Sasha Frere-Jones is a famous New York City blogger. In addition, he writes for the New Yorker and plays in funk rock group Ui. Recently Frere-Jones posted on his blog that he was bowing out of the blog scene for a while:

I'm gonna be taking a little time off from this here blog. Not sure how long. Just need to clear my head, fix the roof (the metaphorical one), etc. Stay strong and we'll meet up again. I love you.

Within days, however, Frere-Jones had already broken his word. Today, Riff Central, sometimes known as the Republic of Riff, catches up with Frere-Jones and asks him about the mixup, and what he plans to do with his time away from his famous blog.

RIFF CENTRAL: YOU CAN'T STOP BLOGGING CAN YOU

SASHA FRERE JONES: I CAN'T HELP IT. SOMETIMES I'LL JUST BE SITTING AT WORK GOOGLING MYSELF, OR INTERVIEWING A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN, OR LISTENING TO AN ALBUM THAT HASN'T EVEN BEEN RECORDED YET, AND I'LL JUST HAVE THIS INCREDIBLE URGE TO BLOG ABOUT IT

RIFF CENTRAL: FASCINATING

SASHA FRERE-JONES: I'M WHAT THEY CALL A BLOG HOG

RIFF CENTRAL: I THOUGHT SF/J WAS JUST YOUR OWN BLOG THOUGH

SASHA FRERE-JONES: IT IS. I HOG MY OWN BLOG

RIFF CENTRAL: RUMOR HAS IT YOU ARE TAKING TIME OFF FROM SF/J TO WORK ON YOUR NEW BAND

SASHA FRERE-JONES: THAT IS TRUE. IT'S VERY DIFFERENT FROM UI TOO

RIFF CENTRAL: UI IS THAT FUNK ROCK GROUP RIGHT

SASHA FRERE-JONES: YES I GUESS WE WERE FUNKY AT TIMES

RIFF CENTRAL: SO WHAT IS YOUR NEW BAND NAMED

SASHA FRERE-JONES: I AM QUITE PLEASED WITH OUR BAND NAME ACTUALLY. IT IS CALLED: "GUI"

RIFF CENTRAL: GUI? LIKE GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE?

SASHA FRERE-JONES: NO. GUI, LIKE "GREAT UI". IN FACT THAT IS WHAT GUI STANDS FOR. MY BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THE ORIGINAL UI WAS THAT IT WASN'T GREAT. AND NOW IT IS GREAT. NOW IT IS GUI.

RIFF CENTRAL: I HAVE TO ASK. WHY DO YOU LIKE SNOW PATROL SO MUCH

SASHA FRERE-JONES: PEOPLE ASK ME THIS ALL THE TIME. TO BE HONEST I DON'T KNOW. IT'S LIKE ASKING, HEY, WHY DO I LIKE THE FALAFEL AT CHICKPEA, OR--AND HERE'S A GOODIE-- WHY IS THE SKY BLUE?

RIFF CENTRAL: THE SUNLIGHT HITS THE AIR MOLECULES IN A CERTAIN WAY AND IT REFRACTS THE LIGHT AT A CERTAIN WAVELENGTH

SASHA FRERE-JONES: YEAH, BUT WHY IS THE SKY BLUE?

RIFF CENTRAL: DO YOU GET EMAILS FROM DUDES WHO THINK YOU'RE A GIRL

SASHA FRERE-JONES: YES, I GOT ONE TODAY ACTUALLY

RIFF CENTRAL: WHAT DID IT SAY

SASHA FRERE-JONES: I REMEMBER IT WELL. IT READ: 'DEAR SASHA. WE SHOULD MEET UP. I HEAR YOU ARE "FRERE" HOT'

RIFF CENTRAL: THAT IS QUITE HILARIOUS. DID YOU WRITE BACK

SASHA FRERE-JONES: I WROTE BACK.

RIFF CENTRAL: YOU RASCAL

SASHA FRERE-JONES: WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW WHAT I SAID?

RIFF CENTRAL: YES

SASHA FRERE-JONES: I WROTE BACK: "DEAR FRIEND, ARE YOU "JONES'ING" ME?" THEN I SIGNED IT "SF JONES'ING"

RIFF CENTRAL: ISN'T THE WORD "JOSHING"

SASHA FRERE-JONES: PROBABLY. AT THIS POINT THOUGH I JUST SAY WHATEVER I FEEL LIKE

RIFF CENTRAL: IS IT TRUE THAT YOU HAVE EIGHT OR NINE DIFFERENT DESKS IN YOUR OFFICE AT THE NEW YORKER?

SASHA FRERE-JONES: WELL THAT'S A SILLY QUESTION. EVERY CRITIC AT THE NEW YORKER HAS FIVE DESKS. THE FIRST IS YOUR WORK DESK-- THAT'S WHERE YOU DO WORK. DESKS TWO THROUGH FOUR ARE FOR TAKING NAPS. TECHNICALLY YOU CAN TAKE NAPS AT YOUR WORK DESK TOO BUT IT'S FROWNED UPON. AND THE FIFTH DESK, THAT DESK IS YOUR FUN DESK. YOU CAN GUESS WHAT I USE THAT FOR

RIFF CENTRAL: PORN?

SASHA FRERE-JONES: YES

Download "Back Up" By Sasha Frere-Jones' funk group Ui

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