‘My guitar was mangled – like my life!’ Goo Goo Dolls on how they made epic ballad Iris
‘I’m grateful to Taylor Swift, and others who have covered it, for introducing the song to a new generation.Three billion streams on Spotify is astonishing!’I was going through a divorce and living in a hotel in West Hollywood when my manager said Warner Brothers were seeking songs for the movie City of Angels.They already had U2, Peter Gabriel and Alanis Morissette, so I thought getting a track on there would draw attention to us.Warners showed me the film and it was like Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire.They wanted a song for the scene where the angel – played by Nicolas Cage – decides to become human to be with the woman he loves.
That’s the Meg Ryan role,I thought: “What would I say to her if I were him?”I went back to my hotel, where I had a guitar with four strings and a bizarre tuning: all Ds and a B,Like most of what was going on in my life, it was mangled,But I used it to write a song about the joy and pain of being human,It took about four hours.
When I played Warners what I had – intro, verse, chorus – they loved it.The band practised it in Swing House rehearsal rooms.We just kept playing until the bridge section seemed to shoot out of my fingers.When I was looking through the gig guide in LA Weekly, I saw Iris DeMent and thought: “That’s a beautiful name.I’ll call the song Iris.
”We recorded it in Los Angeles with producer Rob Cavallo, who got composer David Campbell to do a strings arrangement.We had never done anything like that before.I remember staring through the glass at all these strings-players and saying to Rob: “Once we do this, there’s no going back.” Session guitarist Tim Pierce played the beautiful mandolin parts, but had also brought also all these guitars and amps along.When I played the slide guitar solo, it sounded like fighting cats, so Tim played it and took it to another level.
When Iris came out as a single, the guys at Warners didn’t want to work on it, but their subsidiary Reprise, down the hallway, said they would.I’m grateful to Taylor Swift, and others who have covered it, for introducing it to a new generation.Three billion streams on Spotify is astounding and overwhelming, but if it wasn’t for those people at Reprise, nobody would have heard it.I never got to meet Nic Cage, but I did go to the movie premiere and sat behind him.I could pick the back of his head out of a lineup! When we were nominated for three Grammys, alongside acts like Celine Dion and Aerosmith, I knew we’d never win.
So I had a T-shirt printed reading: “I was nominated for three Grammys and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.” After you’re unsuccessful, there’s always a line of press asking: “How do you feel, John?” So I pointed at the T-shirt.When we started, we all lived in one bedroom and had dreams of taking over the world, but you never think anything will actually happen.We were imitating the punk rock bands we loved and thought we were killing it: driving round the country playing rock shows while our friends were sitting at home.We played lots of shows to hardly any people, but over 10 years we did figure out how to be entertaining.
I was living in an apartment in Buffalo with my girlfriend when John called to tell me about the film,Then he called again and played Iris for me over the phone,I thought the song was awesome, but then I love everything he writes,However, I never thought: “Wow, this is going to be a transformational song we’ll be talking about in 30 years,”At one point, John made a demo of it – guitar, possibly with a drum machine.
Later, the studio version would switch time signatures and take the freaky middle section in a different direction, but the bass part stayed simple and it still felt like the sort of song we’ve always done – until we found ourselves sitting in front of an orchestra.At that point, I thought: “This is a long way from that bedroom we shared.”The craziest thing is that after we went in and recorded the version everyone loves, in the movie they used another version – solo acoustic – of John playing it.After they’d spent all that money! So we said: “Can you at least put it on the soundtrack album?” And they did.Iris has kind of overshadowed all our other songs, but it’s an amazing wind to have behind us.
UK motor fuel prices rise since Middle East conflict began, and energy bills could jump 10% in July – business live
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.The dust is settling after Rachel Reeves’s spring forecast statement yesterday, which showed that growth will be weaker than hoped this year while unemployment will be higher.While the chancellor claimed the UK could ‘beat the forecasts again’, economists are concerned that the ongoing Middle East crisis will hurt the economy, and household finances, badly.The Resolution Foundation have just released their overnight analysis of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast.The good news? The UK is set for a “decent”, one-off increase in living standards this year, and a bumper rise for lower-income families
War in Middle East ‘could wipe out growth in UK living standards’
The Middle East crisis could trigger an energy price shock that more than wipes out the £300 rise in living standards a typical working-age household could otherwise expect this year, a leading thinktank has warned.The Resolution Foundation said a “decent” one-off increase in average living standards in 2026 and a bumper rise for lower-income households could be reversed by rising oil and gas prices as the Iran conflict disrupts supplies.However, if the recent jump in energy prices persists, the foundation said all the gains could be wiped out.While the effect may not be as large as the increase caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which sent the cost of food, oil and gas soaring, a rise this year in oil and gas prices could add a percentage point to UK inflation and £500 on typical annual energy bills, it said.The UK’s reliance on gas from the Middle East makes it especially vulnerable to an effective blockade of the strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s liquid natural gas is transported
Europe’s next-generation fighter jet project may collapse if row continues, says warplane maker
France and Germany’s next-generation fighter jet project could soon be “dead”, one of the two companies tasked with delivering it has warned, amid a worsening corporate rift over who gets to build the aircraft.Dassault Aviation, France’s leading warplane maker, said Airbus’s defence arm – which represents Germany and Spain – needed to cooperate on the €100bn programme otherwise it would collapse.“Airbus doesn’t want to work with Dassault, full stop. I take note. I never said I didn’t want to work with Airbus or with the Germans,” said Éric Trappier, Dassault’s chief executive, via an interpreter while presenting the company’s financial results on Wednesday
Google faces lawsuit after Gemini chatbot allegedly instructed man to kill himself
Last August, Jonathan Gavalas became entirely consumed with his Google Gemini chatbot. The 36-year-old Florida resident had started casually using the artificial intelligence tool earlier that month to help with writing and shopping. Then Google introduced its Gemini Live AI assistant, which included voice-based chats that had the capability to detect people’s emotions and respond in a more human-like way.“Holy shit, this is kind of creepy,” Gavalas told the chatbot the night the feature debuted, according to court documents. “You’re way too real
South Africa v New Zealand: T20 World Cup cricket semi-final – live
7th over: New Zealand 91-0 (Seifert 47, Allen 44) The Powerplay is over; the power play is not. Seifert makes room to belabour Keshav Maharaj’s third ball through extra cover for four.A relatively quiet over, yet New Zealand still scored seven from it. They need 79 from 78 balls and should cruise to victory.6th over: New Zealand 84-0 (Seifert 41, Allen 43) Finn Allen completes an awesome Powerplay by manhandling Corbin Bosch’s first over for 22
Dennis Cometti was erudite, funny and engaging. His witticisms could fill a library
The late Tony Charlton, who called a dozen VFL grand finals and three Olympic Games, said sporting commentators should “produce words like bubbles in champagne”. There have been some sublime sporting commentators in this country. But no one in Australian broadcasting turned words into bubbles like Dennis Cometti. Few could match his repertoire of wit, timing and verve. And few were so professional, so versatile, so fully dedicated to their craft, so capable of meeting the moment
Stuffed peppers and aubergine dip: Sami Tamimi’s recipes for savoury Palestinian snacks
Australian supermarket muesli bars taste test: the worst is ‘both dry and moist’
Why do my potatoes go black after cooking? | Kitchen aide
‘Where the magic really happens’: the influencers out to celebrate – and save – Britain’s ‘proper boozers’
Stuffed battered chillies and chilli cheese toasties: Maunika Gowardhan’s favourite Holi snacks – recipes
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for chard borani soup with yoghurt, crispy garlic and beans | Quick and easy