Time Out New York asks the tough questions to the eccentric folkie…

TONY: Your song “Little Boys” is about wanting to marry little boys…

Devendra Banhart : Okay, let me explain myself. When we were recording the record, my friend said to me, “You know, man, they’re going to play this record in Starbucks.” And I said, “Well, I’m going to write a song that will guarantee that will never happen.” Then that night we watched the movie Chicken Hawk: Men Who Love Boys, about NAMBLA, the North American Man/Boy Love Association. At the same time, swimming in my head was the idea of a song about a schizophrenic hermaphrodite with the male and female physical characteristics in one body, but also the male and female psychologies in one body. So the first half of the song is from the male perspective, and then it switches, and the second half is from the female perspective.

TONY: Aren’t you worried about getting a reputation like Michael Jackson’s?

Devendra Banhart : You mean his reputation as the King of Pop? That would be great!