Part deux...
What are you more proud of, Peggy Suicide or The Modern Antiquarian?
Frank Stephens, Manchester
It's all the same/ I'm on the same riff, whether it's a book or music. Everything that I do is to be of use to culture. I operate on what the psychologist Gurdjieff described as "being duty". From the moment I'm awake in the morning to the moment I go to sleep, I'm informed by this total "Fucking hell!", and it's my job as an artist to turn that constant "Fucking hell!" into something that's useful to other people. When I wake up ever morning at about 5.15am and see ths ribbon of cars on the A4, starting their three-hour journey commute to London, that drives me to be interesting. If they're going to do that, I'm gonna work like a fucking lunatic to make music and write books that genuinely contribute to culture.
What do you think about LSD at the moment?
Mika Hyytiyffe, Finland
It's essential for people of my persuasion. If you're aiming to live a 9-to-5 life, stay off it. Stay on E or mushies. But, if you want to live a rich inner life, then sustainable, controlled LSD intake is useful. I only gave it up because my mother-in-law said it would make my kids mad if I carried on. And I trust my mother-in-law.
My kids always knew about the drug use. I was convinced that I'd kept it from them, but my eldest daughter simply pointed at a Texas number plate on the wall of our living room that reads LSD 615, and informed me that she'd known what LSD was since she was six. The thing is, you can't live a truly artistic life with one eye on the future of your kids. You can't. Your artistic life always had to be true. Luckily, my daughters are both pretty straight-edge.
What is your personal favourite of all the stone circles/standing stones/burial chambers you've visited and why?
Mark Trow, Yockleton, Shropshire
There are two - the monuments of Sardinia and the monuments of Aberdeenshire. They're both created by the most modern mindset that I've ever seen. They are evidence that we're not just NEAR the people of 6,000 years ago, but we're EXACTLY THE SAME. These were guys who were obsessive about building things to the point of destroying their own farming landscape. "Hey lads, haven't we got one of thos stone circles 300 yards away?" "Ah fuck it, let's build some more." Both of these monuments mirror the absolute obsessiveness of modern humankind.
Are you really a "fucking cunt for a singing drummer"? Who are your favourites?
Peter Sheppard, Sutton
Oh, yes. There's Joey Smith from a Japanese proto-metal trio called Speed Glue And Shinki. Joey's stage name was Speed, because all of his songs were about scoring, selling, and taking amphetamines. What's great is that, mid-song, when he wants to make a point, he just slows the whole song down, because he's in charge of the rhythm. The other great singing drummer is John Garner from Sir Lord Baltimore. They were the first band to be described as heavy metal, by Creem magazine in 1970. He was an OUTRAGEOUS singer. Think of yourself at your most ecstatic - probably inside your missus - well, John Garner starts at that point and goes up from there. It's as ridiculous as you can get. Of course, there are other great singing drummers - Robert Wyatt, Karen Carpenter, Iggy Pop and so on. But those two - Speed and John Garner - are the Moses and Mohammed of singing drummers.
My wife wants to know your secret for an evidently long and happy marriage.
Paul, Earlsfield
Sex, of course. Dorian and I worked this out ages ago. If we weren't still horny for each other, it would have been long over. I can get the conversation anywhere. It's only because I think she's gorgeous.
You often gloat at your live shows about your ability to still pull in a healthy front row of female fans. As a feminist, what role do these women play at your gigs and would it make any difference to you if they weren't there?
Alex Moulding, Somerset
We in the West are strong because we've got strong women. You go back to the Domesday Book, and a lot of Saxon landowners were women. Norse myths are full of female deities. I don't think you're going to have a balanced civilisation unless the woman is at the basis of it. And that's why I love rock'n'roll, because it's based on women not being reduced by getting their tits out, but by being worshipped becuse of it. My primary argument for rock'n'roll is the same as my primary arguement against monotheistic religions. Rock'n'roll is part of the Western experiment of taking Afro-American-informed rhythm, which is basically fuck music, and ritualising it and electrifying it so that it's even better to fuck to. You then get to the point where there's a symbiotic relationship between the audience and the performer. And yes, I need women in my audience. One of my best mates, Stephen O'Malley from Sunn O))), asked if he could form a band with me. He said "I'm just so fed up playing to bellies and beards." Ha! Having women in my audience validates everything ritualistic about rock'n'roll.
Do you believe in Valhalla?
Timothy, Dundee
I certainly believe I'm going to Hell. If the Christian revelation is true then I wish to be damned. If Mohammed's revelations are true, then I am damned, 'cos I'm just a dhimmi. If the Norse perspective is true, then I want to go to Hell because, in the Norse myth, Hell is a goddess. She was like St. Peter, the guardian of the gates. She kind of looked like Nico before she entirely lost it. It's all good underworld stuff. And I'm a cunt for the underworld.
What's the best thing that your daughters have said or done in school that makes you feel a proud and happy rock'n'roll father?
Ilias Piknadas, Athens, Greece
My 13-year-old won the school music contest by playing a medley, on her electric guitar, of Iron Butterfly's "In A Gadda Da Vida", "Heartbreaker" by Led Zeppelin and "Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple. Meanwhile, my 16-year-old, Albany, surpassed herself when they were asked, in Religious Education, to draw their image of "Christian Stewardship". She drew a monkey being nailed to a cross. That made me very proud.
Are you still driving and, if so, do you have an environmentally friendly car?
Lee Haynes, London
I'd say that "environmentally friendly car" is an oxymoron. It's like the eternal paradox that a meat-eater doesn't necessarily have to wish animals to die in order to choose to eat meat. You either accept that paradox or you spend your whole time being totally irreconcilable. I'm afraid I drive a 4x4 for the simple reason that, every time I've been stuck behind 4x4 drivers, those bastards are very likely to kill me. And, if they're going to smash into me, I want to be in a 4x4 when they do it. But I do try to drive my 4x4 as morally as I can.
Another quick break and I'll post the celeb questions...
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