My interview with estimable rock 'n' roll critic, editor and author Alan Light predated by several weeks the temper tantrum Taylor Swift had on social media about who bought her record catalog.
Like many big stars, Swift eschews most media interviews while speaking directly to her fans on social media.
The music writer should not be retired just yet, however, Light told me when we discussed Madonna. Earlier this summer, the icon had a meltdown over a profile in the New York Times Magazine. The piece, written by someone professing to be a fan, was a lengthy piece that may have made too many references to Madonna's, let's call it, maturity. Then again, that couldn't have been much of a surprise. The story was headlined: "Madonna at 60."
This is the second part of my interview with Light, who was in Minneapolis doing interviews of his own when he graciously sat down with me to shoot video. The first installment of our discussion appeared in Saturday's paper.
Q: How many hoops did Prince make you jump through for interviews?
A: You can't count those hoops. That first interview, the Vibe cover in 1994 — it was at least a year-and-a-half process. Repeated meetings and conversations and I'm not allowed to record, not allowed to take notes. I'm running into the bathroom and scribbling on my cuffs, in case this turns out to be something.
It was when "Most Beautiful Girl in the World" was a hit single, the first experiment outside of Warner Brothers, then he [decided]: "Now I've got something to promote. Now we can call it an interview."
[Before that] I don't know what you would call it. Testing? Flirting? But if he calls and says, "Come hang out at sound check," even if we don't end up doing a story, I'll still take that trip.
