Interview With Producer Arif Mardin -- Part 1
think shows like Rent are bridging the gap we have now between Pop and Broadway?
MARDIN: Hopefully. Rent proved to be a very successful musical, not just on Broadway but also the cast album sales. I wish there were more shows like Rent, with songs that are written for the plot but also stand on their own. Now it’s more costumes and incredible sets, and hardly any songs. I mean apart from some great composers like Sondheim, people aren’t interested anymore in writing a hit song that could actually be taken out and recorded by someone else. That happens more in films, like Celine Dion in Titanic. Films are more Pop radio-friendly, obviously. But musicals are difficult.
JC: What do you respect in a song?
MARDIN: Definitely honesty, meaning honest feeling. It has to hit me in the chest. I cannot describe it. You cannot computerize it.
(Continue to Part 2, where Mardin tells what he looks for in a song demo.)
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