I sit down and say, "I'm going to pretend I don't know a thing about the Unicorns, ok?" and then Nick does a fist pump

Here's how it went on Monday, the 9th of October:

I was emotionally neutral because I got stoned the night before and drunk both nights before that-- unrequited love, you know? I was cynical as hell having just finished Catcher in the Rye-- everyone was a goddamn phony as far as I was concerned, everyone except Nick Diamond of Islands.

Yeah, see, the conversation I had with Nick was unapologetic and unabashed. We talked about pop music and how he wants to bring back certain purity to it, but not the same kind of purity that the other Indie machines-er, musicians are talking about. Fuck money, you know? We talked about the meaning of Islands which I found to be slightly profound. We talked about Paul Simon and how Graceland seriously influenced the first Islands release, Return to the Sea. We talked about the cuica.

The setting was appropriate for the mood I was in:
Dark. Empty bar. Red lights. Nadine and I sit on the vinyl bench while Nick sits on the short stool about a foot and a half away from me. We both rest our elbows on our knees with our heads somewhat down and discouraged. With slight flicks of the wrist, the microphone moved from me to Nick to me to Nick to Nick to me to Nick.

The interview ended awkwardly when I asked if we could sing Happy Birthday to John Lennon and Nick declined. He actually said "No, that's too absurd". Intentional awkwardness is bad ass; and it proves that when it comes to Nick Diamond he's no phony.

The live show was well done. Having just lost their drummer J'amie, Islands gave a hell of a tight performance with double violins, that quasi-mystical cuica thing, synth, sharp guitarists, and a bass clarinet.

I left with a neutral smile but admit to enjoying myself quite a bit--especially with the surprise encore of Monster Mash and confetti and an obscure man with a mannequin head. Islands is on to something here..
While it may seem too accessible for some, I think of it as good pop. Regardless, Nick himself said he "doesn't give a fuck" if you like it or not and we all know that that asshole is just too cute to disagree with.

Listen to the (monotone, and somewhat dismal) interview here.

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