Singer-songwriter Michael Zapruder released one of the more overlooked gems of 2008 in Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope. Now that the album has recently been re-released, we caught up with Michael and picked his brain regarding music press, fraternal influence, how he feels about his latest effort now, and much more.

Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope was re-released not long ago. Has your attitude toward the album shifted since last year? Are there things you would change if given the opportunity and if so, is this due to a glaring blemish in your eyes or simple perfectionism?

Yeah my attitude has changed somewhat – it’s always doing that with every record anyway – but since the album was made for other people and not for myself, I also have the feeling that nothing has changed. I like to think that it really doesn’t matter what I think about it.

That said, I’m already thinking about my next record or two, and that’s almost always in some ways a correction or refinement of what’s happened before – a “what do I want to do next?” kind of thing. Still, wanting to do the next album differently isn’t quite the same thing as wishing I could change the previous record. I’m good with the record as it is.

So are we. As you know, we reviewed your album when it initially came out. Do you read all of your press?

No I don’t read all of it but I did read your review, and it was refreshingly good. In fact, it really was one of the only ones that engaged with the question of what the record means to express, and not just with how the record sounds or whatever.

What is your opinion on music “journalism” in general?

Well, for one thing, the sheer amount of recorded music that is always coming out probably puts a lot of pressure on everyone to keep up, so if the reviews and blogs and such are superficial, some of the responsibility has to come from that. That said, I think lots of music writing is pretty disappointing and superficial. There can sometimes be a lot of attention given to a perceived cultural or stylistic gesture that the artists seem to imply by their entire presentation, rather than a real engagement with the choices the artists are making. I think that kind of approach minimizes the differences between artists, which makes our culture a bit more boring.

I like it when reviewers try to attune themselves with what’s in the record – not just the overall mood, but the way music is used, the words that are chosen, the sounds that are chosen and so on. And I think there might also be a place for more musical literacy in reviews, because music operates on different principles than words or styles. Musical power is a cultural force which should be nurtured, and it’s hard to do that if people don’t read about the amazing musical things that Nellie Mackaye or Rufus Wainwright or Dirty Projectors are up to. There’s more to people like that than just style.

Agreed. Now, where do you feel you fit in the singer-songwriter spectrum?

Well, I’m staying away from those singer-songwriter songs of what I would call the perky-solipsistic variety. You know the ones – always about the singer, always dramatizing feelings or situations that are sadly boring. I am usually trying as much as I can to vacate my own songs, and to leave in them only a part of myself that is hopefully connected to mysterious things. So if I fit in anywhere, it’s on the part of the spectrum where the real solipsists live – where people want to make their own kinds of songs that seem to conform to the true strangeness of their own experience.

Your brother Matthew is an accomplished poet. Does his literary prowess inspire your lyricism? In other words, is there a bit of healthy competition between sibling writers?

Yes, Matthew’s poems challenge and inspire me all the time. Their specificity and strangeness allure and tantalize me. I am trying to figure out if songs can be that way.

We talk about songs and writing and we give each other books and recommend music and so on, so although there’s maybe a bit of competition, mostly there’s just two people trying to figure out what’s next. Also, Matthew introduced me to a bunch of great poets, whose words I am setting to music to explore that question of whether songs can be like poems. I’m very lucky to have Matthew as a brother and a peer.

Some of our readers may recognize you from the 52 Songs Project. Dragon’s tracks surely took a little longer to develop. Does this make them more meaningful to you or is some of the 52 Songs material just as dear to you?

The 52 Songs material is generally less meaningful to me, both because it was written so fast, and more so because I was really still figuring out my strengths and weaknesses as a writer. I can only get away with certain kinds of songs, at least in recording them, and there are a fair number of songs from 52 Songs where I am pretty far out of my element. That’s awesomely fun to do as an artist, but makes for questionable listening and performing pleasure. That said, it’s been a while now, and I’m considering going back to some of those songs and relearning them. I don’t know what they’ll be like to play now.

For the latest album, you signed to SideCho Records. Any particular reason for the new home?

I really liked what James, the owner of SideCho, laid out as the plan for the record and I was interested in separating myself further from the commercial side of things. A lot of artists want to do that I know – there’s a kind of double-exposure going on for many independent artists – they are exposed artistically, having made the record, but they are also exposed financially and have to get all involved in trying to sell the music. It’s a tough environment right now, and I wanted someone with more expertise and interest in that stuff to give it a shot.

I see. In our review, we likened your work to that of Bill Callahan and Andrew Bird. Are you a fan of these artists?

Yes, absolutely. Both are quite amazing in their own ways, and I would like to think my songs could do for people what their songs do for me.

To expand on this, as unoriginal as it may be, do you have any favorites (song/album/artist) to share with us?

Sure. Lately I’ve been into Sybylle Baier and Vashti Bunyan, and quiet folk stuff like Leonard Cohen (who I’m seeing soon), and Cat Stevens. For new stuff, I’ve listened to Neko Case’s new record 3 times now and it’s fascinating. I like records that take time to get into, because once you do, they tend to be really intense. I like Nellie Mackaye. For bands, The Acorn is cool. The Teeth are gone now but not forgotten. I recommend Burning Witch for people looking for some scary metal. Cornelius matters to me. Silver Jews are really important. And you can’t go wrong with Glenn Gould playing Bach.

What about from your own work, are there certain songs you feel sit on a higher plane of quality than most?

Yes, there are songs that I think are better than others, although why they are, and how that works, is very hard to explain.

Getting back to Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope, time seems to be a recurring theme. Is this intentional or did it manifest itself naturally?

Anything like that was a by-product of the writing process. I really don’t like pet ideas. Thematic stuff is great when it’s unforced, but I try to follow whatever the song’s possibilities might be without any distractions.

After the record was done I noticed some interesting consistencies, but they really weren’t put there on purpose. For example, there are doubles and sets of opposites throughout the record – night and day, green tea and red wine, black wine and white ravens, and stuff like that. And lots of the songs have two choruses that alternate instead of just the usual one. All that stuff, and any stuff about time or anything else, grew on its own.

‘Harbor Saints’ also touches on this notion. After repeated listening, it has stood out to me as the centerpiece of the record’s positive thinking with lines such as “may the tangle of your footsteps leave you where you feel at home”. Is the track as pivotal to the album’s narrative as my interpretation suggests?

Probably. Although it’s a very qualified positive thinking, since the singer is walking around at night with a knife up his sleeve. It’s about being able to find peace in spite of the human weaknesses and corruption that we all have.

Yeah, I can definitely see that. When writing/recording, do you treat an album as one ongoing story or a collection of songs?

When I’m writing I don’t think about anything like that; but when I’m recording, as an album starts to take shape, I definitely think about how the songs fit together, are they too similar, is there some kind of song that would fit, are there themes emerging and do those make some of the songs redundant? All that stuff.

Do you have a preference in that respect as a listener?

I like albums that hang together without being too precious about it. Any question that is really worth considering probably requires more that one single song to bring it to life. Good albums can sometimes allow for more angles on that same question or obsession, and I like that a lot.

Now for an entirely gratuitous question from our first subscriber: if you were a tree, what kind would you be?

I would be a pepper tree.

Any parting words for our readers?

At your service. Please feel free to send me emails, especially if they have book recommendations or good, easy recipes in them.

Interview conducted by Vinh Cao