And it’s more a question of trying to match the words to what I feel is going on there. There is a joyfulness in some of these songs even without the words. And I have to say, the music I get to work with from the guys, it seems to match what I feel. I get up in the morning every morning thinking, “This is f–ing great, just being alive.” I’m not so sure by midday! But that’s my character. And that’s the way we’ve spent our lives. You have to be I think to make music - or make music and think anyone is gonna care about it outside of you. And I think that combined with - not so much a sunny disposition but we are born optimists. We’ve been god damned blessed to have this life in music, within music. There’s no more corny way to describe it, but there’s no truer way. Even the track on the album that we wrote when we were 18 years old: “Act of Love.” That’s right at the core of what we do. And you want to shy away from saying that. It certainly seems to kick off the album in “Vision Thing.” Is it accurate to say that? We find it quite fascinating sometimes how a song finds its moment - or doesn’t.Ī theme I feel like I picked up on listening to Direction of the Heart is that love can kind of overcome anything. That one.”Ī more direct answer to your question is probably about half of the songs really started to take shape during the record, whereas there would have been about three or four that had been kicking around for some time waiting for their moment. But, based on the atmosphere and stuff, we’ll kind of go, “This one. And then when it comes album time, we look in the vaults and we say, “What kind of record are we going to make? Is it gonna be a moody record? Is it going to be a rhythmic record? Or is it going to be more electro?” Obviously, the main thing is still the melodies. When we’re not touring, we’re always writing. JIM KERR: The way we work, it’s not so much that we write for an album. Were the rest actually written during quarantine? And I know a few of these songs had sort of been kicking around for a bit. So I’m curious of the timeline here - I know you and Charlie were able to get together and work together in Sicily. A transcript of our phone conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows below. I spoke with Jim Kerr about the optimism that informs Direction of the Heart ( now available via BMG in regular and deluxe formats on CD, vinyl or cassette and via streaming services), returning to the stage following a two year layoff and 45 years of Simple Minds.
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