There are 15 results

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  The SPIN Interview: John Darnielle

  April 1, 2011 – John Darnielle, founder and sole constant of the Mountain Goats, has been one of rock's most prolific and devoutly worshipped songwriters for 20 years. "I used to assume no one would care," he says, "but I do think now I've written songs that are useful to people having dark hours." The hold steady may have sung the words "Me and my friends are like / The drums on 'Lust for Life,' " but John Darnielle lives them. …
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  The SPIN Interview: Lou Reed

  November 1, 2010 – With the Velvet Underground, he was the epitome of downtown cool. As a solo artist, he played the part of glam god, noise provocateur, and critics' bête noire. Still, Lou Reed insists, "There's nothing complicated about me." Kind sir, we beg to differ. Lou Reed does not abide. Nor should he. …
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  The SPIN Interview: Mos Def

  August 1, 2009 – A product of the Brooklyn projects during the 1980s crack era, Mos Def is a hip-hop lifer, despite his frequent forays into Hollywood. And he's unafraid to call out his peers: "Extended exposure to commercial rap has got to have some sort of negative psychological impact." Dante "Mos Def" Smith walks the walk and talks the talk — literally. …
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  The SPIN Interview: Jarvis Cocker

  June 1, 2009 – Jarvis Cocker found fame as Britpop's gawkiest sex symbol, first by releasing fantastic songs like "Common People" with Pulp, then by bum-rushing Jacko at an awards show. "People still come shake my hand because of that," the singer says. …
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  The SPIN Interview: Lemmy

  April 1, 2009 – As the mutton-chopped brains behind Motörhead, Lemmy has always rocked — and lived — by the credo "Everything louder than everything else." "Once, at soundcheck," he says, "this guy rang up from four miles away and said he couldn't hear his TV." Do tell... "Fuck Elvis and Keith Richards," Dave Grohl has said. "Lemmy's the king of rock'n'roll." And on this sunny L.A. February afternoon, the king is holding court. …
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  The SPIN Interview: Alex Kapranos

  March 1, 2009 – When Franz Ferdinand broke big, Alex Kapranos seemed older and wiser than many of his buzzy peers. Little surprise, then, that his band is still thriving five years on. "I hope we haven't written our best song," he says. "That's the sign a band is still alive  — they're not satisfied." Either Alex Kapranos is hungry or the traditional English dish of beans on toast has played a pretty memorable role in his life. …
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  The SPIN Interview: Elvis Costello

  December 1, 2008 – He's tackled nearly every form of contemporary music over 27 albums. Now Elvis Costello is taking his cultural ambassador skills to their logical conclusion...as a talk-show host. "Inside the Actor's Studio," he says. …
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  The SPIN Interview: Noel Gallagher

  October 1, 2008 – He may not be Oasis' frontman — that'd be his little brother Liam — but Noel Gallagher has never been afraid to shoot off his mouth. "Ten years ago we told everyone with a mic we were the greatest thing ever," he says. …
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  The SPIN Interview: Patti Smith

  September 1, 2008 – In the three decades since her debut, Patti Smith, rock's poet laureate and subject of a new documentary, found domestic bliss and endured tragic loss. …
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  The SPIN Interview: Q-Tip

  August 1, 2008 – After Q-Tip transformed hip-hop with A Tribe Called Quest, he endured solo exile and ran the celebrity gauntlet. Will he now be accepted back as an MC elder? He's prepared, regardless. …
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