The Untitled Interview #42: Starring Jeremy Mendicino (Pretty & Nice)

So it's pretty much a Pretty & Nice lovefest up in here these days. But really, this should come as no surprise. There's so much to love! They totally won me over last year, and I'm even more smitten a kitten these days having recently seen them for the second time (and spent some quality time shooting the breeze with Mr. J. Mendicino). Oh, and they make mixtapes for us. New levels of awesome, if you ask me. If you're lookin' for a good time, I highly recommend procuring some of the bodacious bounty that is Pretty & Nice music. So just sit back, relax, and let the sage words of Jeremy carry you away on a tide of knowledge, friends.

Les Enfants Terribles: How the hell are you?
Jeremy Mendicino: Well, thank you.

LET: What was the last song you listened to?
JM: Drummers – “Tiny” (as of yet, unreleased)

LET: Playing music is:
JM: Hard work. I'm still bleeding from that cowbell episode...

LET: What album most made you realize you wanted to make music?
JM: Well...any Beatles record probably...I started writing when I was 3...so…hard to remember...

LET: Beatles or Stones?
JM: Beatles. Hands down. No question. Absolutely. Never really liked The Stones... always seemed too simple...too meat-handed. I mean, the Beatles wrote fucking, "Happiness is a Warm Gun"...what the heck more do you NEED?

LET: Top 5 albums (of now, of this month, or of ever):
JM: I'll give you a top 5 of today:

Cryptacize - Mythomania
Pink Floyd - Relics
Frog Eyes - Golden River
Genesis - Genesis
Mingus - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus

LET: Favorite music-related movie?
JM: Eeeeek! Hmmm...I don't want to sound like a Beatle-holic, so I won't say Help! How about, Hello Down There - you know, the one where the band of young'ns live in a glass house under the sea with their scientist dad and swingin' mom...what? You don't know that one? Come on! I mean, Tony Randall's in it! Isn't that enough?

LET: Half-full or half-empty?
JM: Half full. Of tea!

LET: Which of your peers do you think is making the best music these days?
JM: Aww jeesh...I'm gonna make someone angry with this one. I apologize to all of my peers who aren't mentioned here. I'm gonna go with The Big Big Bucks. They're incredible. Plus 7. With a cherry on top.

LET: What’s the first thing you think when you wake up in the morning?
JM: "I have to pee... and where's my breakfast, Jeeves?"

LET: The greatest record store in the world is:
JM: Amoeba. Any one of 'em.

LET: Shaken or stirred?
JM: I don't drink, but I used to get my martinis any way I could! Always dirty and always with cheap vodka.

LET: Little-known Pretty & Nice fact?
JM: We morph.

LET: You kindly share mixes on your site, in memory of the lost art of making a mixtape. What makes a mighty fine mix?
JM: A pinch of history, a sprig of Theme, a touch of dirt, and good leveling (how obnoxious is it when someone gives you a mix and all the edits and levels are off? I hate that). But, it is the thought that counts... I guess. ;)

LET: If you weren’t in a band you’d be:
JM: That's true.

LET: Your boots were made for:
JM: Walkin'.

LET: If you were so inclined, whom would you form a tribute band in honor of?
JM: Failure. And Kevin would be the drummer, and my friend Luke would be the 2nd guitarist, and we'd have to find another guitarist to play the bass... preferably one addicted to heroin.

LET: Favorite Bostonian-area colloquialism?
JM: “Pass the chips, matey.” (Translation: “Put that lime in that coconut, friend.”)

LET: Best song ever written?
JM: “Banjo Bunnie” by the Frogs. Or maybe the Happy Birthday song. One of the two.

mp3: Grab Your Nets (Pretty & Nice from Blue & Blue)