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Pop Culture
Oct 22, 2012, 06:25AM

There's No Freedom There

A 2012 Huffington Post interview with musician Donald Fagen vs. a 2009 Big Think interview with author Gay Talese.

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Gay Talese: The shirt maker is called “Addison on Madison,” but they’re not on Madison; they used to be.

Donald Fagen: Wow. I remember, I used to go to that store, too.

Talese: There’s nothing like that today.

Fagen: Nothing can be done, although I do take an interesting anti-depressant that's helped a little bit.

Talese: I watched him taking walks in Las Vegas as he went to casino to casino – the scenes of his gambling, going to a prizefight in Las Vegas.

Fagen: It’s easier. You can’t even react to anything.

Talese: I never do any of that. There’s no freedom there.

Fagen: Yeah, for sure, for sure.

Talese: We had expense accounts.

Fagen: The ideal now is to become some kind of android or a robot, and if kids don't fit into a certain pattern, then they have to make all of these labels up and then try to correct them.

Talese: That’s a different set of rules.

Fagen: That’s very observant.

Talese: I mean, it’s like going to Kentucky Fried Chicken or having pizza sent in.

Fagen: Yeah, it's something in the air now.

Talese: I’m not making it up, but I sound like I’m making it up which is what I want to achieve the lack of believability initially on the part of the reader wondering how this guy knows this much; does he make it up.

Fagen: I guess with me, at this point, the style kind of takes care of itself.

Talese: I like the cut, very continental cut, very distinguished.

Fagen: Oh yeah, me too.

Talese: It’s all a matter of getting outside yourself.

Fagen: Right, I've been trying to figure that out for years.

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