What was nice about the nineties is that it was an example of music that responded to a desire of the times. It spoke to the social conditions of the times. Women were making more money. Women were saying, "My voice counts. If we're going out on a Friday night, I don't want to see a Rambo movie. I want to go see a singer/songwriter who sings about my life".

Dar Williams

Categorized in : Night Nice Friday

In the laughing times we know that we are lucky, and in the quiet times we know that we are blessed. And we will not be alone.

Dar Williams

good-luck blessed laughing

God looks like a guidance counselor, God's got that smile. God says, 'How could this be? That's really odd I guess I'll have to check my records, silly me, you know, I'm only God.'

Dar Williams

records silly looks

There's a marketing scheme that tells you that pregnancy and child rearing will make you into a moron, that your kids are only happy when you're buying them stuff. It's hard being a parent, but I laugh a lot and smile a lot and really enjoy it. The ratio of laughter to sadness is higher. There's part of me that wants to broadcast that. Parenting only affirmed what I already cared about, and that's good.

Dar Williams

laughter pregnancy children

Slavery doesn't have any positives.

Dar Williams

slavery

Writing 'February' made me realize that breaking form is a way of letting the song be human.

Dar Williams

writing song way

If you're looking for can-do, earthy-crunchy attitude then you've got to go to Wisconsin.

Dar Williams

crunchy wisconsin attitude

And where does magic come from? I think that magic's in the learning.

Dar Williams

magic doe thinking

I would push for more production and Steve Miller would say, "Why do you want to have more production when you have real songs? You don't want to cover up the song."

Dar Williams

cover-ups real song

Sometimes I see myself fine, sometimes I need a witness. And I like the whole truth, but there are nights I only need forgiveness.

Dar Williams

forgiveness night needs

All the things you treasure most will be the hardest won

Dar Williams

cheer light struggle

And if I had a camera

Dar Williams

cameras light giving

The rest of the songs on the album [Mortal City ] have spare arrangements on them. Steve [Miller], really loved that. He'd just come off of a project with someone who basically had to mask the fact that there were no songs there with production. He said, "Oh, my God, you have real songs here!"

Dar Williams

real cities song

If a war has to happen, a war has to happen.

Dar Williams

ifs happens war

There's always people who came 600 miles to hear the song you didn't play.

Dar Williams

play song people

A song versus an album is not like a scene versus a play.

Dar Williams

albums play song

I remember doing "As Cool As I Am" and Steve Miller, the producer, saying "I really hear a drum loop here. I want to play it for you." When I wrote it, I thought, "This isn't going to sound very folky. I don't think it's going to go with mandolins and banjos." Then he played the loop for me and it sounded right.

Dar Williams

sound play thinking

Arizona is really cool but I couldn't stay there for too long.

Dar Williams

really-cool arizona long

Being told that you are good at banter is like being told that you are a good person.

Dar Williams

banter good-person persons

But I benefit from the taxes I pay because I know how to access the benefits of the taxes.

Dar Williams

taxes benefits pay

What happened on "As Cool As I Am" was, you know how in the `90s, "the personal is political, the political is personal"? That was a really big thing. Choices you made about how you recorded and what instruments you used and how much real versus how much synthetic. Those were choices that were seen as very political at the time.

Dar Williams

political choices real