I Like People That Can't Sing

In 1991, legendary but down-and-out rock critic Paul Nelson was making a comeback and landed his dream assignment: fly from New York to Los Angeles and, separately, interview two of the most disparate popular music talents imaginable—Leonard Cohen and Lucinda Williams. Nelson reaches them at a time in their careers when both of them struggle with their respective record companies to be better understood and to be taken seriously. Nelson treats them as they deserve to be treated—as artists whose reputations as singer-songwriters are nonpareil.

Over several days each, he burns over five and a half hours of tape talking with Williams and another ten and a half with Cohen, exploring their childhoods and upbringing, loves and losses, musical influences, and more. Neither of these journalistic treasures had seen the light of day by the time of Nelson's death in 2006. I Like People That Can't Sing, in addition to making these interviews available for the first time anywhere, takes a hard look at the reasons behind Nelson's inability to bring them and other landmark interviews to fruition.