprised if it's AOTY

[@novemberly]

y so many dislikes???

[@petemclinc]

Yeah, I don"t know, so yeah, what was the question?

[@johndolan5600]

So she's now gone.

[@ZepHoffman]

very funny woman, without trying it

[@j.elizabeth4621]

Not to be a hater but it seems having to hold a microphone make things kinda awkward and their voices are so nasally. The guy asks engaging questions but his speaking voice makes me tune everything out. Positive feedback??

[@spaceengineer1452]

Love her. Don’t like her songs, though.

[@rum02]

@19:45 one of the cutest human beans eva