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Ben Harper @ Virgin Festival, Baltimore, August 2007 – click to rate this photo

Long before my job was interviewing bands and artists, I always came from the school of thought that if I really liked someone’s music and then met them only to realize I didn’t quite dig them as a person or couldn’t seem to connect with them at all…it had an effect on how that same music hit my ears after the encounter.

Conversely, I can sit through an entire set and listen to a full album of music I don’t totally dig if it’s from a person who I consider a good human being or that I have some sort of connection with. It might seem stupid, but it’s always how I’ve worked.

Today however, I interviewed Ben Harper, who I’ve been listening to for 10 years and rank him high on my list of favourite songwriters. Without a doubt one of the coolest dudes I have ever met and if it’s possible, I’m a bigger fan now than I have ever been.

His new album comes out August 28 – it’s called Lifeline. One of the perks of my job is advance copies…it is a brilliant collection of songs. Mark the date on your calendar and buy it!

Watch for that interview on the Loop Weekend in the coming weeks, and THIS weekend check out interviews with Tegan and Sara, Two Hours Traffic and…Hanson, yes Hanson. I’m still listening to their new album, and I don’t need Bono to tell me they are great songwriters, all I had to do was listen. Furthermore, since they were such nice dudes…I am happy to keep listening.

And yes, it is possible to listen to Bad Brains, Slayer…and Hanson – I have just proven it.

MMMMMMBop.
=mw

Photograph Courtesy Getty Images

Posted on Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 at 5:54 pm by Matt Wells and is filed under Music & Videos.

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