After bursting out in the early 80s with one of the greatest debuts in modern rock history, and, thus, rock critics falling all over him as the next big thing, Marshall Crenshaw has settled into a career as a sort of highly respected cult artist. He may not be the household name his fans think he deserves to be, but he's forged a steady career playing by his own rules and gaining mounds of street cred in the process. Here we talk about the decision to work with producer Steve Lilywhite on his second album Field Day (which has just been remastered and reissued on vinyl), the tensions between him and Warner Bros., the movies he's worked on like La Bamba and Walk Hard, and some of his collaborators (Gin Blossoms, Was (Not Was), Smithereens). It is not a stretch to say that Crenshaw is one of the greatest songwriters of the modern era and a true national treasure.
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