Why Won't You Admit It?

The AnOther Proust Questionnaire |

Alison Mosshart

June 30, 2010

Using his modern interpretation of the original Proust Questionnaire, Jefferson Hack uncovers the true mindsets of his peers. ORIGINAL POST

Following The Dead Weather's stylish performance this weekend at Glastonbury, and just in time for the second half of their tour around Europe this month, the band's raven-haired, brooding songstress and guitarist Alison Mosshart tells us what’s on her mind.

What are you thinking of right now?

All the things I have to do when I wake up in a few hours: record a vocal for a Dead Weather track, pack my bags, and take a plane from Nashville to Florida.

What makes you laugh?

Reckless driving.

What makes you cry?

People.

What do you consider to be the greatest invention?

The guitar. The car. And the camera. 

Do you have a mentor or inspirational figure who has guided or influenced you?

My friends. I feel very honoured to be surrounded by the people that inspire me.

Where do you feel most at home?

I haven’t had an answer to that in a long time.

Where are you right now?

Nashville, Tennessee.

What is your proudest achievement in work?

All the recordings I’ve made with The Kills and The Dead Weather.

What is your proudest achievement in life?

Doing exactly what I love.

What do you most dislike about contemporary culture?

The lack of mystery.

What do you most like about the age we live in?

It’s not easy. 

At what points do life and work intersect?

Always.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?

Don’t aspire to blend in.

What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?

Moving to London with about a hundred bucks to my name, and a far-out idea.

Recommend a book or poem that has changed your perspective on life.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s A Coney Island of the Mind.

What is your earliest childhood memory?

Seeing walking catfish and rattlesnakes in the front lawn. Tadpoles and pine cones. A revolver in my father’s desk drawer.

What’s the most important relationship in your life?

With my brother.

What’s the most romantic action you’ve taken?

Knowing that there are some people I would happily die for.

What’s the most spiritual action you’ve taken?

Following my heart all the time, even though I know it is destructive.

If you could wish for one change in the world what would it be?

That desire be looked at as a thing of beauty, not an illness.

If you could add one question to this project questionnaire what would it be?

Why won't you admit it?   

Jefferson Hack is the publisher and editor-in-chief of AnOther Magazine, AnOther Man and Dazed & Confused