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White Punks on Dope: Our 1999 The Offspring Cover Story
He may be dumb, but he’s not a dweeb. Bryan “Dexter” Holland strides manfully to the edge of a New York City stage, and—holding two cans of beer—launches himself onto a sea of hands. His goal: to carry said beverages back over the thirsty-looking crowd and deliver them to the band’s sound-man some 20 yards away. “I’d done it before,” the Offspring‘s 32-year-old singer says later. “But this was going to be the record for distance.” Barely ten feet into the crowd, the horizontal Holland loses the beers—seized and guzzled by fans. Then he loses his shoes. Then his socks. Then he simply disappears, leaving his bespectacled aide-de-camp, guitarist Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, squinting out from the stage. After a good five minutes—”It was definitely the record for time,” Noodles reports—Holland r...
Well-Rounded Little Pill: Our 2002 Alanis Morissette Interview
This article originally appeared in the March 2002 issue of SPIN. Alanis Morissette is at one with the universe. Thank you, Canada. She wrote her new album, Under Rug Swept, in her native land on electric guitar in addition to her usual piano, and it’s a welcome return to pop after 1998’s murky, PMS-ing Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Apparently, the rock gods have been smiling on the 27-year-old alt-pop queen. In the past year, Morissette worked out differences with her label, Madonna’s Maverick; performed at a slew of charity concerts (pro-choice, clean energy, etc.); overhauled her personal life; and toured the Middle East. She even did a Gap ad. But, we’re happy to report, she still says fuck a lot. SPIN: This record is much catchier than your last. Sonically, it’s closer to 1995’s...
Welcome to South Park, Fat-Ass: Our 1998 South Park Cover Story
This article originally appeared in the March 1998 issue of SPIN. It is being republished in honor of the 25th anniversary of South Park. Here’s how it works in the post-Simpsons era. The tremors start at coffee shops, movie queues, dorm rooms: young people talking in bizarre pinched voices. Goateed cashiers spouting off-color catchphrases. Strange little icons on T-shirts and screen savers. Then, the Web sites spring up. The upstart network flourishes. The single is released. The movie is announced. Suddenly, before you know it, we’re up to our bungholes in ’90s cartoon Zeitgeist. With the unstoppable force of a dead-Chris Farley joke, Comedy Central’s sick, crudely animated half-hour show South Park—featuring the adventures of four gimlet-eyed, foul-mouthed third-graders—has become ...
Children of the Corn: Our 2000 Slipknot Feature
This article originally appeared in the May 2000 issue of SPIN. Slipknot have a motto: People = Shit. It’s a straightforward enough sentiment, but sometimes Iowa’s most famous metal nonet like to reinforce the theory with visual aids. “Shawn [Crahan, percussionist] decided to take a shit onstage in Virginia Beach last night,” drummer Joey Jordison says. “I’m the only one down with that, so he threw a turd at me. When I went to take a shower, I had this big shit smeared on my sock.” Jordison (a.k.a. #1), is loudly discussing feces as he and bandmates Crahan (a.k.a. #6), vocalist Corey Taylor (a.k.a. #8), and bassist Paul Gray (a.k.a. #2) stroll through the National Museum of Natural History in Washington. D.C., where they are scheduled to play a show tonight. Not surprisingly, the guys are ...
Big Slack Attack: Our 1994 Pavement Interview
This interview originally appeared in the April 1994 issue of SPIN. I’ve been coming up with lots of theories lately, for no special reason except maybe to kill time between episodes of the Larry Sanders Show. Here’s one: When I first heard Pavement‘s new album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, I was convinced it was secretly an answer record to R.E. M.’s Reckoning (“Range Life” was “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville,” “Cut Your Hair” was “Pretty Persuasion,” umm. . .). This isn’t as stupid an idea as you might think: Pavement contributed a song to the recent AIDS-benefit compilation No Alternative called “Unseen Power of the Picket Fence,” a paean to the Athens, Georgia, combo, and specifically to Reckoning (from which we learn that “Time After Time (annElise)” was singer-guitarist Stephen Malkmus’s...
Der Kommissar: Our 1986 Boris Becker Feature
This article originally appeared in the January 1986 issue of SPIN. Ion Tiriac, tennis’ Transylvanian terror, who claims to be related to Count Dracula, is Boris Becker‘s manager. Immediately following the 17-year-old West German’s historic Wimbledon victory, Ion was heard to tell Becker, “Your life is over. You are born again with me.” In his spare time, Ion, whom Ilie Nastase calls a “tough guy,” eats shards of glass. Asked what kind of circumstances could provoke such dramatic displays, he says, “You use toothpaste? Toothpaste made from powder, powder made from sand, glass made from sand.” Yes, Ion, but what about your digestive tract? “You don’t digest, just eliminate.” It’s mid-September, and Tiriac’s been stuck in Oklahoma for three days for the so-called Tulsa Challenge tennis...
Lunch with Benatar: Our 1985 Pat Benatar Cover Story
A version of this article originally appeared in the September 1985 issue of SPIN. In honor of the announcement of Pat Benatar‘s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we’re republishing it here. Ballsy! Gutsy! Bitchy! One hard-rockin’ mama, right? The little girl with the big-big mouth. The girl who invented black tights and short-shorts. The wet dream of every honest, hard-working, beer-guzzling, God-fearing, red-blooded, normal white male this side of the Rio Grande River, huh, folks. Gimme a break, assholes. Let’s start at scratch and work our way back. Pat Benatar began her career as a singing waitress in the NYC comedy club Catch a Rising Star. She was conveniently discovered by the proprietor, who went on to become her manager, just like in the movies. Only I never go t...
Beehives & Ballyhoo: Our 1990 The B-52’s Feature
A version of this article originally appeared in the March 1990 issue of SPIN. In honor of The B-52’s announcing their farewell tour, we’re republishing it here. December 29, 10:15 pm. The stage lights are all the colors in the B-52’s rainbow: housedress orange, linoleum yellow, jellybean green, oxygen blue, posey purple. Three microphones stand at the lip of the stage, in front of which the dance floor of San Francisco’s Civic Auditorium throbs with fans screaming and stomping for an encore. The crowd is a mixture of old-fashioned B-52’s fans—girls in 1950s dresses and beehives, shy-looking guys in polka-dot shirts buttoned up to the top, the occasional lobster brooch or pickle handbag—plus new fans picked up since the release of album Cosmic Thing, and a few skinheads and thugs...
Nearly Lost: Our 1993 Screaming Trees Feature
This article originally appeared in the March 1993 issue of SPIN. It is being republished in memory of Mark Lanegan, who died earlier this year. Stepping onto the Screaming Trees‘ tour bus, singer Mark Lanegan has the half-haggard look of a man somewhere in the middle of a long tour. Freshly washed long hair obscuring his craggy, classic rock features, he communicates with bandmates and crew in monosyllables. I might, under normal circumstances, be put off by his terse mien, but these are hardly normal circumstances. I’m still in awe of the Trees’ totally plush bus, which, according to road manager Rod Doak, saw recent service with U2. Bunks big enough to easily berth the largish Conner brothers (that’s Van “Bass” Conner and Gary Lee “Guitar” Conner), tasteful pastel decor, micro...
Just Like Evan: Our 1993 Lemonheads Cover Story
This article originally appeared in the April 1993 issue of SPIN. In honor of The Lemonheads’ It’s a Shame About Ray turning 30 and the band’s set at our SXSW event, we’ve republished it here. IT’S FAST APPROACHING 5:00 A.M. IN THE WANE OF A BREEZY AUSTRALIAN SUMMER NIGHT, and Evan Dando is sitting on the ninth-floor balcony of my Sydney hotel room obliging a record company publicist in New York with a phone interview. Bored for the first time during the course of this long evening, I dig an old interview tape from my bag and stick it into my cassette player. “Hey, talk to Mark from SPIN a second,” Dando tells the caller, as he becomes interested in the tape. The singer-songwriter-guitarist presses the Walkman to his ear, as the Atlantic rep, who is calling from about 10,000 miles awa...
Out of Their Tree: Our 2006 Red Hot Chili Peppers Cover Story
This article was originally published in the May 2006 issue of SPIN. Two years ago, Red Hot Chili Peppers went to Europe to play in front of the largest crowds of their 20-plus-year career. After surviving numerous personnel changes, drug problems, erratic recordings, relationship dramas, and assorted crises that have broken up countless bands, the Peppers have released back-to-back multiplatinum albums–1999’s Californication and 2002’s By the Way. Against all odds, they had reached genuine superstar status and this jaunt saw them headlining three nights at London’s massive Hyde Park. But for Flea–from day one, the bass-playing yin to singer Anthony Kiedis’ yang–these looked like the last shows he would ever perform with the group. “To tell you the truth, I really didn’t think I’d be ...
Revolution Rock: Our 1993 Rage Against the Machine Feature
This article originally appeared in the November 1993 issue of SPIN. A sea of upraised middle fingers are pumping rhythmically into the enervating Southern California heat and smog. “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me,” the audience shouts over and over, a few mindlessly mimicking the mantra, but most passionately chanting singer Zack de la Rocha’s invective rant from “Killing in the Name.” In the massive mosh pit objects sail through the air every few seconds, as Doc Marten-clad trendies are passed hand-over-hand above the tattoos and sunburned shoulders of the Lollapalooza nation. Onstage, Rage Against the Machine‘s insistent, hard-core rock-rap amalgamation is nearly overmatched by its rad political clamor, spewed forth both in the songs and in the longish pauses between them. During...
