The SPIN Interview: Stephen Malkmus

Stephen Malkmus / Photographed for Spin in Portland, Oregon, by John Clark

You sang Bob Dylan songs with the Crust Brothers [his occasional live collaboration with Silkworm] and on the soundtrack to I'm Not There. When did you first get into Dylan?
I was never much of a fan of his, to be honest. If you listen to early Velvet Underground, in a way they're very similar. Lou Reed was a huge fan of Bob Dylan -- "Run Run Run" sounds just like this other song, the one with the "eeeeoooo!" ["Highway 61 Revisited"]. Plus, I saw him with the Dead in the '80s, and he was really boring. But, all that being said, I always respected his word ability and groundbreaking early-'60s moves -- I can only imagine what it was like to be there for that. It's fun to sing his songs. He's a fellow Gemini, not that that matters to me. But I can relate to his attitude. It's kind of punk.

Toward the end of Pavement, you and Nastanovich were investing in racehorses. Are you still involved with that?
No, that was just a one-off thing. You kind of have to get into it from when you're young -- you can't just start when you're in your 30s. My friend Ned is amazing at judging basketball talent; he'd be a great scout for the Blazers, but they don't let you tap into businesses halfway through. You have to pay your dues even if you're better than the person who did pay their dues. It's kind of a drag.

If you could emulate anyone's career, whose would it be?
Well, when you feel like sort of a lifer in music, of course there's Sonic Youth. And Mark E. Smith [of the Fall], but that's a tough model; that probably takes a dark, dark heart. I haven't thought about transitioning into anything else in my life. I mean, I don't know how to do anything else.

Courtney Love once called you the Grace Kelly of rock. What does that even mean?
I'd take it as a compliment, because Grace Kelly is very graceful and cool. So as far as I'm concerned, that's far better than being the -- what's his name who played Buddy Holly? -- the Gary Busey of rock. It means you're kind of classy a little bit, right?