Sam Phillips decided that when approaching her new album "Push Any Button," she was going to write in the style of the '60s. Not so much as to play make-believe, but to deliver a modern message wrapped up in the nostalgia of the music from her childhood. Or maybe vice versa. Phillips has a novel concept, but will listeners surrounded by electronic bells and whistles buy in? She thinks...maybe.
"I think that a lot of people might not get it," she explained. "But on the other hand, we're in a very eclectic society. People listen to a lot of things. I think there's room for this."
Phillips' hopes stem from her belief that the core values of good music from 1973 ring true in 2013, regardless of instrumentation. She doesn't believe that technology, whether it be synthesizers or GarageBand, will shake the foundations.
"Technology is a faze," she said. "It's always going to be about communicating through music. That's never going to change. Technology...we're going to get over it."
Although she acknowledged the potential value for computers and music, Phillips occasionally lapsed and referred to the sound effects of electronic music as "kitschy." The singer-songwriter has always had an aesthetic of well-polished antiquity, and not just in her music. "Push Any Button" will be her first album without a black-and-white (or sepia tone) cover since 1991's "Cruel Inventions." Her website boasts a collection of cutout photo collages. She was once married to the savior of bluegrass and Americana, producer T-Bone Burnett. Still, she recognizes changes in the marketplace.
Phillips experimented with digital subscription service during 2009-'10, releasing five EP's and one full-length album through the Long Play. The service offered subscribers 44 download-only tracks throughout the course of a year (although "best of" compilation "Solid State" was released as a CD in 2011). That kind of output seems ironic from a musician who told Mstars that her favorite "Button" to push was "relax." She described Long Play as "a blast," but not for the casual listener. Philips opted to slow down for "Push Any Button" and take more time smoothing the rough edges.
The ten tracks on the record clock in at less than a half-hour, short and sweet, like Brill Building pop after it spits out its bubblegum.
"My writing was affectionately looking back at that time," she explained. "Before the digital era. Before the ether...I'm always of the opinion that the old style is never old."
Phillips perceives the change in music to be less about style or instrumentation, and more about the presentation. Music has been two-dimensional for too long, she said, and the next big thing will be the hybridization of art forms. Just as jazz has advanced by incorporating other genres, music must pair with other media, such as movies, television and the fine arts to progress. Phillips has gotten started following her own advice. The blog she kept up during the Long Play project included photos and videos to complement the release of music. On the side, she's composed for the television series "Gilmore Girls" and "Bunheads." Not writing theme songs, but writing backing music for full episodes. She's gotten away from music during her motion picture appearances (most notably as terrorist Katya in "Die Hard With A Vengeance"), but she'd probably be willing to compose for a film if asked. Phillips keeps an open mind when it comes to music projects.
She even joked that she would be willing to try an album from the perspective of herself 40 years in the future, to counter "Push Any Button." That album might feature vocoders, synthesizers, whatever; but good songwriting sill still come first.
