Michigan’s Warren Defever, who has been making music under the moniker His Name Is Alive for decades, has long been a wellspring of whimsy and enigmatic experimentation. It would be difficult to sum up his body of work, so we figured that a dive into his listening habits might help provide a window into his process. This is all to say that we asked him about some of his favorite songs for hyper-specific situations. For an artist who’s known to be unpredictable, it checks out that he broke our rules a bit. Read his answers below!

Best song to play for your cat? 

“Vrindavana Sanchara” by Alice Coltrane

I rescued my cat, Brother James, from Cleveland, Ohio about seven years ago. I’ve always felt a little uncomfortable when friends would refer to themselves as a Cat Daddy or Cat Mom and it was clear from the start that me and this cat were gonna be equals, we would be brothers. He didn’t grow right and his legs are too short and he falls down a lot and often falls off the couch but also there’s a chance he does it in the spirit of entertainment, I’m not a hundred percent certain but it might just be performative. Anyways he seems to hate most music, or at least when I’m playing music. I play the drums, the piano, and guitar pretty much every day and he darts out of the room almost immediately as I begin my daily practice. I often find my cat chewing on my yoga mat and when I’m in shavasana (corpse pose) he comes over and licks my face and head and usually in that moment I’m often listening to something pretty chill or ambient so I’ll say the best song to play for my cat is Alice Coltrane’s “Vrindavana Sanchara.” She’s got harp, bells and tanpura, it’s in free time and it’s 100 percent vibe.

Best song about God?

“I’m Born To Preach The Gospel” by Washington Philips

I like a lot of those pre-war blues singers and they seemed to know a lot about God, Blind Willie Johnson goes on and on about the subject and of course Son House sounds like he’s seen God and is warning everyone to get straight even if he can’t seem to quit drinking. Then here’s a ton of early early (1890s) wax cylinders and 78s of vocal quartettes singing spirituals and the sound is so gnarly, it’s basically just crackling sounds mixed with bones and ghost voices. If it was up to me and I just had to name one song though and I had to pick it right now today I’d go with Washington Philips “I’m Born To Preach The Gospel.” Mr. Philips conjures real magic with his bell contraption and you can hear him ready to fight the devil choirs at the gates of heaven. Also his other best song, “What Are They Doing In Heaven Today,” begins with him admitting he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Best song by Thin Lizzy?

“Every Thing Lizzy Guitar Solo 1971-1983” by His Name Is Alive

My older brother tricked me into going halfsies with him on a Thin Lizzy record when I was ten. I saved up all my lunch money for two weeks and gave it him and then he rode his bike up to the Harmony House in the strip mall at the corner of Grand River and Farmington and came back with not the new ZZ Top album, Deguello, which I thought I was investing in (why did every band have two Z’s in their name in the late 70s—how could I possibly keep track of them all, I was only ten years old?). After I got over the initial disappointment of buying my first album and it containing neither “I’m Bad I’m Nationwide” nor “Cheap Sunglasses,” I grew to love the twin guitar duality, the heartfelt poetic yet street smart lyrics and the occasional Irish vibes. Eventually my brother would bring home the complete works of Thin Lizzy as well as both Phil Lynott solo albums. So many great songs from the early prog power trio days to one of the greatest double live albums of all time (also featuring Huey Lewis on harmonica!)—even their heavy metallish end period was great. To pick one song would be impossible, instead I give you a super cut of every Thin Lizzy guitar solo from 1971 to 1983, which contains about a hundred songs edited down to the essential harmony guitar solos. You’re welcome.

Best song to ward off ghosts? Best song you’ve recorded or remixed?

“The Treehouse For Earth’s Children” by Infinity People

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to combine these questions but I’m gonna try to sneak one by the editor. Nobody say anything plz. Why in the heck would you want to ward off ghosts??? First of all, they’re not even real, and, second, would you want to ward off UFOs too? I’m pretty sure they’re not real either but if they were we should at least invite them in and welcome them in a cordial manner. What if, in your sadly mistaken attempt to ward off your unwanted ghost, you accidentally only warded off their ghost clothes and then you’re stuck with a naked ghost in your basement. No way am I getting mixed up in that business. I say ghosts are good and even if you did succeed in sending them away, where are they going? Your neighbor’s house? Why do you hate your neighbors? I think it’s important that we can all learn to live together. This probably isn’t the best song I’ve written, recorded, produced or played a guitar solo on, but it sounds nice and it’s important to remember that music is primarily made up of sound. 

Best song to listen to when you’re in love? Best song by an artist as prolific as you are? Best song that you associate with Michigan?

“Lady Cab Driver” by Prince

There’s a Prince song for every occasion and there’s probably a Prince song for each one of these questions but I’ll just combine these three today. Prince has a special place in the heart of all Detroiters. The 1999 album I first heard at a Sunday school Christmas party and I knew something seemed wrong about looking at all the penises on the cover in church but I couldn’t quite make sense of it all. The Purple Rain album was the first music I ever heard where I recognized I was hearing effects like delay or flanger and that I also needed to use those effects myself and must start buying guitar pedals immediately. I used to hear the Electrifying Mojo on WJLB playing Prince and early Detroit techno and electro on the radio and that really made sense. Here’s one of the great love songs of all time and a very Detroit-ish track from Prince in 1982.

Best song from a rock opera?

“The Village Green Preservation Society” by The Kinks

There’s two things I feel it’s important to mention here before we go any further:

1. I consider a rock opera and a concept album to be the same thing, I don’t make a distinction between the two, unlike most people. It’s the same way that I don’t make a distinction between blue and purple—they’re both blue, although purple is the best blue. Stop signs are round. A rectangle is a square. I’ve kind of developed a system where things are simplified and there’s less things in the world to worry about. 

2. His Name Is Alive has released two records that were intended as rock operas or concept albums: Tecuciztecatl (2014) and Patterns of Light (2016). I’m not saying I’m an expert on the subject but I’ve dug in pretty deep and stuck my hands inside the thing long enough to have a pretty good idea how it works. Tecuciztecatl covers twinology, secret language and Aztec creation myths set in 1969 London. Patterns of Light was written after being invited to perform at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and spending a year studying particle physics with the scientist, Dr. James Beacham. That album features songs about dark matter and the search for extra dimensions but also studies the fundamental forces of nature as seen through the classic creation myths, the visionary theology of Hildegard Von Bingen, medieval manuscripts and cosmic maps, all in an effort to turn the physics back into poetry.

Okay, having gotten that out of the way, I’m happy to say I’ve just finished binge watching all six seasons of Downton Abbey and it’s clear to me that the best rock opera is The Village Green Preservation Society by The Kinks and the best song from a rock opera is the title track. Although it’s one of those things where I’m not sure how much is ironic or genuine concern about saving little shops, china cups, virginity and dracula, it really just connects. A word of warning tho: a British co-worker of mine just let me know that although his family loves the show, a friend of his who also loved “that TV programme” is now dead and to be very careful with “that TV programme.” Is there a curse on Downton Abbey? What about Antiques Roadshow? What about Jane Austen? Are we really ever safe? If they can get to D’angelo they can get to anybody.