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ANGEL OLSEN: This song is interesting. I wrote it after a weird relationship I had for three months before I came out publicly. We had these really intense conversations about how because of the pandemic I was in this relationship of convenience. And, oh my god, that’s probably the worst thing I’ve ever heard someone say about me. I was like, “Wow, can you hear what you’re saying? It’s so screwed up.
Even if they believed this to be true, they could have softened the blow and just not told me [Olsen starts laughing]. Like, I don’t know who told them they had to be so completely honest, but this guy was wrong. It was a really nasty thing to say. I was like “You! You just shut up!’
I ended up writing a few songs after that, just out of anger, and “Ghost On” was one of them. We are friends again; now they know not to say these things out loud. And I don’t think the relationship was one of convenience. I just think it was easier to say because it was so easy to become codependent during the pandemic. It was like, “Okay, you’re my man, right? We are fine, we are safe. And I think we were both lying to ourselves because of the experience.
BEST FIT: This song plays into the theme of refusing to fit into what other people think of you, and more generally, it’s something you’ve dealt with throughout your career: Angel Olsen the person vs. Angel Olsen the star.
yes I think that anyone who makes music or art projects through their work the person they want to be. I feel like writing and creating things is really what you’re after, but it’s only one aspect of your personality. You’re still a fool. You still don’t get along with everyone. And you’re still insecure about the stupid stuff. You’re still bad at math and you call your mom.
As a songwriter, you might aspire to be that gifted poet, and there are times when you channel that, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a good person. For example, just because you wrote it down once doesn’t mean you actually practice it in your daily life.
Let’s talk about the electric guitar solo.
It’s the only song in the show where I get to play solo and it was really fun. You know, I’ve always been afraid to play guitar solos because I’m a singer. But now that I’m so deep into my music, I’m like, “Okay, I can try to do that too.”
During the pandemic, I spent a lot of time playing with the loop pedal, just coming up with guitar lines and practicing repeating them. Kind of developing a hand-to-brain memory of where everything is. Then you have to think about how nervous you will be at night and how you will forget things. You never know how it will affect you when you go on stage in front of people. Sometimes I screw up, which is fine. But I get to a point where I can look up mid-solo.
So, yeah, I chose “Ghost On” because it’s my favorite from the new record. It’s so simple and to the point, and – selfishly – because I can play guitar. I can show people that this is something I’m experimenting with. It’s also kind of a comeback song. It reminds me of old soul songs the way it swings. When I imagined what it would sound like, it was almost like something Candi Staton might sing. Or something Cass McCombs might write. I do not know. I listen to a lot of different types of music and it’s interesting how they can appear in different forms in my own songs.
Can you see yourself going more soulful on a later record?
No. I feel like I’ve touched it. But it’s hard to say because I never thought I’d make an Americana record, you know?
Everything is on the table!
yeah I’m like, well, the next album is going to be all textural sounds like Brian Eno [Olsen laughs at her own joke – at least I think it was a joke…]
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