The Imus-Morrison Love Affair, Part II

Fresh off last night's gig at Madison Square Garden, Van Morrison talked music, religion, and unauthorized biographies today with his Rupert Pumpkin Don Imus, who has listened to the live and recorded versions of Van's Astral Weeks album at least 50 times.

First, Van wanted to talk biographies, specifically those that have been written about him without his input. "They never want to talk to me, and I've offered," he said, the studio lights bouncing off his big black sunglasses. "If you want to talk to me, I'll give you my input, seeing as I'm the subject matter for the book. It's a con!"

To Imus's suggestion that people are afraid to speak to him, Van said, "I'm the horse's mouth, but instead of getting it from the horse's mouth they get it from the donkey's ass."

The above statement, while crass, sounded positively melodic spoken in Van's Irish lilt.

Imus has had plenty of unauthorized crap written about him, and could not care less. "I think I'm a pretty decent guy," he said. A pause. "Did you know I have cancer, by the way?"

Since Van resides on planet Earth, he knew Imus had cancer, and was glad to hear the holistic treatments seemed to be working, so far.

Growing up in Belfast, Ireland, Van told Imus he found out about artists like Lead Belly, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf by invading his father's music library.

"That was my bible," said Van, who doesn't listen to any current music, but confessed a track he heard on the radio a few weeks ago caught his ear: It's A New Day, by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. Random, but we'll take it.

Van was also exposed to country artists like Hank Williams, which proved helpful when choosing tracks for his own country album Pay The Devil. "I just grew up with that, and blues, and jazz," he said.

Though he is clearly not country, Van said his style of songwriting is similar in that he writes his songs as one would write a play, using characters and storylines. "I think it's drama," he said. "It's theatre."

As Van struggled to remember a joke he'd heard about country music, Imus helped fill in the blanks, saying, "If you play country songs in reverse they have a happy ending."

Van praised country singers for their incredibly talent. "Almost everybody in the Country Music Hall of Fame can sing," said Van. "Compare that to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How many singers can you find there?"

Imus observed that many of Van's songs are about mysticism and spirituality, though Van is not a particularly religious person. He said his belief in God depends on how God is defined.

"I think people are programmed already...they get it from society, the media," he said, adding that the important part is ridding oneself of this programming.

Besides religion, millions of people, including the I-Man, find meaning in music, specifically the timeless tunes of people like Van, Bob Dylan, and The Beatles. Today, for example, Imus read into Van's song Madame George, which was based on a composite of characters, including some of Van's family members and a history teacher he once had. Not, as Imus suspected, on Elton John.

"There's no big mystery," Van said, with as much as a laugh as he could muster.

Formerly a member of the band "Them," with whom he released the B-side-track-turned-hit Gloria in 1964, Van said in the end "Them" was just, well, him.

"There wasn't any money, so everybody jumped ship," Van explained. "But the manager wanted to keep me. He said, 'As long as I have you, I can get anybody.'"

Breaking news: Unexpected "Them" reunion on the Imus in the Morning program today!

-Julie Kanfer