JOANNA: Kele? Is this you?!

KELE: Yes. Let's do this.

JOANNA: I've been chasing your band around for, like, two months trying to interview you.

KELE: Really? No no no no '

JOANNA: Really' I swear. It's so emasculating [laughs].

KELE: What do females feel that's equivalent to the word emasculating?

JOANNA: Umm'I don't know. Is it "degrading"? Is that what people say?

KELE: For the term emasculate '

JOANNA: I don't know ' is it supposed to be a male thing? You can still feel emasculated if you're a woman, right? I think you can.

KELE: Well, it's actually quite sexy if a female says it, but if a male uses it'it isn't quite as sexy.

JOANNA: Yes. So what I am trying to tell you is, that chasing your band around for an interview makes me feel like less of a man [laughs]!

KELE: [Laughs]

JOANNA: So tell everyone your name.

KELE: My name is Kele.

JOANNA: Your name is Kele, and what do you do in Bloc Party?

KELE: I play the guitar.

JOANNA: Oh, and how long has Bloc Party been a band for?

KELE: Since August 2003, so that's about a year and a half.

JOANNA: That's not a very long time.

KELE: No, it isn't a very long time at all.

JOANNA: Well Bloc Party has certainly progressed very quickly. I live in New York City, and when your single comes on in any of the cool hipster clubs, people start screaming and dancing like crazy. Did you know that?

KELE: I can't believe it'does everyone then start leaving?

JOANNA: [Laughs] NO! Everyone doesn't start leaving ' everyone starts dancing, you know?!!! In fact, I don't think a party is really a proper party without Bloc Party these days.



KELE: I've never heard my songs played on the dance floor.

JOANNA: Well I guess you're probably too busy being on tour and writing music to go and hang out at clubs and listen to your own music.

KELE: I always leave the club when my band's songs come on.

JOANNA: Now that's silly. You don't have to sing along and make a big scene.... but don't protest your own band!

KELE: Well it's not a protest it's just that I feel...

JOANNA: Does everyone have to chase you around for two months for an interview?

KELE: I think so.

JOANNA: Ok. I better make this good then. Ummhmm... so were you guys friends with Franz Ferdinand or is that a lie?

KELE: That's a lie.

JOANNA: That's a really lame lie. The press really needs to come up with better lies.

KELE: We're not friends and we're not enemies.

JOANNA: Ok, well I read something in, like, Blender I think, that made it seem like you guys were like, childhood buddies.

KELE: Well, they're songs are played all over the clubs. I know that for sure.

JOANNA: I never really wanted to interview Franz Ferdinand, if it makes you feel better.

KELE: Yeah?

JOANNA: Yeah. You guys are much better looking, and you have more than one good song.

KELE: Oh thank you!

JOANNA: Do you know what you're being interviewed for right now?

KELE: Ummm'uhhh'.uhhh...some indie porno site or something.

JOANNA: Yeah! It is an indie porno site or something! Have you ever heard of it? It's called BurningAngel.

KELE: I haven't'uhhh'uhhh'I'

JOANNA: Oh my god, you sound nervous! Did I just make you nervous???

KELE: No'they need to put more girls of color on indie porn sites.



JOANNA: But actually there aren't many girls of color in the indie rock scene, and an indie porn website is a reflection the subculture, you know? It's unfortunate and people ask us all the time, like, 'Why are there no girls of color on our website?' and to be honest in the three years that I've been doing this website, we've gotten maybe five applications from girls of color.

KELE: How do you get the girls to model?

JOANNA: Getting people? Well'we don't exactly go out into the streets and go like 'Attention all women!!! Take your clothes off here!' [Laughs] You know, there's this model form on the website stating, quite clearly, "if you want to model for us then fill out this form." After the form is reviewed, the subject is required to come into the office and sing a song in front of a harsh panel of judges, one of which is Paula Abdul. It's a very scrutinizing process.

KELE: Wait... what?

JOANNA: I was joking after the application part. Paula Abdul would never want to work here.

KELE: Are there any equivalent guy websites?

JOANNA: Equivalent guy websites? Well I tried to start a guy website like BurningAngel.com called BurningBoys.com, but it got, ummm, neglected. Running this company takes up so much time and starting a whole new project was really biting off more than I could chew. Quite honestly, I didn't really enjoy art directing photo-shoots of tattooed boys masturbating. I found it more worthwhile to fuck them on camera. Nonetheless, over the past year I managed to come across a few select individuals who respect the male physique more than I do, and were willing to help re-launch the project. Hopefully it will be up in time for me to get you a membership for Christmas.

KELE: Do you have to be naked on the site?

JOANNA: Yeah, you do have to be naked'and erect. I mean... wouldn't you be angry if you paid to join a site loaded with photos of clothed un-aroused boys?

KELE: (laughs) Well, I think I'd be up for that.

JOANNA: For what... paying for photos of boys in clothes? You would be up for that?

KELE: No, I mean posing for this new site.

JOANNA: Really?

KELE: I mean, it would be fun, and I think it would shock people.

JOANNA: Yes. And I believe that everybody needs to be shocked every once in awhile.

KELE: I think that Block Party is able to shock. Sans nudity.

JOANNA: How so?

KELE: Well we don't mimic the same sound, or have the same aesthetic that all the other rock bands have.

JOANNA: Yeah. Personally, I can't really respect a band unless at least three of the members have made a concerted effort to dress like Morrissey.

KELE: Oh, then you would not like us at all.

JOANNA: KELE! I'M JOKING!

KELE: Ohhhhh Ok. Sorry. I get defensive, because we as a band very much believe in what we do and don't wish to be accepted by those who don't.

JOANNA: Well what is it you believe in?

KELE: Well first of, we are multiethnic, which I think is a very necessary shock to the system.

JOANNA: That's kind of sad that being in a multiethnic band in this day and age is still considered a shock.

KELE: Yes. We have a long way to go, unfortunately. I grew up in a very diverse area, so being in an environment with many different types of people always felt very natural to me.

JOANNA: Do you think that being in a successful band gives you an ability to influence the masses in a positive way?

KELE: Yes. I mean, I get a bit of a chance to be in the spotlight and be heard.

JOANNA: Do you totally hate porn?

KELE: No, but I don't totally like it either. Sex is something that I've never really wanted to share with anyone other than the person I was doing it with.

JOANNA: Well, I don't really like sharing sex with one person. I'd much prefer to do it on camera with someone I barely know, in a production specifically intended to please everyone else in the world who is in need of some sexual gratification. Although, I also know that is probably kind of weird.

KELE: Whenever I've seen pornography, it's got a tone of domination that makes me uncomfortable.

JOANNA: Yeah, well.... sometimes I think people forget that a porn is just a movie. Characters in Hollywood movies are contrived in order to inspire some sort of emotion in the viewer, porn is designed to do the same thing. It's just a form of entertainment. Now the fact that people are entertained by watching someone else get dominated is a more appropriate problem to address, whose explanation is probably way uglier than porn could ever be.

KELE: Yeah, I mean everyone likes having sex. I feel like porn could be done a lot more tactfully.

JOANNA: But not everyone is allowed to admit they like having sex, which is where some of the gender inequality in this ugly world stems from.

KELE: Well I feel like a lot of the porno out there makes other people feel justified to express feelings that are counterproductive to any kind of progress.

JOANNA: Well, we could go back and forth all day.... and truthfully, I don't really care about how you feel about porn. I only care about your thoughts on my porn. So can I send you one, and then you can let me know if it made you uncomfortable or not?

KELE: (laughs) Yes of course.

JOANNA: Alright then Kele, I think we're done. Thank you so much!

KELE: This was by far the best interview I've done all day.

JOANNA: Awwwwwwwwww, thank you!