This article originally appeared in the February 1997 issue of SPIN. In honor of No Code turning 25, we’re republishing this article here. Here is a joke Eddie Vedder told me. It wasn’t the only joke he told, but it was probably the best, and it bears repeating. “How many members of Pearl Jam does it take […]
This article originally appeared in the September 1991 issue of SPIN. In honor of Pearl Jam’s Ten turning 30 today, we’re republishing this article here. It’s a rock ‘n’ roll comfort thing—you wouldn’t understand. Especially if you’re a guard at Harrod’s department store in London, where Seattle’s Pearl Jam discovered that the ensemble the band wears—cut-off […]
A version of this story was originally published in the February 1991 issue of SPIN. In light of Dusty Hill’s passing, we’re republishing it here. Overheard speaking in the nasal twang of the Great Southwest, during the finale of a ZZ Top concert: “Well, talk about your everlovin’ son et lumiere! Hot damn, Vietnam!” The speaker, […]
This article originally appeared in the November 1992 issue of SPIN. Glasgow, Scotland. It’s cold outside. I’m thinking about a problem. One group of people trying to force their beliefs on others, based on religion. And it seems as though we’re regressing. Above, a helicopter flies by. If it continues on its course, it will […]
This article originally appeared in the August 1996 edition of SPIN. With Biography: KISStory airing tonight, we’re republishing the story here. Whoo-hoo, it’s a firehouse inside Gold’s Gym, a Hollywood sweatbox packed with waiters looking to be actors, actors looking to be bodybuilders, and bodybuilders looking at their reflection in the mirrored walls. In one corner, […]
This article originally appeared in the April 1996 issue of SPIN. In hip-hop’s cosmology, “hardcore” rap means a cantankerous MC kicking rhymes like bodies over harsh, skeletal beats. “Alternative,” on the other hand—singing, melodies, instrumentation, any sort of peace-and-love attitude—translates as “no skills.” So hip-hop trio the Fugees—Wyclef “Clef” Jean, Lauryn “L” Hill, and Prakazrel […]
This article originally appeared in the April 1996 issue of SPIN. In honor of the release of Garbage’s seventh studio album No Gods No Masters, we’re republishing the story here. Garbage are standing on a pier looking out at the ocean. Suddenly Butch Vig spots something and points. “What’s that?” he wonders. Steve Marker squints. […]
This article originally appeared in the April 1996 issue of SPIN. “Los Angeles is my favorite city in the world!” declares super foxy Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro, offering as proof of his conviction the city’s name tattooed on the back of his neck. “I would never live anywhere else.” Navarro, drummer Chad Smith, […]
This article was originally published in the December 1991 issue of SPIN. Smashing Pumpkins were one of our Artist of the Year runner-ups. In honor of Gish turning 30, we’re republishing this article. With its simultaneously childlike and ferocious debut album, gish (Caroline Records), the Chicago-based hard-soft psychedelia foursome Smashing Pumpkins exploded onto the 1991 indie-rock landscape with all […]
A version of this story originally appeared in the December 1991 issue of SPIN. We’ve republished it on what would have been Miles Davis’ 95th birthday. I loved watching Harry Reasoner’s expression on 60 Minutes when Miles told him he felt there was nothing wrong with being a pimp: “Women liked me,” rasped the controversial, iconoclastic, […]