Shannon & the Clams Made a Playlist You’ll Want to Send to Your Lover

 

This is SOUND ADVICE, a weekly destination for playlists curated by Interview’s friends, enemies, and lovers. Over the past few weeks, we’ve gathered playlists from Tom Krell, Dasha, and Thugpop. This week’s guest is Shannon & the Clams, an Oakland-based garage punk band composed of frontwoman Shannon Shaw and her bandmates Cody Blanchard, Will Sprott, and Nate Mahan. Here to celebrate their newest album, The Moon is in the Wrong Place, out earlier this month, the quartet’s got the “big cosmic stuff” for your “big cosmic feelings.” A surrealist elegy dedicated to the loss of Shaw’s fiancée, the quartet’s psychedelic exploration of grief wades through the galaxies in search of a lost love, ultimately sending us a flare from the other side. On the road for their North American headlining tour, Shannon & the Clams put together a playlist to send to your lover—and tipped us on their style icons (not excluding Minnie Mouse, mechanics, and boatmen).

———

SHANNON SHAW

Where do you dance? I love to dance while I’m getting ready, and then on the dance floor.

Who’s the queen of pop? Ronnie Spector RIP.

Who are your style icons? Minnie Mouse, Liberace (I’m working on it!), Divine, Sandy from Grease.

Bluetooth or wired headphones? I use Bluetooth but it’s often a bad choice!

One of your tracks is titled “UFO.” What will you do when the aliens come? I’ll hide for awhile and see how they adjust. Then, when they seem friendly, I’ll befriend them and show them how to trampoline, zipline and rollercoaster.

What song do you wish you wrote? “Little Man,” Sonny and Cher.

Go-to post-show meal? Kale salad with steak or sushi.

Tell us some of the inspirations for the visuals in “The Moon is in the Wrong Place.” Fucked up time pieces. Dalís clock melting, hourglass with weird stuff inside instead of sand, the moon and stars, clouds, green beans, crops bees.

Mercury is in retrograde. How are you feeling? This time it really affected my communication! And my clothes were failing lol.

Who’s in your musical coven? Roger Miller, Yma Sumac, Lou Christie, Etta James, Ronnie Spector, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynn, Peter Bibby, Alice Cooper, Jarvis Cocker.

What song on this playlist makes you feel free? “Big White Cloud” by John Cale.

What song on this playlist makes you cry? “I’m Set Free,” Velvet Underground.

Favorite album artwork of all time? The Troggs, From Nowhere.

What’s your guilty pleasure? Phantom of the Opera soundtrack. TRY ME.

Who do you trust most with the Aux cord? ME.

Sunglasses inside: yes or no? Absolutely not, UNLESS you’re Jeff Lynne or Roy Orbison.

———

NATE MAHAN

Where do you dance? Anywhere I want, dirt, wood or tile.

Who’s the queen of pop? Dolly Parton.

Who are your style icons? Mechanics, boatmen, farmers and freeloaders.

Bluetooth or wired headphones? Wired.

One of your tracks is titled “UFO.” What will you do when the aliens come? Ask them if we went to the moon.

What song do you wish you wrote? “Life can be so sweet.” Seth Gibbs RIP TX legend.

Go-to post-show meal? Whatever’s open…

Tell us some of the inspirations for the visuals in “The Moon is in the Wrong Place.” Shannon’s had so many themes throughout her lyrics, I felt like it was fairly easy, she’s a very talented visual artist and when she works with other extremely talented folks, magic can happen.

Mercury is in retrograde. How are you feeling? Pretty strange the sky just rotates around our heads every night, unspeakable energy, our own preconceptions or a mix of the two? I really don’t know, but I love the mystery.

Who’s in your musical coven? Besides the band? I’d take James Jamerson, Al Jackson Jr, Steve Cropper, Roger Miller, Gene Chrisman, Tommy Tedesco, Carol Kaye.

What song on this playlist makes you feel free? “Garbagedump #1” by Dick Stusso.

What song on this playlist makes you cry? “All I Want Is You” by Marmalade Mountain.

Favorite album artwork of all time? Black Flag’s Nervous Breakdown.

What’s your guilty pleasure? Popular music.

Who do you trust most with the Aux cord? Shannon.

Sunglasses inside: yes or no? No glasses just hats for me, so as you please.

———

CODY BLANCHARD

Where do you dance? In my living room with my five-year-old. Or while brushing my teeth to embarrass my wife.

Who’s the queen of pop? Kate Bush.

Who are your style icons? Fred Rogers, Grace Jones, Bowie.

Bluetooth or wired headphones? Fuck bluetooth, jack me in hardstyle.

One of your tracks is titled “UFO.” What will you do when the aliens come? When will they come? They’ve been here. Even longer than we have.

What song do you wish you wrote? “Genius of Love” – Tom Tom Club (or maybe “Ça Plane Pour Moi” by Plastique Bertrand)

Go-to post-show meal? Same as my pre-show meal – one raw banana.

Tell us some of the inspirations for the visuals in “The Moon is in the Wrong Place.” Fantastic Planet, A Trip to the Moon, Star Trek TOS, Wizard of Oz, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.

Mercury is in retrograde. How are you feeling? Shitty and confused.

Who’s in your musical coven? Bolan, Bowie, Brian (Eno), Beegees.

What song on this playlist makes you feel free? “Up the Ladder to the Roof” by The Supremes.

What song on this playlist makes you cry? “Society’s Child” by Janis Ian.

Favorite album artwork of all time? Satan is Real – Louvin Brothers.

What’s your guilty pleasure? Puddings (any kind).

Who do you trust most with the Aux cord? My five-year-old child.

Sunglasses inside: yes or no? No, that’s for poseurs.

———

WILL SPROTT

Where do you dance? In da club. In my living room.

Who’s the queen of pop? Jimbo, from Rupaul’s Drag Race: All Stars, Season 8.

Who are your style icons? George Harrison, Aloysius Snuffleupagus.

Bluetooth or wired headphones? I’m gonna say Bluetooth because I usually wear headphones on planes & I like to be able to get up & walk around without a bunch of wires getting caught on armrests & brushing across my neighbors.

One of your tracks is titled “UFO.” What will you do when the aliens come? Ask to hear their music.

What song do you wish you wrote? “Don’t Let me be Misunderstood.”

Go-to post-show meal? Most often PB & J, but I try not to eat at that hour.

Tell us some of the inspirations for the visuals in “The Moon is in the Wrong Place.” A lot of melting clocks, inspired by a photo booth our friend Lauren Corden built for a series of New Year’s Eve shows in San Francisco we did just before writing & recording the album. They resonated with how weird & irrational the flow of time felt & feels. Lots of outer space images. Big cosmic stuff resonates when you’re feeling big cosmic feelings.

Mercury is in retrograde. How are you feeling? I didn’t know that but it makes sense because so much has been going wrong lately. I have embarrassing problems that I don’t want to put in this sexy interview.

Who’s in your musical coven? Space Lady, Lee Perry, Curtis Mayfield, Bach, James Brown, Joni Mitchell.

What song on this playlist makes you feel free? “Jerome” by Jim Sullivan.

What song on this playlist makes you cry? “Nature Boy” by The Impressions.

Favorite album artwork of all time? Some Girls, Rolling Stones by Andy Warhol.

What’s your guilty pleasure? Lazy mornings in bed with a book.

Who do you trust most with the Aux cord? My friend Jeff.

Sunglasses inside: yes or no? Why not?