Huey Lewis sips White Claw, talks Sports and American Psycho in sprawling Ezra Koenig interview
Aux Features Huey Lewis & The News
Today, it’s hip to be a person who listens to Time Crisis With Ezra Koenig, the Vampire Weekend frontman’s internet radio show (available on Apple Music). That’s because this weekend’s episode of the show included an hour-long chat with Huey Lewis, th-th-th-th-th-th-the heart of Huey Lewis And The News. A lot of it is surprising, making for an interview that’s a lot of fun—almost as fun as “I Want A New Drug”—but Lewis also talks about his hearing loss, which fluctuates but prevents him from being able to sing.
It’s not all weighty, though! Lewis tries White Claw for the first time (he’s into it!) and talks shit about Budweiser. He talks about growing up with a mom who would experiment with psychedelics and hang out with Charles Mingus. He reminisces about playing soccer with Ozzy Osbourne; getting insanely high and playing harmonica around the world after high school; why Luther Vandross loved “Hip To Be Square”; having a member of the Grateful Dead as his landlord; and the list goes on.
He also talks about American Psycho.
This chunk of the interview kicks off at the 72-minute mark. Lewis, essentially fact-checking the fictional Patrick Bateman, clarifies that he wasn’t really compared to Elvis Costello all that often—a friend who he describes as “sweet as pie”—then digs into the writing process for “Hip To Be Square,” which was originally penned in the third person. “Unfortunately, some people took it as an anthem for square people… It was not meant that way at all. It was actually a poorly told joke, is the truth.”
Lewis goes on to metaphorically shake his fist, saying that edibles and vape pens have spoiled the youths of today: “Kids can’t even roll a joint.”
In short, it’s great interview. The band’s first album of new originals in 20 years will be released next year; a single, “Her Love Is Killin’ Me,” is out now.
17 Comments
If I like Huey Lewis but dislike Vampire Weekend is this still worth listening to?
He can’t sing anymore, but he’s got a beautiful, melodic speaking voice. It’s pretty relaxing to kick back and listen to, while drinking an iced tea.
I haven’t listened to it but I’m willing to guess Koenig plays very little vampire weekend during his interview of Huey Lewis.
EVERYONE COME LOOK, THIS GUY DOESN’T LIKE VAMPIRE WEEKEND
Okay, I’ve got a question for the class: Does White Claw have some kind of horrible digestive effect? I have a close friend who drinks that shit every day (he seems to think that it’s some kind of ‘healthy option’ or some nonsense) and everytime we go to the theater now, he frequently belches these awful, sickening burps of rotten sweetness that are seriously starting to gross me out (and just worry me, in general). Is this like a thing or is he just broken?
No…that’s just your friend’s gross stomach. The deal with the hard seltzers healthiness is that they are super low calorie with no sugar (or sugars) which makes them a lot ‘better’ for you than beer. Still slammking three before you go see a movie is a sure way to get to burpville
Damn. Yeah, it definitely seems like something that’s not supposed to happen. I wonder if it’s related to an aggressively excessive consumption of ADD meds. Oof. This guy. His body is a laboratory.
“He talks about growing up with a mom who would experiment with psychedelics and hang out with Charles Mingus.”If this were me I’d probably write Hip To Be Square too, just to rebel.
The bit about Huey Lewis in “American Psycho” was a brilliant and sadly all too spot on parody of what passed for music criticism in the eighties.
People pay a lot of attention to the dancing and moonwalking in that scene, but possibly my favourite little bit is that sudden, sharp turn before he walks out of the room to get his axe and raincoat. I’m not sure what about it amuses me so much, but it does.
My favourite is the micro expression on his face the moment after Paul Allen says Huey Lewis and the News are “Okay”.
Does he respond to ‘Futurama’s claim that everything in Fry’s basement held up pretty well after a thousand years except for “Sports”?
is this podcast/interview available anywhere else?
Probably on youtube mirrored with the sound a little unsynced? Just a guess.
it’ll be here soon, I’d imagine
https://timecrisis-withezrakoenig.tumblr.com/
It’s a very nebulous term, but I can’t think of a better way to put it this late at night: Huey seems like one of The Good Guys in music.
Does he talk about urinating onscreen in Short Cuts?