The new Pretenders album is called "Viva El Amor" ("Long Live Love"). Such sentimentality may surprise people who consider the group's leather-clad singer Chrissie Hynde the archetype of defiant female rockers. But it turns out she's not all tough talk and bulldog attitude. Hynde, 47, who recently married a Colombian sculptor, revealed a more genteel side when we caught up with her a few weeks ago. The Pretenders play at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of this year's Lilith Fair.

Q: Are you a big believer in love?

A: Everybody is. Everyone wants it. Things don't live without it. (The album title) was also a reference to the fact that I got married to a South American man.

Q: Do you get good deals on cocaine now?

A: Yeah, a big discount. I needed that.

Q: How many times have you been in love?

A: I don't know. Enough. Not too much.

Q: Can you exist without it?

A: Yeah, I was existing without it. Most people wind up existing without it because they don't want the fights, and when things aren't going well, they think, "God, it was easier when I was living on my own." In literature and music and all of the arts, affairs of the heart are the subject of endless fascination.

Q: How important is sex to you?

A: It's the mystery of sex, or even love, that makes it interesting. I'd much rather imagine what someone has on under their clothes than have it in full view of me. I think it's obvious, but anything that suggests an understanding of human spirit is pretty fundamental.

Q: You have never used sex to sell records. Have you ever had a problem with being a woman?

A: Only every month. Not in this business, though, that's never been a problem.

Q: Did you ever wish you were born a man?

A: No. I like the way guys look, but I kind of look like that anyway, so that's OK. What always appealed to me about rock 'n' roll, in the early days anyway, was the androgynous look. I kind of lucked out there, because I had the shoulders and everything. But as far as having a hard time with it, not particularly. I always thought it worked to my advantage. When there's less of a certain thing, there's more of a novelty aspect and it makes it more attractive to the public, whatever it is. That's why people can get a chimpanzee to play a trombone. Everybody wants to see that.

Q: Is there a girly side to you?

A: Absolutely. My friend and I were going shopping and going to the pharmacy and stuff, and I said to her, "I feel like a hypocrite. Everybody thinks I'm this hard-assed rocker and all I want to do is hang out at the cosmetics counter."

Q: So you actually enjoy buying makeup?

A: Oh, yeah. I'm a total chick. I've never denied it or tried to play it down, but for someone to have this image of me saying, "Lipstick? We don't need no f-- lipstick" is just stupid. It's just not at all accurate. I have no idea why. I've had girlfriends come to my shows and say, "I can't believe it. I can smell your perfume from the fifth row." It's kind of embarrassing. It's like one of those show business secrets you read about in the National Enquirer.

Q: What do you consider the turning point in your life?

A: Obviously, going vegetarian in 1969 changed the shape of my destiny. Picking up a guitar when I was 14. Getting on a plane and flying to England when I didn't know anyone there.

Q: You are a vocal supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. How do you reconcile being vegetarian and wearing leather?

A: (Long pause) Well, I'm not promoting animal slaughter. The difference between eating a steak and wearing leather is you're going to be wearing the pair of shoes for 10 years, whereas the steak isn't going to last that long. I try to stick with non-leather goods. I'm not going to buy a leather handbag. There might be some leather trim on something. One thing's for sure -- if I was going to get on a motorcycle, I wouldn't do it unless I was fully clothed in leather. I can understand its function. My line on it is, if it's a matter of necessity, then the killing choice is something we can negotiate. But if you're just doing it for pleasure, I consider it murder.

Q: What sucks about getting old?

A: Dying. I haven't got to the stage where anything else is too bad yet. Sometimes at the end of the day when I'm really tired, I think, "Man, at least I get to die at the end of all this." When you get really old it's like being pregnant. Everyone thinks having a baby is a traumatic, painful experience. But when you're 8 1/2 months into it, you just think, "Oh God, I hope it comes early." I think that must be what death is like when you're old. You kind of just look forward to it. I have enough friends that are on the other side now where I think, "Well, that's something to look forward to."

Q: How do you get your kicks nowadays?

A: This is going to make me sound like I'm 80, not 47, but I love the sound of birds singing and the beautiful stuff you can see if you're paying attention. A gorgeous sunset. The waft of a lilac bush. It just transports me, and I think, "Yep, I'm going to die."