Wow, a tuba would sound great here. Or a xylophone.

Click here for a big honkin’ Jeff Lynne interview in Yamaha All Access – it’s a nifty little magazine that you can read online or print to read at your leisure (even though I’d have to imagine that this sucker would eat a whole print cartridge). Great pictures – it’s like the man just doesn’t age. What a freakin’ house that guy has too! (Paid for in part, no doubt, by the gazillion copies of each one of his albums that I own; fortunately, thanks to Gapporin’s visit a few weeks ago, I think I’m down to just one copy of each album on vinyl, and I no longer own a vinyl copy of “Doin’ That Crazy Thang”…which may well be cause to rejoice.) It’s not the most insightful interview I’ve ever read with him, but hey, I’m happy to see him saying something about writing songs. You know, as opposed to, say, recycling “Mr. Blue Sky” for the highest bidder once a year. But I have to disagree with him on one front: there’ll always be room for the classic ELO sound. I think now it’s just going to be a matter of who’s delivering it – L.E.O., Jason Falkner, Roger Manning, Ben Folds, Paul Melancon, or even Jeff’s former bandmates still touring as The Orchestra. As much as I give him credit for writing incredible songs, he says it himself – the arrangements arrived at the same time as the songs when he wrote them, and they hit our ears the same way. Now, that first ELO Part II album in 1990 proved adequately that you can’t just arrange something like an ELO song and get the same effect, but it’s worth remembering that, as far as we the audience are concerned, we met song and arrangement at the same time, and loved it.

Still no baby news. And you know what? I’m not surprised. My wife is getting tired of hauling the little guy around, but I’m not even remotely surprised by his reluctance to come outta there. This is my son we’re talking about. I don’t like to get out of bed in the morning. You think any kid of mine is going to be eager to leave a nice comfy womb where he’s warm and cozy and doesn’t have to worry about a thing? Hell no. Just like his old man, the little guy’s just going to have to be prodded. Persistently. With a Nerf sledgehammer.

I think he and I will get along too fine. (And, in so doing, will probably get on his mom’s nerves a lot.)

EDIT: I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I found out about this article from the Showdown mailing list, covering all things ELO and Lynne. You can find the subscription details here.