T-Bone Burnett on "Walk the Line," Cassandra Wilson, producing, and his new album

Yahoo posts a T-Bone Burnett interview.

In it, Burnett says, “I’m trying not to produce records anymore.”

This is what he told my friend Martin and me more than a decade ago during an interview. We’ll see if he starts trying harder, considering he’s done nothing but produce music since that conversation.

In response to his answer, Yahoo asks, “Why not?” And he offers almost exactly the same reply:
“The best job in show business is to be a free-standing artist–to have your own schedule. When you’re producing, you’re not allowed to set your own calendar to the same degree. I love the studio, and I love making music, but being a professional record producer, unless you’re someone like Dr. Dre, is a tough job. I’m mildly interested in continuing to produce if it’s the right situation. But now it’s my default position.”

And regarding the new album: “This is a comedy record. All the songs are comedies. I hope they resonate that way. I don’t know if they’re funny because that’s an essential ingredient to comedy. If they’re not funny, well, I don’t know … we’ll see.”