Jim White

Are there any words you love or hate?

Just in terms of words in the English language? Well everything is contextualized so I don’t know. I really disliked the word “dude” for a long time, but then I started liking it because I realized it was a complete language into itself – a one word language. It started making me laugh at that point. People would call me “dude” and I’d get mad, but now I just find it funny. I realized what they’re really saying is 60,000 things they’re unable to articulate. It’s like speaking in tongues in shorthand. “Dude. Dude? Dude.”

When I was a cab driver in New York, I had these two pimps in the back of the car and they were just chattering at each other. I guess I put one of the words in the song “Infinite Minds”. One of them said, “you so high and mighty! When you gon’ get off your pedestal?” And “pedestal” made me laugh and laugh for years. The other one said “Mmm, mmm, I love the English language. It feels good to speak it!” So I guess, in honor of those two pimps who were so funny, I’d have to say my favorite word is “pedestal”.

Have you had much experience with musical synchronicity?

Well god, I could take that a million ways. I’ve played songs before where I was recording them and someone opened the door and the door opening was in time, if that’s what you mean. Or a car honked its horn and the horn was in the right key. I’ve had things like that happen. Is that what you mean?

Or an experience where music seems to be commenting on something you’re doing?

I wrote all these songs on this record and many of them are about life falling apart. My ex is somewhat like the character in the way of love. She apparently got saved when she was 38 years old. There was some prefiguring of what was to come for me. When I was not a professional musician – when it was just a hobby – sometimes I’d sit late at night and play guitar and sing songs while I watched TV. One night I was doing that watching David Letterman. He was talking and all of the sudden, I imagined myself in his chair playing my guitar and thought, “Well, that was certainly a ridiculous idea,” and 13 years later, I was sitting in his chair. So yeah, there’s a fair amount of that that happens in my life.

I have little portals that open up to dip into the future. I wrote a song called “Objects in Motion” about a guy walking by a river, who sees a suitcase floating by. And wonders whose it is and he pulls it in and it’s full of love letters. It’s from a young woman writing to a man, and he wonders what happened to the young woman. Then, a few minutes later, the woman’s body floats by. She has thrown herself off a bridge and killed herself. The day that I sang that for the first time, I was in Scotland and they wanted me to do a show on a riverboat in Glasgow. About three hours before I was supposed to play the show, the police discovered the body of a young woman floating in the river, not more than 100 yards from where I sang the song a few hours later, not knowing. I saw on the news the next morning that they had found her body. There I was singing a song about a woman floating in the river… So things like that happen a lot. Well, I won’t say a lot, but they happen from time to time. I don’t necessarily welcome them. It’s not always pleasant. It just reminds you that there’s more in the world than what meets the eye.

Who’s an underrated songwriter, in your opinion?

I did some shows with Sam Baker. Do you know Sam? He’s the most underrated songwriter in America. He’s out of Austin and released his first record when he was 47, I think, and just writes heartbreakingly beautiful songs about life in the South. They’re better than any songs I’ve ever heard. I think he’s as good as John Prine or anybody. And he works with a guy, Tim Curtis – I think is his name, in Nashville , who does a lot of his arranging. Sam apparently just sends him his guitar and vocal tracks and Tim does the rest. He does an amazing job. I’ve done a couple shows with Sam and have an immense amount of respect for him. He’s like – like I’ve got this weird background history, you know – and his is like mine on steroids. He worked construction most of his adult life. He was like a cowboy and got blown up in a terrorist attack in Chile. I mean really crazy interesting things happen to him. He’s a painter. But the songs just tear you to pieces. I’ve never had anybody to just tearing me to pieces the way he does. Cotton is a great album. He has three records out. He’s kind of manic and is one of those artists who are really compelled to create art. Like, he just has to do it. It’s really beautiful.

What’s a song you wish you had written?

I don’t know, there are so many beautiful songs. I guess any song by John Prine. I just think he’s a wizard. I don’t pay a lot of attention to song titles or anything. “Angel From Montgomery” comes to mind. That’s a beautiful song. Anything with Bonnie Raitt. The Bonnie Raitt song “I Can’t Make You Love Me” is a beautiful song. Those are sad songs. I’ll think of happy songs too. I’ll see if I can think of a good Smash Mouth song. Ask me that on the five-year followup.