What Makes Adam Green Act So Bad: New York City

New Yorker Adam Green started out his career as one half the Moldy Peaches, who had a surprise retroactive hit thanks to 2007 film Juno. But by that time, Green was already a well-established solo artist, veering away from his old band’s endearing anti-folk territory with a style characterized by vulgar and cheeky lyrics while keeping listeners at an arm’s length. That’s not to say Green’s music (and life) hasn’t undergone its fair share of turbulence and change in the ensuing years, however. And he is certainly in a different place from the last time we spoke with him, as evidenced especially by his sixth solo album, Minor Love, released in February on Fat Possum. Recorded while living in an L.A. pool house in near-isolation, Minor Love shows us a more stripped-down, intimate side of the singer/songwriter. Green will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.

Green: New York City is a terrific hub for posers and saps who be gettin’ real sentimental lately! The island of Manhattan has always been a trap for middle-class kids who are forced to live outside their financial means. Essentially, the city is a giant shopping mall, and the only reason I like it is because I’m ridiculous. If the average person spent five weeks in New York City, they would probably attribute some sort of magical quality to the place. However, people who grow up in New York don’t even believe in magic! Sometimes I pretend I’m a wayward traveler who comes from “the land of the big buildings,” but this is simply me being silly. My grandfather was born on a farm in Brooklyn where they sold marijuana in pushcarts. He’s now 100 years old and owns the last egg-cream stand in Brooklyn. I dream of opening up some businesses of my own in NYC, mainly a capsule hotel in Union Square and a vegetarian-cannibal restaurant in Nolita. Video after the jump.