91Èȱ¬

I see that are to ask the audience about their new LP. Not ask as in 'So , what did you think of it ?' but more like 'Which song should we include, this one ..... or this one?' Like asking advice on what tie to wear in the morning. They're using focus groups to also decide on such matters as the colour of their plastic flower pot hats, what colour uniforms they should wear on stage, and the instrumentation on their records. In order of importance, obviously.
Devo, who brought us such toe tappers as "Jocko Homo" and "Mongoloid" were first in the street to portray their band as a corporate entity, going as far as recording the 'Devo Corporate Anthem'. So the focus groups are an extension of the joke. But it does raise the prospect of a band trying to judge what the audience wants. Such a ridiculous notion.
Come back and tell us when it's finished, then we'll tell you if it's any good. You're supposed to know.
Of course, no band knows if what they're doing is any good. You kind of hope it is, while you're in the process of writing the songs, playing them before a microphone, and being really careful about mixing them down into something resembling a real record. Then hope that the response from whoever hears it isn't so bad that it causes you to cry and run home.
One of the cliches of band interviews, especially those bands who don't realise that they're cliches, is the statement 'We just do what we like to do, and hope that other people like it'. A cliche, but , for once, an admirable one. If they don't like it, they can start their own band.