The conversation--which took place as Marshall strolled the streets of New York City with a cellular phone in hand--got off to a rough start. She first thought the interviewer was a bill collector.

Matt Hilburn: Why a cover album?

Chan Marshall: Because I just wanted to put out the songs. When I was on tour, I was playing some of these songs at the end, and I started hating my own songs. I had to play my songs every night for nine months, and these were songs I wanted to put out.

Were these songs you grew up with?

A few of them. Like four of them. The rest of them are songs friends had given me on tapes that I really liked. ''Salty Dog,'' ''Satisfaction,'' ''Sea of Love'' are the songs I kind of grew up with.

Do you have any formal music training?

Hell no. I wish. I would have loved to have taken piano or violin.

Did you feel naked without a band behind you?

No.

I think your version of ''(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction'' is brilliant. Was it nerve-wracking at all to re-do such a classic in such a different vein and without the chorus?

No. Not at all. It was just like I wanted to hear it. One night at home I just started playing it, and that's pretty much the same way I play it live and the way I recorded it. It wasn't hard or weird at all.

How about ''I Found A Reason?'' That's a great song.

Same thing. I bought a piano and just started playing on there and then that song just came out. One night at a club, I played it and I thought, 'I'll put that on the record.' Nothing's premeditated. If it was, I wouldn't do it.

You're a big fan of Michael Hurley.

Yeah, I like him. I like him a lot. I like the purity, the sweetness. He's timeless. I'm not really that smart about music, so I don't really know what to say.

What influence did your dad have on your music?

On my music? None at all. On my upbringing? Well, I get personal traits from him. [A dog interrupts the interview.] It's a cute little wiener dog.

How'd it feel to have worked so long without much notice and then suddenly get vaulted into the spotlight with ''Moon Pix?''

Well, I was never truly vaulted, but I know what you mean. To actually sell out a show and be a headliner feels flattering, but it's slightly creepy when they want to hear the same songs again and again that I can't do because I don't feel them anymore.

How do you walk that line between wanting to please the crowds and wanting to please yourself?

It's pretty psychological. I wasn't ever really used to much attention. I moved around a lot so I was always the new girl at school.

Do you like performing live, giving interviews and all the other stuff associated with being a recording star?

I don't mind it. I don't think I particularly like it, but it's okay.

You seem pretty gregarious in the interviews I've read, but your music is, for the most part, stark 'n' dark. Is Cat Power an alter-ego?

What does that word mean? Oh, I think it's my southern upbringing. I'm totally happy to do it. It doesn't bust my balls at all. As for Cat Power being at alter-ego, no. It's just something I do occasionally.

A lot of articles I've read make a big deal out of you being from the South. What do you think of that? How, if at all, is your southernness reflected in your music?

I don't like pigeonholing. There's more to describing a person than just saying they're from New Jersey. It's kind of condescending when it's mentioned. I'm not, like, shouting, 'Hey, I'm from the South.' It's a weird thing. I think there are things about me that are southern, but there are other things that aren't. It's kind of like when someone mentions it, they're presenting this cartoon of a bucktoothed, uneducated person. [Another dog interrupts.] Hey doggie. I love you. He's so flabby. You're a bad boy. Yes you are.

The southern thing gets annoying.

So you weren't tempted to do a cover of ''Sweet Home Alabama?''

Actually, ''Free Bird,'' which I have actually done a few times.

Do you have any snappy comebacks to dog people who claim that cats are so stupid?

No. Cat Power is actually named after Cat Diesel Power, the truck company. We didn't have a name, and there was this guy standing there with one of those hats, and that's what we went with. Actually, I like cats, but I'm more of a dog person. I'm in love with every dog I see.

I can tell.

[To dog] Yes, and he loves me too.