Sufjan Stevens and Stevin Merritt

The two musicians were interviewed and asked to talk about popular music. The interview ends up sounding a little weird with Merritt sounding a bit pretentious and Stevens sounding a little backwoods.
Your music is eclectic, but people have tried to classify you under rock or pop headings. How do you resist being categorized?
MERRITT: By putting up a stink every time I’m labeled. Music is not a set of sounds. It’s a whole cultural phenomenon that includes Britney Spears, who would be absolutely meaningless if we didn’t see pictures of her. Beyoncé is not famous for her songs, she’s famous for that outfit. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. But the thing to do is to make a category that you like. Like the Magnetic Fields make variety music. There were a million TV variety shows in the seventies, and now there’s no such thing anymore.
STEVENS: Isn’t there a variety show with a young couple? Jessica Simpson?
MERRITT: Is she the daughter on The Simpsons?
STEVENS: No. I used to get Jessica Simpson mixed up with Lisa Simpson, too.