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Music

Simply Pink

The two-time Grammy winner talks frankly about music, marriage and maturing before her bay area appearance.

By Dalia Wheatt
Published July 20, 2006

Pink's on the line, and today she feels like talking about . . .

"I am staring at my dog's butt," she says, laughing. "They have such funny butts."

So much for all the homework we did on politics and global women's issues. Following her satirically ditzy video Stupid Girls and her appearance on Oprah to discuss the effect Hollywood has on teenage girls, we figured the two-time Grammy winner would want to talk about the issues of the world.

But Pink - born Alecia Moore 26 years ago - cannot be pegged. She's simultaneously wise and silly, bold and insecure.

Maybe that's the point. As she told Oprah in April, the message of Stupid Girls is that "sexy and smart are not oil and water - and that you don't have to dumb yourself down to be cute."

Pink's conversation eventually moved beyond her bulldog's derriere to a range of topics both smart and sexy, starting with her husband of six months, Motocross daredevil Carey Hart.

What went through your mind when you proposed at the Motocross track?

Nothing, really. I'm very, very impulsive, and it just - the sun was shining the right way and the clouds parted, and I had a vodka soda, and it was on. . . . It just sort of popped into my head, and his dad was there and I asked him for his blessing and wrote it on the board.

How do you think marriage has changed you?

It's made me want to stay home a lot more. . . . That little traditional, screaming idiot inside of me comes out a little bit more. (Laughs)

What do you let her do? Does she cook? Does she wash the dishes?

Oh, I hate washing dishes, but I vacuum. I really love to vacuum. It's instant gratification.

What else do you do that people would call traditional?

I plant gardens. I take my dogs hiking. I love to bake cupcakes. I love to cook. We love to barbecue. I love to be with my family.

We googled "Pink pregnant" and got 10.5-million hits. Is there anything you'd like to tell us?

I have been pregnant for four years. And I have my assistant looking into contacting the Guinness Book of World Records, because that's pretty awesome.

Switching gears, what's up with the title of your new album, I'm Not Dead?

We wrote a song called I'm Not Dead, which is just about growing and changing and relationships and loss and gain and just everything. And I guess I named the album that because reflecting on the types of songs that I recorded, like Dear Mr. President and Stupid Girls and The One That Got Away and I Got Money Now and the one with my dad, I just feel for the first time in my life that I'm able to be present and aware and sort of - I can handle not being numb.

The song with your dad, My Vietnam, what is the story behind that?

He wrote that song I've Seen the Rains like 40 years ago in Vietnam, and it was the first song I ever learned. I always told my dad, "Look. Don't worry about me. I'm going to be rich and famous, and we're going to record that song on one of my albums." He's like, "Yeah, right. Go to school." And I sort of took pride in the fact that I could follow through with what I said when I was 4.

In Stupid Girls you say, "Where, oh where, have the smart people gone?" So who are some women you admire?

I think Natalie Portman is amazing. I think Reese Witherspoon, Angelina Jolie, Oprah. Who else? You know, I think a lot of people are really smart. It's just that my point was it's a lot easier to find out if they're getting a divorce than how smart they are.

Have you ever been a stupid girl?

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I still am. I'm still trying to figure it out, but I call myself a work in progress.

Do you regret anything particular that you did for a guy?

I used to do all kinds of stupid stuff. I mean, attention is wonderful and we need it, and sometimes we will sell our soul for it because we don't think our soul is worth keeping. And it took me a long time to figure out that respect is cooler, you know? It feels better and it lasts longer, and it makes you feel better the next day, whereas whatever you do for attention doesn't.

Last question: Is it true that Mandy Moore is your second cousin?

No, but I think that's adorable. (Laughs)

[Last modified July 19, 2006, 17:30:55]