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Glenn Mercer's Moment
The Feelies frontman connects through music.
Posted March 9, 2017
“Like a dream, in between,
where you go, then you know;
Make a plan, let it be,
find a voice, make the peace;”
From “In Between” by The Feelies
Freud claimed that the key to life is both “work” and “love.” In order to be happy, we must develop our own unique interests and achievements, as well as form meaningful connections with others.
Simple, right?
Based on our society’s obsession with the concept of “work-life balance,” it doesn’t seem that we’ve got it figured out. The truth is it’s very difficult to simultaneously pursue personal ambitions and connected relationships. If we isolate ourselves by focusing too heavily on work, we lose the opportunity to build connections with others. And yet if we allow our personal relationships to limit the time and freedom we have to pursue our work, our personal dreams may suffer.
Glenn Mercer of The Feelies seems to have the right idea about how to balance the work-love dichotomy: make work the very thing that helps you connect with others.
To start, whereas some artists claim that they are writing music “only for themselves,” Mercer embraces the notion that he is writing music for others. He explained to me how from an early age, playing music was an inherently social phenomenon—a way for him to connect with others.
“We have a need to make connections with people. So I think probably if you don’t have those connections in other ways—maybe being an introvert, I guess, provides the impetus to connect with people through music,” Mercer explained. “It’s something that, for the most part, I have control over. That’s where the comfort level comes from. Music enables me to play in a band with people, have relationships there. And with fans, have relationships there.”
As Mercer got older, and realized that his music was something that others would pay money to hear and see, he was comfortable with the notion that music could be a business. “It’s all interconnected. You don’t make art in a vacuum. You make art to make a connection with people. And the way you make that connection becomes commerce,” Mercer described. “I remember Pete Townsend talking about when he decided to become a songwriter. The first record did well and he thought, ‘Well, that’s my motivation.’ They were well received and wanted that to continue. If it was purely about the art, it wouldn’t matter that the record was successful and made a connection to people. He would just make the art regardless.
“Obviously that validation is a big factor in the process.”
Mercer certainly received validation for his music right from the start. In 1978, The Village Voice called Mercer’s band The Feelies “the best underground band in New York.” And Rolling Stone called their first album, Crazy Rhythms (1980), one of the top albums of the 1980’s.
Yet, while Mercer recognized and appreciated the fact that his music connected him to others, he found that being too focused on what other people think, or involving too many people outside the band could actually hinder the development of the band. In particular, Mercer has described previous struggles that he had with record labels, and how the expectations or practices of labels limited the band, ultimately contributing to the band’s break up in 1992.
“We did things we didn’t feel comfortable with and ultimately that lead to the band breaking up…We did a lot more playing than we were comfortable with, wearing us down,” Mercer said. “The record executives would imply that if you cooperate with all of the business people that you come in contact with, you can be as big as REM. and they would suggest that if you stay in one place, you’re a failure.”
In 2011, Mercer rejoined the Feelies for their 2011 album Here Before. And now in 2017, with their new album In Between, Mercer is learning from his past experience and making sure that even though music is about connection, The Feelies need to push away outside expectations and influences and be in the moment.
“When things distracted it was not good for the band. We found that we operated in a lot of different ways, and sort of thrive when we are in the moment. It’s about striking a balance, trying to find where we could evolve,” Mercer described. “We tried to do it in an environment where we were free of any distractions…We wanted to have that feeling of being able to take our time and explore things on the spur of the moment and be spontaneous and allow things to take a progression.”
That concept of time and being in the moment became the theme of the record. “I usually don’t know the theme of a record…It’s not something premeditated. Usually, the more time the more distance between the record, the more I listen to it, talk about it, the more I come to realize what the theme was,” he said. “And in looking at the titles, there are references to time a lot. And there’s a line in the song [‘Time Will Tell’], ‘Be in the moment now and forever.’ And I thought the title of the record, In Between, could mean between the past and the future. The whole approach that we took to recording really was all about that.”
And as it turns out, allowing himself to be in the moment to focus on his work didn’t hurt how the music connected to others one bit. The Guardian described Here Before by saying, “It’s gorgeous.” And Pitchfork described In Between as, “…both mellow and intense in ways only the New Jersey band can pull off.”
Freud would be proud.
Michael A. Friedman, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist with offices in Manhattan and South Orange, NJ, and is a member of EHE International’s Medical Advisory Board. Contact Dr. Mike at michaelfriedmanphd.com. Follow Dr. Mike on Twitter @drmikefriedman.
