when I discovered music and songwriting, I was rabid about it.” He decried how, in contrast, he feels that a sense of victimhood has become celebrated in today’s America: “In the America I grew up in, no one would ever want to be a victim the idea that you are subjugated to some series of events or set of circumstances, that wasn’t American.” Rather, McLean was adamant that his failures built up his character and drove him to work harder: “We were brought up to be independent, and have a sense of fair play, if we lost we shook the guy’s hand and said ‘beat you next time.’ That’s an important thing. It turns out a different kind of person.”
McLean was dogged in his determination to make it as an artist: “I was so hungry for success and something to define myself that was a good thing.
