I read the book and it's definitely a must read! Melody writes in chronological order having each album as a reference for that time in music history. I don't want to say too much not to spoil anything. But I do want to mention that the most interesting part for me was the beginning where she wrote about your first two albums and why they are notably your less "liked" work, really interesting! Thanks again for sharing, excited for the IG live later today!
Can’t wait to read this book. I’m always a little confused on how Sainthood is viewed in retrospect. I think it’s such a strong album, but it seems like the process of actually creating it has left you with a different feeling.
Just bought a copy. Tegan, your Q&A skills are so refined. After being asked thoughtless bullshit questions for 20 years you are definitely skilled at elevating the interview experience for others and we all benefit from it. Thank you.
Thanks for another great post! I completely agree with Ellysioux below that your level of questioning is SO much more intelligent and thought provoking to read (and probably answer!) than the inane questions often put in music/celebrity interviews. Thanks and well done (sorry that sounds patronising, it's not meant to)
I love the thoughtful and inciteful way that you both approach your career, your values and your responsibilities. You seem to welcome constructive criticism and discussion, whether it be from each other or interested media commentators, as a means of improving and fine tuning (no pun intended!) your work. Of course, there are critics and critics - knowing which ones to listen to is a skill in its self!
I have pre-ordered the book as its not available in the UK for a few weeks yet. I'm looking forward to reading it. In fact we are spoilt at the moment, with so many T&S projects to look forward to (Zoom call, book, TV series, album, tour hopefully to UK) - its amazing how busy you have both been recently.
I have a question. You have written recently about enjoying the stillness and peacefulness at your cabin. You have spoken about reading to get to sleep and enjoying time sitting with a coffee in the mornings. This routine doesn't match the frantic lifestyle you have previously described or fit with the amount of quality projects that you and Sara have recently completed. Are you amazingly good at managing your time? Do you go from 'all to nothing' and back again or have you cracked the secret of work/life balance?
Maybe your work is your life but at times we all need a break and other people want/need a bit of us too! (especially babies in Sara's case). Good luck with all the above projects, I'm sure they will all be critically successful! Maybe a future post (or book!) could tackle 'time management'. How to get everything done well and stay sane!
That was a great post! I honestly can’t wait for my copy to arrive. I have finally received the e-mail that it has been shipped. I feel like the book sits well with the critical theory genre of books which I am very fond of, especially when it comes to queer theory and the crossroads it has with art, music, and cinema.
One of the things I love about T&S music is that I find myself connecting to different songs depending on what I'm experiencing in my life. There are a few Sainthood songs that I heard as a 21 year old that didn't quite hit but listening as a 34 year old, lyrics start feeling more raw and relevant to me.
I do find that T&S music has this constant easter egg quality where there are so many lyrical and musical elements that I feel engaged as a listener even after the billionth run through. Often I will have initially related to the Tegan lyrics the most and years later find myself suddenly connecting to the Sara ones. Everything is a slown burn in the best way possible.
I didn’t see the announcements for the live until it had already happened (tech issues lately), so this could just be me (again tech issues) but I can’t see a video of the live on the T&S Insta page? I’m not too familiar with Instagram (even though I’m 15), so maybe it takes a day or so to upload? Anyway, hopefully looking forward to watching that and listening to the book if there’s audio available?
Jeez! Social media sucks!
Phoenix, he/they/ri/it, 15, Australia
PS: me editing- could just be my tech issues but still can’t find it?
This was a cool interview! My sister got me Melody's book for my birthday but it is coming from Canada so think it might take a while to arrive, looking forward to reading it!
Interestingly, This Business of Art is my favorite album of yours. And I like every song on it!
I often wonder, when a fan says their favorite album is one of the first ones you did, if the artist ever feels towards that fan like “Am I letting them down each album now?” In this fan’s case, no. I appreciate and love all your albums. They set a mood, they’re varied, that’s Tegan and Sara. Your second album just happens to be my favorite.
Anyway, I’ve been waiting to pick this book up. It seems really interesting. Modern heartthrobs indeed.✊🤘🫶
I bought a copy online yesterday, can’t wait for it to arrive. Yeah I never understood the folk label that was placed on to you, mainly because as you’ve both said before, I’ve never been able to put a genre on your band because every album is so different from one another. Oh anyway, loved the Q&A. It was interesting to hear Melody’s thoughts, I personally love Sainthood and This Business Of Art but I completely understand why she feels the way she does about them, and liked what she said about the view she tried to take when writing about it all. It’s a tricky balance to get right but it looks like she did it. So I’m interested to hear more from her when I read it. 🙂
Looking forward to your IG live with her tonight as well.
Edit: That livestream was so great!
Also excited about your announcement at the end of it, looking forward to next week! 😊
I agree with the interpretation of framing your work and activities (your vision in general) in a non political but impactant framework, and personally it helped me through my path (starting from being your typical straight white guy born and raised in a non-big city) towards consciousness related to women's and LGBT right, without ever feeling pressed nor slogan-ed in a propaganda way (if it makes any sense), but just because of growth, learning and sensibility.
Whenever I speak about you I always say you don't have a music genre, I mean you wrote songs that couldn't be more different one to the other (Feel it in my bones, Living room, Time Running and All I have to give the world is me, just to name the more diverse to each other), constantly improving and remaining true to your growing-up style. Truly unique.
Have a great day! See you in two weeks and later in October!
Thank you for reading these, Tegan. So nice to just sit and listen with a coffee in the morning instead of having my face stuck in the phone reading. Now I get to watch my guinea pigs eat breakfast. Appreciate very much that you read these for us.
I read the book and it's definitely a must read! Melody writes in chronological order having each album as a reference for that time in music history. I don't want to say too much not to spoil anything. But I do want to mention that the most interesting part for me was the beginning where she wrote about your first two albums and why they are notably your less "liked" work, really interesting! Thanks again for sharing, excited for the IG live later today!
Can’t wait to read this book. I’m always a little confused on how Sainthood is viewed in retrospect. I think it’s such a strong album, but it seems like the process of actually creating it has left you with a different feeling.
Just bought a copy. Tegan, your Q&A skills are so refined. After being asked thoughtless bullshit questions for 20 years you are definitely skilled at elevating the interview experience for others and we all benefit from it. Thank you.
Hi Tegan
Thanks for another great post! I completely agree with Ellysioux below that your level of questioning is SO much more intelligent and thought provoking to read (and probably answer!) than the inane questions often put in music/celebrity interviews. Thanks and well done (sorry that sounds patronising, it's not meant to)
I love the thoughtful and inciteful way that you both approach your career, your values and your responsibilities. You seem to welcome constructive criticism and discussion, whether it be from each other or interested media commentators, as a means of improving and fine tuning (no pun intended!) your work. Of course, there are critics and critics - knowing which ones to listen to is a skill in its self!
I have pre-ordered the book as its not available in the UK for a few weeks yet. I'm looking forward to reading it. In fact we are spoilt at the moment, with so many T&S projects to look forward to (Zoom call, book, TV series, album, tour hopefully to UK) - its amazing how busy you have both been recently.
I have a question. You have written recently about enjoying the stillness and peacefulness at your cabin. You have spoken about reading to get to sleep and enjoying time sitting with a coffee in the mornings. This routine doesn't match the frantic lifestyle you have previously described or fit with the amount of quality projects that you and Sara have recently completed. Are you amazingly good at managing your time? Do you go from 'all to nothing' and back again or have you cracked the secret of work/life balance?
Maybe your work is your life but at times we all need a break and other people want/need a bit of us too! (especially babies in Sara's case). Good luck with all the above projects, I'm sure they will all be critically successful! Maybe a future post (or book!) could tackle 'time management'. How to get everything done well and stay sane!
Take care both of you x
This book sounds awesome, and I'd love to read her future book on Metric!
I also agree that "folk" was a bit of a misnomer. I would consider your first few albums to be "funky beats". Then rock, then pop.
This Business of Art is my go-to driving album! Music doesn't have to be perfect to be a BOP, Melody.
I've added another book to my to read list..Tegan,Sara love you all💖💖💖💖
That was a great post! I honestly can’t wait for my copy to arrive. I have finally received the e-mail that it has been shipped. I feel like the book sits well with the critical theory genre of books which I am very fond of, especially when it comes to queer theory and the crossroads it has with art, music, and cinema.
One of the things I love about T&S music is that I find myself connecting to different songs depending on what I'm experiencing in my life. There are a few Sainthood songs that I heard as a 21 year old that didn't quite hit but listening as a 34 year old, lyrics start feeling more raw and relevant to me.
I do find that T&S music has this constant easter egg quality where there are so many lyrical and musical elements that I feel engaged as a listener even after the billionth run through. Often I will have initially related to the Tegan lyrics the most and years later find myself suddenly connecting to the Sara ones. Everything is a slown burn in the best way possible.
Hi Tegan,
That was a really cool post!
I didn’t see the announcements for the live until it had already happened (tech issues lately), so this could just be me (again tech issues) but I can’t see a video of the live on the T&S Insta page? I’m not too familiar with Instagram (even though I’m 15), so maybe it takes a day or so to upload? Anyway, hopefully looking forward to watching that and listening to the book if there’s audio available?
Jeez! Social media sucks!
Phoenix, he/they/ri/it, 15, Australia
PS: me editing- could just be my tech issues but still can’t find it?
This was a cool interview! My sister got me Melody's book for my birthday but it is coming from Canada so think it might take a while to arrive, looking forward to reading it!
Interestingly, This Business of Art is my favorite album of yours. And I like every song on it!
I often wonder, when a fan says their favorite album is one of the first ones you did, if the artist ever feels towards that fan like “Am I letting them down each album now?” In this fan’s case, no. I appreciate and love all your albums. They set a mood, they’re varied, that’s Tegan and Sara. Your second album just happens to be my favorite.
Anyway, I’ve been waiting to pick this book up. It seems really interesting. Modern heartthrobs indeed.✊🤘🫶
I bought a copy online yesterday, can’t wait for it to arrive. Yeah I never understood the folk label that was placed on to you, mainly because as you’ve both said before, I’ve never been able to put a genre on your band because every album is so different from one another. Oh anyway, loved the Q&A. It was interesting to hear Melody’s thoughts, I personally love Sainthood and This Business Of Art but I completely understand why she feels the way she does about them, and liked what she said about the view she tried to take when writing about it all. It’s a tricky balance to get right but it looks like she did it. So I’m interested to hear more from her when I read it. 🙂
Looking forward to your IG live with her tonight as well.
Edit: That livestream was so great!
Also excited about your announcement at the end of it, looking forward to next week! 😊
This was super interesting to Listen to. Super excited for the Instagram live later!
My book arrived the other day. Heading to the beach Thursday and I can't wait to dig in!
Ciao Tee,
I will definitely read the book.
I agree with the interpretation of framing your work and activities (your vision in general) in a non political but impactant framework, and personally it helped me through my path (starting from being your typical straight white guy born and raised in a non-big city) towards consciousness related to women's and LGBT right, without ever feeling pressed nor slogan-ed in a propaganda way (if it makes any sense), but just because of growth, learning and sensibility.
Whenever I speak about you I always say you don't have a music genre, I mean you wrote songs that couldn't be more different one to the other (Feel it in my bones, Living room, Time Running and All I have to give the world is me, just to name the more diverse to each other), constantly improving and remaining true to your growing-up style. Truly unique.
Have a great day! See you in two weeks and later in October!
Antonio
Thank you for reading these, Tegan. So nice to just sit and listen with a coffee in the morning instead of having my face stuck in the phone reading. Now I get to watch my guinea pigs eat breakfast. Appreciate very much that you read these for us.