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.C. Newman doesn't care much for music critics, despite the superlative-studded reviews he's racked up since 1997. It was that year, after spending years in smaller bands such as Zumpano and Superconductor, that Newman assembled a group of his friends in Vancouver to record an album under the name The New Pornographers. They were immediately dubbed a "supergroup" due to their roster of indie talent: Newman; Neko Case, who was already an established country singer; and Destroyer's Dan Bejar. Under Newman's direction, the band has released four albums in the past seven years, all of them critically acclaimed. A lot of that praise ends up aimed at Newman — the easily unimpressed Onion A.V. Club called him a "songwriting genius" upon the release of his 2004 solo effort, The Slow Wonder, an exquisitely carved, virtually flawless mid-tempo exercise.

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A decade after recording their first single, "Letter From An Occupant," The New Pornographers are wrapping up the North American tour behind their fourth album, Challengers. As he prepares to head for Europe, Newman spoke to Nerve about holding together an eight-piece band and his life as a newlywed. — David Callicott

I've heard you described as a genius on more than one occasion. When did you first realize you were a talented songwriter?
I never really thought of myself as being any good until I got that outward praise. I had put out records before and they were kind of obscure, and I thought, well, I guess I'm not that good. Then Mass Romantic came out, and I thought, well, I guess I am good because everybody keeps saying it. I'm sure I'm really influenced by Dan [Bejar]. It always helps to have someone else in the band who's writing songs at such an incredibly high level. It makes you try harder just to keep up.

You once said you think all of Dan's songwriting is overtly sexual.
I was just screwing with him. All I know is that when the song "Entering White Cecilia" came, we were like, "What the hell does that mean, 'Entering White Cecilia'?" But it was actually meant to read like a stage direction, like, "Enter White Cecilia, Stage Left." But when you put that "ing" on it, it changes the whole thing.

It does sound sexual.
I'm sticking with it: everything he writes is overtly sexual.

If he's more sex-oriented, and you more heart-centered?
Yeah, I can see that. That totally makes sense. I kind of write with my heart, and Dan writes with his dick, I guess.

You described the song "Challengers" using the quote, "A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to discover through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened." What are those two or three images for you?
I don't know. I don't even remember who wrote that quote. I just remember I read it in the liner notes for a Scott Walker album. I can't remember if it was Camus or Nietzsche; I always get them mixed up. But it's true, anyone who is doing something creative, they're always chasing something. And a lot of the time you're not even sure what it is you're chasing. That's the best explanation I've ever found for that.

What have you been chasing?
I don't know, maybe some sort of formless happiness? If I could put it into words I would have a number-one hit.

Where does your band's name come from?
It was basically just some words I liked. I liked the movie The Pornographers. I thought it was a cool word, and a strange word. "New" was taken from The New Seekers. I always thought it was funny that there were The Seekers, and then a few years later there was The New Seekers. So for some reason I had it in my head that we should be the "New" something.

Newman at the Tivoli de Helling in Newfoundland.

You've joked about being a nerdy band. Was the name a way to make you sound less nerdy?
You know, we never called ourselves that. It just happened. I think I'm to blame for the nerdy element. What's funny is that [critics] who call us a nerdy band are infinitely nerdier than us. As if the writer is James Spader in a John Hughes movie or something. It's been a dream of mine to start a website that has pictures of rock writers, with little captions that say, "Look at this asshole." But if you're nice, you stay off the list.

I'm nice.
Then you're okay. You won't suffer the wrath of my blog, which will be called lookatthisasshole.blogspot. I'm only after the people who shouldn't be seen.

The moustachioed guy on the cover of Challengers looks like he might have had a past in the porn industry. It makes me wonder if you really are into pornography.
I never thought that Blaine [Thurier, their drummer] looked like a porn star. He was just trying to look like a turn-of-the-century boxer in that photo.

So you're not a porn fan?
No, not particularly. Mostly because most of it is pretty harsh. It's not like they're really hot people. It usually looks like they just fell out of a Skid Row bar. It's just not that interesting. You might as well be jerking off over an anatomy textbook. Which people probably do.

Do you have super groupies?
I don't know. I don't see them. I'm married, so why would they possibly consider me?

Well, you're recently married, right?
Yeah, two months ago.

So before that you probably had groupies. Or does your band not attract that?
It's not the nature of our band. We're older. There's two women in the band. It's not like we're four twenty-year-old guys looking to get fucked every night. We're people with lives, you know. It's boring. It takes away from the rock-and-roll debauchery.

I think I'm not the only person who was originally drawn to you guys because of Neko Case. Yet it seems she has a bit of an attitude problem when she's onstage with the New Pornos.
Really? You've thought that when you've seen us?

Yeah, and I assumed it was something that not only the fans were noticing.
We've actually never been happier.

Do you find yourself playing the role of mediator, having to keep everyone happy?
Yes, I do actually. It comes with the territory. Not that it's a hard job. When the band started out, it was kind of my thing. I felt like I had to keep it together.

Is it still just your thing, or does it feel like it's its own band now?
It definitely is [its own band]. But it's not an equal democracy. I don't think anything works really well as an equal democracy, especially when you have seven or eight people in the band. It might work with a two- or three-piece, but with us, I ultimately need to be the main veto. Not being insanely controlling or anything, but if there's something that I don't want to happen, it's certainly not going to happen.

In Winnipeg, Manitoba

Do you think a coed band has different tensions?
Not really. In any situation, getting everyone to agree is tricky. There's always some problem somewhere.

Is that limiting, or does it serve as a source of creative energy?
I don't find conflict to be the source of creativity. I find it very limiting. It's just something you need to work around. But it's just the average kind of conflict, like anybody in a relationship. When you're on tour, you're stuck with people for three weeks straight. After a while you want everybody to just shut up and not talk, just sit in silence and coexist.

When can we expect another solo album?
I'm tentatively throwing around the idea of taking the whole month of January to record a solo album. Just block-book a studio for a month and see what comes out. I've also been throwing around going to Glasgow for a couple of weeks to record, but that's all talk.

You moved to the United States from Canada. How are you enjoying living here?
I've been in Brooklyn for about a year and nine months. I love it. Christie [his wife] and I bought a place in Brooklyn last August, and we got married this August.

I think it's a common fear that it'll be impossible to stay monogamous in a marriage. Was that a consideration for you, especially with all the time you'll likely be away on tour?
I don't think that's going to be a problem at all. When I'm out on the road in the bus, living that really exciting rock-and-roll life, what I really want is to be at home with my wife and my dog, watching TV. Because at this point, that's what makes me happy.

Did you ever think before you got married that you were going to be that lonely old guy?
No, I never thought that really. I've had pretty good luck. There's too much to worry about in the present to start worrying about fifteen years in the future. You've got to remember how many lonely women there are in the world.

Do you find that married sex is better?
Sure. Infinitely better. What possible answer would I give? Like I'm really going to say, "Things aren't going too well in bed for me now." That'd be the pull quote, right?  

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© 2007 David Callicott & Nerve.com