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Vice Blog

LUKE PERRY, TEEN IDOL

I'm not entirely sure if the guy who acts and sings under the name of Luke Perry is a genius with tons of fascinating insights about America in the post-entertainment era, or just another guy who likes Ariel Pink a whole lot. Either way, his cyber-pop could be playing right this second in a Planet Hollywood near you and no one would bat an eyelid. (Does Planet Hollywood even exist anymore? Can we go? Pleeeeeease?)

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Hey Luke, I've been listening to your music a lot recently. To me it sounds like the music somebody from another planet would compose after observing and studying us via what's on TV.
Yeah, it's not that hard to enter a mindscape in which the staples of our familiar culture here in the States appear extraterrestrial. It's a way of constructing some sort of mediating barrier between yourself and the American national reality. So, instead of seeing an oppressive reality you actually see the potential for capitalism to be really
alien and psychedelic. It's not necessarily the opposition between religion and entertainment but how those things totally complement each other. That's why I love America.

Wow, that's a lot heavier answer than I was expecting.
I've always been into stoned out pseudo-sociology but it doesn't necessarily translate into my music.

Were you the kind of teenager who spent hours and hours in front of the TV?
I've never been addicted to the tube, but it's hard to escape that reality. It's not so much about a quantitative TV exposure as it is about having serious quality tube time. Those moments that really strike you nostalgically and aesthetically, you know. Like watching Beverly Hills 90210 really stoned on soap.net at one in the afternoon.

You just covered the 90210 theme. What mystic chords of memory does that song pluck for you?
The televisual theme is really something I've been doing for a while with my various music projects. But there's something about that theme song that perfectly conveys an image. There's this weird short interview with John Davis (the dude who wrote and I guess performed the various versions of the theme) at some awards show talking about how they totally needed the theme for the remake of the show and how it really anchored the new show and tied it all together. To me covering that theme is like delving into the TV format and embracing its reality.

Why'd you go with Luke Perry? Is Dylan your favorite character?
Absolutely. Dylan symbolizes this brand of corporate-primetime cool that has an edge but is also totally banal and suburbanoid. I love David too. He basically has a kind of low-budget Vanilla Ice vibe that plays itself out pretty heavily. There're all these shots of him composing jams on workstation keyboards in his living room, and playing at the beach club. But I think Steve's character is pretty rad too, total corvette frat boy.

Do you ever feel typecast like Luke Perry did?
Luke is definitely trapped in Dylan. But it's because of this that Luke's image has been a half-baked focus for my own hybrid character. I can't even think of another one I'm really into to be honest. Actually, the new recordings/shows I've been doing are as Axl.
So what's next then for Luke Perry/Axl?
The new and final Luke Perry record is being released on cassette by El Tule Tapes and a split I did with Twins is being pressed to CS right now. Luke Perry's primetime re-run has been canceled. Axl is the new wave. History repeats itself for Luke Perry…
Yes, but this time he's not going to join Brenda anywhere.

"Street Galaxy"
[audio: http://viceland-assets-cdn.vice.com/viceupload/SPAIN/VICELAND%20MUSIC/11%20_street%20galaxy_.mp3]
"Brenda Vision"
[audio: http://viceland-assets-cdn.vice.com/viceupload/SPAIN/VICELAND%20MUSIC/Brenda-Vision.mp3]

EMILIANO BENGAY
www.myspace.com/lukeperryfanclub
Picture: Melissa Wynn