Adam Green Goes Hollywood

After spending the past year touring, gonzo singer-songwriter Adam Green postponed dates for his fall European tour to focus on recording the follow-up to his third effort, 2005's Gemstones, due for release in March.

The former Moldy Peaches singer says he's halfway through recording his new album, after popping in and out of a New York studio throughout the summer to lay down a handful of tracks. Among them are "Hollywood Bowl," a tune about "dancing, teenage arcades and bowling," and "Novatell," inspired by a day hanging out with another sardonic singer-songwriter.

"When I was nineteen, Beck tried to take me into the [Scientology] Celebrity Centre," says Green. "I met a bunch of people, but I decided that it wasn't for me. I don't think I could get any kind of religion -- I never felt like I belonged to any kind of group other than my family."

While artists often boast of having dozens of songs to choose from before hitting the studio, Green prefers to take his time on each track. "The truth is, I don't really write that many songs," he says. "For Gemstones, I wrote about seventeen, and only two didn't make it. I wouldn't put all that time into writing a song if I didn't think it was going somewhere."

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Song Stories

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."

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