Sting

RS: Who is the greatest singer-songwriter of all time?

JM: History tells me Bob Dylan. That’s the answer I want to give you. Artists like Dylan and Robert Johnson are unequivocally great, but I listen to it under an archival light, like I’m going to a library. So, personally, it’s gotta be Sting.

RS: How would you answer the claim that post-Police, Sting sucks?

JM: I can name just as many great Sting songs as Police songs. Just as many. He’s great at being consistent. Even if it’s not your cup of tea, it’s stayed not your cup of tea in the same way it’s not your cup of tea, while getting better at being not your cup of tea for the last fifteen years, ya know? Sting just makes sense to me. He’s coming from a jazz place. It’s got a rhythmic swing. It’s brilliant stuff.

When I hear Sting’s “Wrapped around Your Finger,” I don’t know what all of the lyrics mean. His melodies are so good that the lyrics are just something to sing. Not that Sting doesn’t write important lyrics, but he says, “I will listen hard to your tuition/ You will see it come to its fruition.” You don’t think those words are saying something emotional, but the music is so emotional. When I hear that song—and it’s one of the most gorgeous songs ever—it takes me there. The words are almost as important as the bass and drums. If you are Sting and your music is that good, it only adds to the mystique if listeners don’t get exactly what you’re saying.

JM: No one writes a bridge like Sting. That's the king of bridges to me.  You know "All This Time", that song? [singing Sting]. He's the bridge master. I don’t understand a lot of the references—a lot of ships and ponies. Doesn’t matter.

DD: I'm a huge Police guy. Ghost in the Machine, to me [...]

JM: I know every Police song. I know it through the box set. I’m one of these kids who don't know what songs on what record. I just know it was like—the box set was the original playlist. 

DD: It really was!

JM: I don't know what record it's from, I can't tell you what Brimstone & Treacle is on but I know how this song goes. I think it's disc four of the box set, I don't know.