TLO Member Interview: MadsPLP

TLO Member Interview: MadsPLP
Conducted by Phillip Stecco


1) How did you first encounter the work of Thomas Ligotti?

I first learned about Ligotti through my Current 93-obsession. I remember buying I Have a Special Plan for This World, a work which I've always loved (if one can love something so disturbing). Then came In a Foreign Town, In a Foreign Land in the edition where the book was the booklet. I read it and liked it, but probably was too young to really understand it (I must have been 16 at the time, and my English – and my reading sensibilities – weren't really up to the task).

In 2003, I bought a Current 93 collection with some scholarship money I was undeservedly given – included was In a Foreign Town, In a Foreign Land where the book was an actual book. I got it better this time, and bought Death Poems when that came out too, but only started to understand it at a much later rereading.

My recent infatuation with Ligotti's work became serious with the release of Teatro Grottesco, and since then, I've managed to find all the less rare collections. And write a still-to-be-translated-into-English BA in comparative literature about his work.


2) What are some of your favorite works by Mr. Ligotti?

I guess there are too many to mention. My absolute favourite is ”The Bungalow House.” Other favourites include ”The Clown Puppet,” ”The Red Tower,””Severini,” ”The Shadow, The Darkness,” ”Our Temporary Supervisor,” ”Vastarien,” ”Nethescurial,” ”The Tsalal,” the whole of In a Foreign Town, In a Foreign Land, ”The Spectacles in the Drawer,” ”Dr. Voke and Mr. Veech” and ”The Sect of the Idiot.”

How many more am I allowed to write? I must say that I feel the later part of Ligotti (1996-onwards) seem to speak a little more to me than earlier Ligotti. In the early part of his authorship, there seems to be some kind of transcendence available to his characters (a transformation, an ecstatic fate worse than death), which seems to be absent in his later work.

I'm sad if it's because of Ligotti's suffering from anhedonia; possibly his sufferings turns him into my substitute Christ (this is not meant nowhere near as much as a case of asshole-ism than it sounds - I just do believe his works have become even better after his stories lost any kind of hope).


3) What other writers do you enjoy reading?

As in question no. 2, there are too many to mention. There are a lot of Danish writers which I won't mention here, since they probably haven't been translated into English.

In the department of weird fiction and horror fiction, I specifically enjoy reading these (in no particular order): Aickman, Quentin S. Crisp, Lovecraft, de la Mare, Bruno Schulz, R.L. Stevenson, Franz Kafka, Oliver Onions, Arthur Machen, T.E.D. Klein, M.R. James, L.A. Lewis, Roland Topor, Gustav Meyrink, Poe, L.P. Hartley, Mark Samuels, Gogol, Algernon Blackwood, Borges and, well, quite a few others. There are more, some where I've only read one story, or collection, or novel, and some which I have yet to read.

Outside of the mode of weird/ horror fiction, some writers I admire are: W.G. Sebald, Thomas Pynchon, Thomas Bernhard, Michel Houellebecq, Fernando Pessoa, Emily Dickinson, Robert Walser, Tor Ulven, Flann O'Brien, Enrique Vila-Matas, Heinrich von Kleist, Imre Kertesz, Knut Hamsun, Bacovia, August Strindberg, Michael Bulgakov, Cioran, Cormac McCarthy, Kafka, Robert Musil and Thomas Mann. The list goes on.


4) Do you have any favorite singers or musicians?

Too many to mention again. Though this mere trifle of a fact shan't hold me back in writing an even longer, more unfocused list.

I started out as a heavy metal fan, a scene which I still follow. I guess I was 11 at the time, and I really dug Aerosmith. I still do. At age 13-14, I became quite obsessive about Current 93, and still am. Though not as obsessive as certain other individuals, I regret (?) to say.

I like metal, psychedelic rock, krautrock, progressive rock, avantgarde music, acid folk, singer/songwriter stuff, Phil Spector productions, early punk rock, early garage rock, alt. Country, old-fashioned country (outlaw country?), bubblegum pop, Motown soul.

I'm also quite interested in the neofolk scene. I even like a lot of the cheesier stuff (and there's a lot of it). I've been told by some that this fact (that I like neofolk, not just that I like cheesy neofolk) makes me some kind of extreme rightist. Being pretty paranoid about being labelled an extreme rightist, I should like to point out that I'm not, but rather more on the left. I was once quite the idealist, now I'm more of a pessimistic left-wing.

The following may look like mere namedropping. However, I've always believed that one should be more positive towards namedropping: I believe that namedropping is a way of sharing one's enthusiasm, and it is in this way the list should be read:

Current 93, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Klaus Nomi, Death in June, Coil, Shock Headed Peters, Karl Blake, Pearls Before Swine, Nina Simone, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Iced Earth, Sol Invictus, Baby Dee, Nature & Organisation/Michael Cashmore, Simon Finn, Masters of Reality, Emperor, Solefald, Pavlov's Dog, Ramases, Groundhogs, The Sonics, Tom Waits, Tiny Tim, In Gowan Ring, Thin Lizzy, Blood Axis, Waldteufel, Serge Gainsbourg, Bobb Trimble, Pantaleimon, Of the Wand and the Moon, Nevermore, Spids Nøgenhat, Ozzy Osbourne, Savatage, Television, The Black Angels, Manowar, Stiff Little Fingers, Joy Division, Perez Prado, Backworld, Antony & the Johnsons, Iron Maiden, Allerseelen, Nurse With Wound, The Monks, Scott Walker, AC/DC, Michael Gira in all his incarnations, Roky Erickson, The Pogues, Shane MacGowan, Venom, Witchfinder General, Little Annie, Forseti, Billy Oldham, UFO, Danzig, Uriah Heep, Sangre Cavallum, Aerosmith, Sturmpercht, Comus, Arcturus, Golden Dawn, Cold Sun, Bill Fay, Psychotic Waltz,, Fates Warning, Yes, King Crimson, XHOL Caravan, Witthüser & Westrupp, Cosmic Jokers, Faust, ZZ Top, Ramones, Othon, Ronettes, King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, High on Fire, Om, Celtic Frost, Trouble, Atheist, Candlemass, Donovan, Forbidden, Unleashed, Morbid Angel, St. Vitus, The Obsessed, Ohio Express.

Not listed in any particular order. The list could go on for eternity I'm afraid. Sorry if it's too boring. There doesn't seem to be any pattern in my musical tastes, so I doubt if sharing my enthusiasm/namedropping brings anyone anything.


5) Do you have any favorite artists in the visual media?

Visual media... I'm not too fond of visual media. I lose interest in it rather quickly. I do admire the Danish artist Palle Nielsen though. And Martin Erik Andersen too, but I might be biased with regards to the latter, since he's a friend. I also like Louis Wain (at some point, I would like to answer a question without any sort of reference to Current 93 – I like David Tibet's artwork too, just in case you wondered). Roger Dean, the cover illustrator. Jason van Hollander. There are more, but as I've said, I tend to lose interest in visual media quickly.

If comic books (or graphic novels, if one must be pretentious) count, there are many more.


6) What are some of your favorite movies?

I'm very skeptical about the movie as an artform: I find it vastly overrated. Due to the size of the budgets, they tend to appeal to the lowest common denominator, strings telling me what to feel as if the cheesy lines weren't telling me what to think and feel already. There doesn't seem to be much room for ambivalence in movies. I find movies boring as art. When I see a character played by Brad Pitt or whomever Hollywood star, I see a Hollywood star. It seems so removed from an ordinary person, due to the way the stars are stuffed down your throat.

As entertainment, however, I kinda like movies. I'd rather watch a ####ty movie than read a ####ty book any time. Therefore, my tastes tend toward the sentimental, sappy and low brow.

I have a weak point for old Fred Astaire movies, probably due to my nostalgia for times which I didn't live through. The Sound of Music is another favourite. It gets worse: I loved Nacho Libre, and I like most anything with Will Ferrell in it, especially Blades of Glory.

Romantic comedies: Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually (though never EVER Notting Hill). I believe I may have been going for too long without a girlfriend since I resort to something as embarrassing as Hugh Grant movies.

I love Hammer Horror movies and The Wicker Man; the same goes for the older Universal horror movies.

Some movies by the Coen Brothers, indie movies like Ghost World (and, I liked the rather dreadful Juno too).

My favourite director is John Waters.

There are more, but then again, I've been namedropping way too much already.


7) Do you watch television?

I didn't for four years, but there's a television in my new flat. I love it, and the worse the better. I've just watched “Who Wants to be a Superhero” and I loved it. Television: It's dreadful. It brings up the worst in me. There was a time when I liked interesting programmes where one might actually learn something from it. Now, I go for the absolute trashiest programmes I can find. Whenever I feel the need arise.


8) What foods do you enjoy eating?

I enjoy most everything which is well made, fish being the one exception, intestines (see below though) the other. However, I've cut down on the food budget because I prefer to buy books, records and alcohol instead. I like cooking though, and I like eating at restaurants, but I've got different priorities at the moment. Which is sad, because I think I would enjoy living a life in decadent luxury with regards to food. In fact, I think I would have a talent for it. But then again, I think I have a talent for decadent luxury in general. Sadly, my economy won't allow me to do it. While we're at it, more money for clothing would be nice too. I do believe I have a talent for being a dandy too.

(About intestines, I recently tasted pâté de foie gras for the first time, and it was marvellous. The geese may suffer for it, but they suffer for a higher purpose. Growing up on a farm, I don't like geese in particular. Though not as aggressive as turkeys (I'd rather be in a lion's lair than alone with a bunch of turkeys ganging up on me), geese are still pretty aggressive, especially if you're 4 years old with nothing to defend you. Pour some fat in them goose livers now before they get you, I say.)


9) Do you have any odd hobbies or collecting fetishes?

Well, nothing unusual, though I've always collected. Probably a trait I inherited from my father. Starting with rocks, then Marvel comic books, then records, then especially Current 93 and Death in June records – still collecting Current 93, though not obsessively enough. I gotta pull my act together. I also collect certain books, and I do prefer to own books, not borrowing them from the library. Which is stupid, stupid, stupid, since I hardly ever read a book more than once.

However, I've always been slightly on the obsessing side, which shows in my collecting. Luckily, when I suffer defeat, I retreat, and since no collection can ever be complete, I tend to lose enthusiasm in collecting.


10) What recreational activities do you enjoy?

Drinking. Occasionally getting laid. Listening to music, reading, concerts. Watching ####ty TV. Drinking. I once had a pipe which I enjoyed smoking tobacco in. It broke in a dance of Les Lanciers though, and I've never gotten around to buying a new one. Probably because my then-girlfriend didn't like me smoking it.

I used to play football (or soccer, as you Americans call it) too. Defender. Nowhere near being technically good, but quite able at tackling.


11) So many of our lives are filled with the day-to-day anxiety of existence. Have you personally discovered any ways to relieve stress?

Chopping wood when I visit my parents seems to relieve stress. Highly recommended. One needn't necessarily visit one's parents in order to chop wood, I should add.


12) Life?

I'm still not convinced of its existence. No need to even try accomplishing anything yet.


13) Death?

The existence of death, I'm more certain of.


14) Work?

And of this, I'm absolutely sure. I need to pay rent and buy records and books and alcoholic beverages and food. However, I don't hate my job completely. I get some mild satisfaction whenever I succeed in selling a book which I actually think is worth reading. I'll probably think of my current job as heaven when I get another one.


15) Do you have any interesting work anecdotes to relate?

I work in a rather large bookstore in central Copenhagen which carries a lot of both American and British books. I have a certain knowledge of minor Danish celebrities' preferences in literature, but I doubt that would be the interesting to you in any way. I should however note, that I've been responsible for the bookstore importing the recently released Teatro Grottesco and My Work Is Not Yet Done paperbacks. TG has sold 13 copies, MWINYD a mere 2 copies. I'm currently trying to secretly start a shelf with weird/horror fiction behind my boss' back, with a few, select authors which I like.


16) What is your earliest childhood memory?

My grandmother's kitchen. She died when I was two years old, and I can't really remember what she looked like. But I do remember her kitchen.


17) What is your fondest childhood memory?

I guess my childhood in general was pretty good. It may be about getting a dog, or playing cards with my family, or something like that. Childhood kind of ended for me when I discovered rock music. I guess I was a weird kid, though a fairly well-balanced weird kid.


18) Who has been the most influential person in your life?

It was Robert Aickman who wrote that his father was the strangest person he had ever met. I think this may be so for most sons – if that is so, I am no exception to that rule. His eccentricities are manifold, but hard to explain. Suffice to say that if my mother hadn't married him, he'd probably be one of those guys who'd end up dying under a pile of collapsed newspapers. I should give more credit to my mother, but I've taken more after my father. I love them both dearly. When I was younger, I was afraid of my father, since he had a horrible temper (never in a violent way, I should like to point out though), but over the years, I've grown to understand him better and better. Or at least I think so.

My sister, too,since she was the one who introduced me to rock music (Aerosmith, which I still like to this day, though I guess it's quite embarrassing to like them.)


19) Do you have a special plan for this world?

I may have had an ambition of getting one when I was younger. Now I'm content with a pose of contempt of the world and all in and on it. If it is a pose, that is. I'm not sure whether I actually possess that degree of contempt for the world which I like to adorn myself with.

Ligotti has been one of the persons who has shaped my worldview most in the past few years. I like to think my outlook on life is like his, but I think I may be lying, or at least not being honest towards myself. I can't say for sure, and I doubt I'll ever be able to know what I think of this world, or what I think of anything, for that matter.

However, I have reason to believe that I am – in spite of all my complaining, existential angst, miserability, contempt for life, misanthropy, etc. - a somewhat happy person, rather successful in a more-than-mediocre-way, etc. I have many friends, and my social life is indeed very well-functioning. Still, though I have many friends, and though I'm enormously self-centered (for example, see how this rant about myself is going nowhere slow while I blabber away), I still fail to see what others see in me. I may have no real personality after all. I've always felt a sense of alienation, even towards close friends and family. But then again: this may be a mere pose too, or me believing I feel alienated though it is possible I don't have that feeling after all. As always, I don't really know where I stand in this world. Most likely, being a pessimist is just a more convenient viewpoint for me at the moment.

Compared to others, my problems are mere trifles, though, I guess, nonetheless still real for me. I feel like a void and a failure, but I have a feeling I may be wrong. Still, my problems being or seeming real to me, I'm way too busy staring at my own navel to have a special plan for this world. Besides, it would take time away from drinking.


20) What else should we know about you?

Well, I don't know if this is of interest to anyone, since very few here understand Danish, but I review music for a website called www.transmission.nu. I've also organised concerts for a club called Bragagild. Mainly in the neofolk/acid folk vein. www.bragagild.dk.

This was rather long-winded. I apologise if I've bored anyone to death.