Frank Black is Back

With just about everyone in the rock biz fixated -- as ever -- on the next bigthing, Frank Black's "small is beautiful" attitude is pretty darn refreshing.By "small," we're not implying that the round mound of noisy sound has begunmarketing some sort of post-punk diet plan; he has, however, retreated fromthe major label ranks in order to focus his energy on music, rather thanmarketing.

"It's gotten so that everyone is only interested in the home run, and not inthe guy who can guarantee that he'll get on base," says Black, whose newcombo, the Catholics, will release their first full-length on the SpinArtlabel early next month. "But I'm not really complaining: With the Pixies, wehad our little party, we had street cred and we sold some T-shirts."

These days, Black says he's not quite as interested in the ephemera thatsurrounds making records, preferring to concentrate on renovating his L.A.home -- he proudly notes that he took down his own mailbox column (on purpose)-- and studying up on the shadowy world of the Masons, since, as he puts it,"they're behind everything."

"I realized this was a business the first time a club owner gave me $50 forplaying a show, but it's just gotten way too lame these past couple years," hesays. "I'm never gonna play another one of those f---in' radio station showsagain, for one thing. I don't feel like I have to dance like a court jester inorder to curry favor with someone who doesn't know anything about music."

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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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