Anyone who writes about music has been in situations with artists who don’t really want to talk with them. The reasons are multiple, and can sometimes have nothing to do with the interviewer. It’s a job; some days the job sucks. But also, like, fuck anyone who makes the job suck.

At the end of the day, artist interviews with the press are purely transactional. Yes, even when they’re substantive and fascinating, it’s still a transaction. If one party doesn’t want to be there, the other person shouldn’t be made to feel like shit for it.

You sign up for this—on both sides. Maybe you’re struggling with that, but no record label is signing you purely for your art, and no publication is hiring you purely for your craft. It’s work, all the way around. So go into this with some civility unless we have reason to fight.

Whether the artist or the interviewer, you have one of the best jobs on a planet full of shitty jobs. You get to make music or write about music—for (some kind of) a living. Recognize how lucky you are, on both sides of the conversation. In that moment, it’s mutual. Commonality.