On the newsstands now, you’ll find Melissa Etheridge gracing DV’s front page. This was to get you in the mood for her show tonight at McFarlin Auditorium at SMU. She spoke about her newest album Fearless Love and her current tour with contributing writer Gregg Shapiro for the majority of our published interview, but she also gave me 10 minutes to chat about other stuff last week. We talked about the tour and how the media has handled her with her personal life being aired for all to see. But she was also game for some word association and I was able to get her thoughts on a random list of topics. With two minutes left to go, I was surprised and definitely grateful, how much she gave me in such short time. Read our session below.
Again, Etheridge performs tonight at McFarlin Auditorium, 6405 Boaz Lane, on the SMU campus at 8 p.m. $55–$100. Ticketmaster.com. The clip above is from her show on July 22 performing “Indiana” from Fearless Love. Consider it a preview of her show tonight.
Here are Etheridge’s word-association responses:
Twitter — “I find the whole Internet fascinating. It’s both good and bad. I think it’s great that we as a people are finding ways to communicate with each other and connect with each other without having to do it on our own. The Internet is a conduit. Now, I don’t want to sit around and find out if people have eaten their toast. I think it’s a cool way to reach out for young folks. But I don’t do it.”
Lady Gaga — “She’s a very talented gal. My impression is that she’s very smart really understands the music business. She’s been able to create this image and make a splash. I wish her the best of luck in this weird pop culture world out there.”
The comeback of vinyl — “I’ve been listening to some lately. If you’re real deep music listener, there is a sound you don’t get from digital. We’re researching this album to see if we should release it on vinyl.”
Mel Gibson — “I don’t judge people and I don’t like to gossip. I believe everyone has a journey and path and I believe what you put out comes back to you. I think we’re witnessing that right now with him.”
Dallas — “I love Dallas! I have such a connection with there. I find Texas to be very gay. Yummy gay! There is a a strong out community there. I really enjoy it there.”