“I rarely listen to music at all,” says David Yow with a flicker of a smile. He leans out of shot on the Zoom window to confirm with his wife. “We never listen to music, do we?” he asks. “Almost never!” she confirms. The Jesus Lizard frontman says he stopped enjoying music in the mid-1990s, “when Mac [McNeilly, drummer] was forced out of the band. At that point I said ‘OK, music? This shit’s horrible. It’s mean and it’s wasteful.” You suspect he may be exaggerating; the reason for McNeilly’s temporary departure in 1996 (he returned for their first reunion in 2008 and remains in the group today) is usually cited as touring fatigue and a desire to spend more time with his family.
I take the bait, however, telling Yow that it’s rare that a musician – who by the strength of The Jesus Lizard’s first album in 28 years Rack is still firing on every cylinder – professes that he doesn’t like music. “Well, calling me a musician is kind of a stretch,” he deadpans. “I don’t really know how to play any instruments, and I’m not a very good singer.” Is there a term he’d prefer? He ponders for a second. “A disgusting little old man!”
This playfulness runs through Yow’s Baker’s Dozen, which takes us from Snoopy’s Christmas to the most underwhelming Lemmy anecdote you’re likely to hear. “It took me several days to come up with this shit!” There’s no guiding theme or uniting principle that all the music he loves has in common. “I had to come up with 13 records, so I went through my rolodex of memories and anything that jumped to the front made the list.”
And yet, for all Yow’s infectious silliness, beyond the surface this is still a deeply personal list, ranging from transformative childhood favourites, to the raw thrills of punk rock, to a moment of unvarnished emotion when the late Steve Albini appears. Yow might be reluctant to admit to the power of music these days, but his Baker’s Dozen presents a pretty strong case for the prosecution.
The Jesus Lizard’s new album Rack is released on 13 September via Ipecac. To begin reading David Yow’s Baker’s Dozen click ‘First Record’ below.
