June 24, 2010
Publication title: Parade, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Tim Hayne
Sarah McLachlan: ‘We Need People to Push the Envelope’
Lilith Fair is back! After an 11-year hiatus, the festival that celebrates women and music is hitting the road again this summer, with its creator, Sarah McLachlan, along for the ride.
The Grammy-winning mother of two spoke to Parade.com about breathing new life into Lilith Fair, her new album, the public’s unfair scrutiny of Miley Cyrus and why she applauds the outrageous Lady Gaga.
Reviving Lilith Fair.
“My partners and I just felt like it was time. We could give it the energy we wanted to bring it back, because it was a huge undertaking. I also had a new record that I wanted to get finished and I figured I was only going to tour in the summer and wouldn’t it be great if it were Lilith. Because, well, it just seemed like the perfect thing to do. It was good for me because it put a fire under my butt to actually send in my record on time.”
What’s new about Lilith Fair this time around.
“Not only do we have all the great artists from last time, a lot of them coming back, but we have a wealth of new artists as well as a whole new generation of music out there. I mean, I really feel like we got to mine the greatest parts of Lilith from last time and a lot of genres have really opened up in the past 10 years. And we’ve got a lot more, like Metric and Tegan and Sara, a lot more sort of young, hip, a little harder-edged music being made by women, which is cool.”
And 17-year-old Selena Gomez is on the roster, which means fun for the tweens.
“I’m pretty sure she’s the youngest. [My daughter] is pretty excited about that. She was hoping for Miley [Cyrus], too. But I couldn’t swing that this time.”
What she thinks about Miley Cyrus’ very public shift to adulthood.
“She’s 17. Imagine if you had a camera following you around. Do you remember what you were doing when you were 17? In a way, I feel really bad for her. She can’t just be a stupid teenager, because everything she does is so scrutinized. She’s 17! And she’s probably thinking, ‘Screw you all!’ She’s been a good girl for so long and she’s rebelling now.”
From pigtails to pole dancing, see photos of Miley Cyrus through the years
Why Miley will make it through the controversy.
“You know what, she’s got a lot of talent. So, there’s going to be some pissed off people and some upset kids, and probably some even more upset parents. But it’s kind of a natural progression that she does this. I’m sure she’s a good kid at heart. She certainly seems like she’s got, for the most part, some really good sense and really good parents. I don’t know her personally and I’m not one to judge. Really, ultimately, I feel bad that she has to grow up in the spotlight the way she is, that she can’t just go off and do some stupid things and no one would know about it. Now everybody knows about it.”
Giving credit to artists like Lady Gaga, who use outrageousness to help sell records.
“In a way, I applaud them. I find it very entertaining to watch. Is Madonna a great singer? No. Is Madonna a marginally OK singer? Yes. But she’s a great showperson. It’s about a whole bunch of things. Both Ke$ha and Lady Gaga, they write their own stuff and they’re quite talented. They have talent behind them. So yes, they’re using all sorts of different means to promote themselves. But I say more power to them. What a boring world we’d live in if we all just stayed in our nice little boxes and all did what we were supposedly supposed to do. We need people like that to push the envelope. That’s part of what entertainment value is all about.”
The connection between music and charity.
“As a human being, as an artist, I feel like it’s my responsibility to give back whatever it is I can. It just feels right to do and I’ve always had that attitude. Back in 1997, we had to get corporate sponsors involved, and I was quite against it at first; I wanted it to be very grassroots. And my managers explained to me, ‘Well, that’s nice, honey. Do you want to put up a million dollars yourself to get this thing going?’ In recognizing that we needed corporate sponsors, we thought, ‘Okay, what’s a way that’s going to make this work for me to feel good about it? Well, let’s make them match our dollars to charity.'”
See the top 30 most-charitable celebs (and the millions they give)
Hopefully, the charity will continue – even if the music stops.
“We also have an ethical fund [the Lilith i4c Campaign] that we started. One of the problems was that when Lilith ended, so did the giving. With the ethical fund, every cent that we make goes back to charity, so it’s going to continue and hopefully grow, whether Lilith continues or not.”
Will we see a Lilith Fair in 2011?
“I certainly hope so. We’re already talking about it.”
About that very memorable ASPCA ad…
“I never had any idea that it was going to be as successful as it was. I think they said they raised something like $30 million from that campaign. I mean, I can’t even watch the ad; it’s too brutal. I’ve lent that song on so many occasions to so many charities and that was the one that had the big impact and the big profile. I’ve never used it for profit, but I’ve given it away plenty.”
Who she’s (not?) listening to.
“It’s so funny because I haven’t been listening to music in so long, that’s one of the reasons I’m excited about Lilith. I’ve had my head so deep in my own record that I haven’t listened to a thing. I’m really excited about seeing Loretta Lynn; I’ve never seen her perform. I’m excited about Metric. I’m excited about Colbie Callait; I think she’s really sweet. Mary J. Blige, I’ve never heard her play, either; I know she’s really fabulous. I’m just so excited about getting immersed in the music, and it’s not mine. Getting out of my own head and into some other people’s music is going to be really refreshing.
“The one thing that I’ve heard lately that I really love is Bon Iver. Fantastic.”
Releasing “Laws of Illusion,” her first album of new songs in 7 years.
“It felt like time. I felt like I had something to say. I had a bunch of songs that came quickly and easily. Obviously, Lilith was coming up and I really wanted to try and get a record done for that so I could have some new material to play and have something to talk about. And it’s nice to have a bit of a deadline too – sometimes I need that to be a little more motivated. But really, it felt like time for me. I had a lot of musical ideas and I was excited to get back into the studio to record them.”
Letting the music speak for itself.
“I don’t analyze my music. I work instinctively. When it feels right, sounds right, I let it go. I don’t really question it. I guess for this record I feel like it’s a little rawer and a little more emotionally forward than some of my other ones. They’re all emotional, but this one, we recorded it quite quickly, live off the floor. There’s a real sort of a raw, slightly more aggressive energy to it that I really love. I’m pleased that that’s stamped on the record a little bit.”
Musical talent runs in the family.
“They [daughters India Ann Sushil, 8, and Taja Summer, 3] are both very musically inclined. It’s more sort of free-form singing right now. My older one was in piano lessons for a while, but she’s not much of a joiner. She’s not one to be put into a box. She’s extremely independently minded and just wants to do her own thing. The little one definitely has really good pitch. At a year old, she was singing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.'”
Following in the family business.
“I’d encourage [my daughters] to do whatever they want that makes them happy. There are two schools of thought: forcing them to take music lessons or letting them do what they want. I’m going to let them try everything and see what happens. What my oldest one loves to do right now more than anything is swim, so I’m just letting her do that as much as I can.”
