Ballad and the Geek
hillary ford interviews jonathan coulton
A mainstream musician might have qualms about writing a pop/rock romantic ballad for a pining computer programmer (“Code Monkey”) or a Christmas song set in a dystopian robot-controlled future (“Chiron Beta Prime”). Fortunately, Jonathan Coulton isn’t a mainstream musician, and his growing fan base isn’t looking for mainstream music. A former computer programmer, Coulton’s music career is based on free Internet downloads and Creative Commons, which allows other artists to use his work. As a result, the singer has been featured in games World of Warcraft and Portal, on the Daily Show, and on its correspondent John Hodgman’s spin-off The Areas of My Expertise. A cult sensation, Coulton has expanded his public presence through “free music” enough that, on tour, he makes more now than he did as a programmer. Hillary Ford probed the mind of the mad genius. This is what she uncovered.
Do you consider yourself a geek who writes songs, or a songwriter who is interested in computers and science fiction/fantasy? Or are the categories less black-and-white than the way many people see them?
That’s a hard choice to make because I think they’re both true—I’m not as well-versed in the entire geek canon as many people expect me to be, but I certainly identify as a member of that cultural group. But in terms of what motivates me creatively, it starts with being a songwriter. I write about geeky things when they come to me, but it’s not all I do. And it’s not something I consciously consider. For the most part it doesn’t feel like what I write about is my decision—I sort of have to take whatever comes to me, and often that’s something kind of geeky.
How has the Internet affected your popularity? Do you think you could be where you are without it?
There’s no way I’d be where I am without the Internet, mostly because I’ve always been too lazy to build a musical career in the traditional way. It’s just so much work! I make no secret of the fact that my plan was to put music online and let the Internet do the work for me, and I continue to be surprised and grateful that it does actually seem to work that way. There are so many things about it that are great for creative people—you don’t need a massive audience anymore because creating, distributing, and marketing has become so incredibly cheap. You don’t need to figure out who your audience is, because they will find you. And once you do have an audience, you can have a direct conversation with them through e-mail and blogging and message boards. There’s never been a better time to be an artist.
Do you usually think of lyrics and then write music to go with them, or does the music come first? How often are they linked?
They come together usually—it all starts with a little snippet of something, usually a phrase with a melody and some lyrics. And then I build from there a piece at a time, figure out what the chords might be, lay some words on top, write more chords, etc.
Was it ever hard to come up with songs for the Thing A Week series, or was it easier when you always had a deadline?
I wouldn’t describe it as easy, really ever. There was certainly a lot more output when I had a deadline, but it was always pretty hard, sometimes real torture. I often had to post something I didn’t like very much, because it was the only thing I had been able to come up with. And every week started with a feeling of certainty that this was going to be the week I ran out of ideas completely. I eventually learned to ignore that feeling, and while it didn’t make it any less real, it did make it possible for me to put that in a little box inside my head and forget about it while I got to work.
You say you’re “engaged in an experiment to see whether or not it’s possible to make a living as an independent musician.” Would you forsake this experiment if a major record label approached you with a tempting offer (or maybe an offer that you couldn’t refuse)?
The issue at this point is that I am making a living the way things are—I’m not getting rich, but I’m not starving either. For a label to come along and start taking a percentage of this thing that I’ve built myself, I’d have to be convinced that they’d be able to make it worth my while in some way. What it comes down to is that I don’t really feel like I need a label at this point, because I’m already doing what I set out to do. But I’m not opposed to it on principle or anything.
Building off of the last question, would you ever consider reneging on your current “free music” stance?
Sure, if I thought it wasn’t working. I don’t give away music because I’m nice, I actually believe it helps me to have the music circulating out there. My experience has been that fans are always willing to support artists they love, whether the music is free or not. And because I’m just a one man operation, it costs me very little to record and perform, so the number of paying fans doesn’t need to be huge in order to support me. Though when you think about it, music is pretty free anyway if you really want it, whether or not it’s been given away by the artist. It’s a little foolish to think we can get that genie back in the bottle.
Looking back, how did the Thing a Week project help you as an artist, both personally and within the music community?
It was hugely successful in growing my audience—I had a couple of hits over the course of that year that brought lots of new listeners. Before I started it I wasn’t making a living this way, and by the time I finished it I was. Now I’m able to travel, play shows in front of large audiences around the country, which is pretty amazing. And from a personal standpoint, it helped me a great deal with my song-writing skills. I learned to trust myself, I learned that I can actually make things happen rather than waiting for inspiration.
Many of your songs have become extremely popular in the geek community. How do you feel about having the story of, for example, Skullcrusher Mountain (in which a mad scientist falls for his captive) re-enacted through dance at geek conventions?
I’m thrilled about that kind of stuff—there’s no better validation for me than to hear that someone cares enough about one of my songs to actually create something new out of it. Because I’m a fan as well, and I know what that means when you love a song so much that it makes you want to draw pictures and write plays and do interpretive dances.
Who are your greatest musical influences?
I grew up on a diet of Beatles, Billy Joel, Simon and Garfunkel, and Dan Fogelberg, branching out into Pink Floyd, XTC, Loudon Wainwright, and Steely Dan when I got a little older. Nowadays I love anything that’s vocal heavy, singable, and hooky. I steal from They Might Be Giants constantly and proudly.
What current artists do you like? Is there any one artist today who you think should get more recognition?
I’ve been really into this album by Tally Hall recently. I also have a big old soft spot for a band called Spiraling. Neither of them has really exploded yet, and it’s one of those things where I can’t figure out how that could possibly be, because I think they’re both awesome.
One of your most popular songs, “Re: Your Brains,” is a play on the man-eat-man world of the corporate world in which the protagonist’s boss has become an actual zombie. I have to ask—what is your zombie apocalypse plan?
1. Head north.
2. Shoot them in the head.