It has been a huge year for Montreal’s Think About Life. Their latest record, Family, which came out in March, seemed to be a departure from the band’s low-fi fuzz in favour of pure disco dance-party sheen. The band’s lead singer, Martin Cesar, agreed to answer 20 questions for The Varsity about life, criticism, and high school crushes.
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The Varsity: How have things been since the album came out?
Martin Cesar: Oh my God…[you mean] the amount of support, especially from the press side? I thought the press was just going to eat up our album and spit it out, and that nothing good would come out of that. On that side, it’s been very good.
TV: I remember reading a blog post by you predicting you would get a 2.1 on Pitchfork.
MC: Still waiting for it.
TV: What has surprised you about the media response?
MC: I don’t know, it’s just how the press seems to understand what we’re doing. I always thought that journalists didn’t get us at all. For that to change was completely surprising.
TV: I guess that Polaris Prize long-list spot was a big part of that as well.
MC: I guess. I’d just like to thank all of the journalists for help with that. I remember one guy at the CBC who said he was totally going to vote for us, and he’s someone I grew up with. For that guy to say that, I was totally blown away.
TV: Are you ready for your 20 questions?
MC: Yeah, sure!
TV: What was the first record you bought as a kid?
MC: First record was Beck’s Loser.
TV: Do you still listen to it today?
MC: Once in a while, it’s very nostalgic for me.
TV: What’s the record you’re listening to the most right now?
MC: I’m not much of a record person, I don’t like whole records. But I’ve been listening to a lot of Pavement’s first album.
TV: So you wouldn’t mind if a fan said “I like you guys, but I’ve only heard a couple of songs?”
MC: No, I don’t mind at all.
TV: What was your favourite record as a kid (we’re talking 10 to 12 here)?
MC: Oh my! I’d say the Smashing Pumpkins album, the one with “1979”…Mellon Collie [and the Infinite Sadness]?
TV: I think that’s right. Now, let’s get into the hard journalism here. David Bowie or Bob Dylan?
MC: Bowie.
TV: Does that have anything to do with Bob Dylan’s Christmas album? Did that influence your decision at all?
MC: Ha! Yeah, that totally changed my mind.
TV: Who was your celebrity crush in high school?
MC: Oh man…I would hesitantly say Anna Nicole Smith.
TV: I guess that’s era appropriate.
MC: Sheesh.
TV: How much do you think about your music videos?
MC: None. None whatsoever.
TV: You just make them and then they’re out of your life?
MC: They’re gone for good.
TV: What does your family think of your music?
MC: For this album, my mom actually told me “Hey, you’re doing a good job!” That’s good news to me. And my brother also did a little critique comparing this album and the first album – he wrote it up. He had a lot of good things to say. And my other brother always says, “I think your album will work better in Europe.” And I guess that’s a good thing.
TV: What’s the worst interview question you’ve ever been asked?
MC: Oh Jesus Christ…the question was “So, what type of image do you guys want to present?”
TV: How do you get out of that one, exactly?
MC: Graham [Van Pelt, fellow band member, who is also in Miracle Fortress] got really mad at the interviewer. I’m a Libra, so I’m a peacemaker. So I just stood there. I guess I was trying to make them make out or something.
TV: How seriously do you take astrology?
MC: Pretty seriously. It’s strange. I grew up in a household where my mom made me look up my astrology reading every day in the morning.
TV: Do you think astrology seriously affected your relationships with other people?
MC: Completely. The last girl I went out with was a Virgo, and let me tell you buddy—uh-uh. Virgos and Libras, not a good thing.
TV: What’s a work of art that really moved you recently?
MC: Oh, Taxi. The television show. That’s a work of art, right there.
TV: What would you say is your guilty pleasure song?
MC: “I’m Not in Love” by 10cc.
TV: Beyoncé: yay or nay?
MC: I’ll say nay, because I read that in her videos, she has implants augmenting her general curvaciousness.
TV: Is that a real thing? Could I get in trouble for publishing that?
MC: You could blog this. Google it. That’s what I’ve heard!
TV: I guess I will have to.
MC: Yes you will!
