Whether it was as the guitarist who created the gothic-western landscape of Shiva Burlesque 20 years ago, the even bigger guitar sound of Grant Lee Buffalo that rode herd in the ’90s (while he screwed up his courage to get his feet wet as a singer) or his current solo career (a wonderfully diverse summation of most everything that’s come before), Grant-Lee Phillips has become a consummate musician. Little Moon (Yep Roc) is the kind of record you keep playing until the songs refuse to go away, even long after you’ve switched off the electronics. Phillips is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week, Read our Q&A with him.
Phillips: “Pretty Persuasion” by R.E.M. was one of my favorite moments in the set when the band headlined the Hollywood Bowl about a year ago. From 1984 album Reckoning, “Pretty Persuasion” features R.E.M.’s early trademarks in bulk, from the chiming guitar lines to the enigmatic multiple vocals that fishtail around one another. I heard the song again recently while driving to the beach with my family, and it never sounded better.
