It Seems to Be a Lot Tamer Now

Mathangi Arulpragasam: No. No, no.

Mark E. Smith: No, definitely not.

Arulpragasam: I don’t have a place.

Smith: The only problem I have is what to leave out.

Arulpragasam: Watch the ads on the telly, they tell you that buying clothes or a mobile phone is supposed to change your life, make you a happier person.

•••

Smith: That sounds ridiculous, but it’s the truth.

Arulpragasam: Social reality didn’t really exist there; it just stopped at theory.

Smith: All these people were walking around in black stockings and torn Union Jacks and spiky hair.

Arulpragasam: It’s not considered a profession, but something you do when you’re a little bit stupid, and dumber than the rest.

Smith: They’re quite different. It seems to be a lot tamer now.

•••

Arulpragasam: That’s how you feel as a teenager.

Smith: Some of it’s prose, some of it’s just snatches.

Arulpragasam: Oh my God, that’s hard.

Smith: We used to get attacked onstage by punks. They said, “Where can we get your tape?”

Arulpragasam: [Laughs] You are gonna have to watch this space to see how it evolves.