Ende der Achtziger, Anfang der Neunziger. Chris am Mikrofon. Cicely. Ein Rentier auf der Strasse. Seine Radiostation am Ende der Welt. Ed schaut vorbei. Und ich auch, ein kleiner Gastauftritt. Chris wollte mal ein richtiges Interview machen. Meinen zweiten Auftritt bei „Chris in the Morning“ hatte ich in der vorletzten Staffel, da redeten wir darüber, was wir an manchen Büchern von Richard Brautigan so lieben, und zudem las ich noch Richards kurze Kurzgeschichte „Pazifisches Radiofeuer“, was ich eine kleine Ewigkeit später nochmal machte, beim Punktfestival in Kristiansand.
Chris: What are your favourite Jackson Browne records?
Michael: Late For The Sky and Running On Empty.
Chris: When did you listen to them recently?
Michael: Not recently. I think maybe 10 years ago.
Chris: What happened?
Michael: Nothing. Time. But I really love them.
Chris: What is so great about them?
Michael: One is about being late for the sky. If you are in misery, Late For The Sky calms you down, kind of. Makes misery sound uplifting. Like slow-motion surfing on a long wave. Jackson Browne loves surfing, by the way.
Chris: And the other one? Running On Empty …
Michael: That one crosses different scenarios, spaces, atmospheres. It is deeper than most road sagas partly because Browne had the brilliant notion of recording on the fly … It also works because he tapped the culture’s circa-1977 sense that it was running on empty, feeling like a trashed Holiday Inn room. Empty is about something larger than the misery of room service.
Chris: What is the greatest American blues rock album ever?
Michael: The Allman Brothers Band Live At Fillmore East.