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Jan 06, 2011 By Under the Radar Staff Web Exclusive

For Under the Radar’s 8th annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to 2010. However our printed pages weren’t enough to hold all the great responses we got. Pick up a copy of Under the Radar’s Year End issue for interviews with: The Antlers, Bon Iver, Caribou, Club 8, Delphic, Rose Elinor Dougall, Gayngs, Hot Chip, Lost in the Trees, Love is All, The Love Language, Mogwai, of Montreal, Okkervil River,Yoko Ono, Owen Pallett, Plants and Animals, Mark Ronson, Superchunk, Tame Impala, Vampire Weekend, Sharon Van Etten, and Vivian Girls. Then check here for bonus responses not found in the magazine. Here are additional answers from from Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai.

What was the low point of 2010 for you?

You really don’t want to know.

What are your thoughts on President Obama’s job performance in the last year? Has your optimism, if you were an Obama supporter, waned?

As a non-American I find it hard to say. He always had a hard job ahead of him, so I can see why people are disappointed that he hasn’t reinvented the wheel.

Who would you rather listen to—a totally original musician whose compositions are groundbreaking but difficult to listen to or a musician whose songs are immediately enjoyable but derivative? Why?

Can’t I like both? Both sound pretty awesome!

What are your hopes and plans for 2011?

Have a nice time and play a lot of good music.

What are your thoughts on the Tea Party movement?

They are hilarious.

With the Internet making every artist’s music potentially available to a wide audience, is it now easier to find listeners or more difficult because you have to compete with so many other musicians?

I just get on with it. All you can do is your best.

If your house was on fire, what would you grab as you were running out?

My dogs.

If you could relive one day of your life, which would it be?

Jesus. I can’t answer that.

If you had a bucket list, what would be the Top 4 things on that list?

I don’t know what that means.

Do you have any recurring dreams or nightmares?

No. I dream I’m flying once in a while, which is great, but I think most people do.

Who was your first love and do you still keep in touch with them?

It was a girl called Adele and we’re still friends.

Have you ever been starstruck when meeting another musician? If so, by who?

I could hardly speak when I met Mudhoney.

What or whom do you miss most when you’re touring?

I miss going to see Glasgow Celtic [football team].

When you think of the future, what scares you most?

Nothing. I’m into it.

Do you (or did you) have any pets? If so, can you tell us about them? Who takes care of your pets while you are on tour?

I have two dogs called Princess and Rambo. They are mongrels. My ex-wife will look after them when I’m away.

If you could freeze time, what would you do?

Eh? I don’t really understand. Surely if time was frozen nothing would happen? Am I missing something?

What are your thoughts on chillwave? Do you feel that it’s a legitimate genre/movement or something simply created by music journalists? In general, do you feel that most scenes/movements are organic or are created by the media?

I don’t know. Is that music with all the reverb on the singing? Some of it seems good, I suppose. Scenes usually have a couple of good bands and loads of crap that just copies them. I like individualism more than scenes.

What do you predict will be the next big social change?

No idea.

Do you have any other thoughts about the current state of the world or the state of the music industry?

The world is round and the music industry is fucked. Thankfully music is thriving.

(www.mogwai.co.uk)