This article originally appeared in the September 1994 issue of SPIN. From billboard to shining billboard, Kate Moss’s lank frame and doe-eyed stare have dropped a volatile mixture of fame and fury into her 20-year-old lap. Elizabeth Mitchell hops continents to sift through the myths and mystique. If Kate Moss were to open her ripe, Cupid’s-bow mouth […]
As part of our 35th anniversary, we’re naming the most influential artists of the past 35 years. Today, we’re at #8. From Athens, Georgia, here is R.E.M. CREDIT: Paul Natkin/Getty Images It started not with an earthquake, but a conversation. Michael Stipe and Peter Buck first met in 1980, at a record shop just off […]
Editor’s note: It’s easy to forget now, but in 2004, we were a nation just as divided. George W. Bush was facing a tough reelection campaign against Democratic challenger John Kerry. That year, Bruce Springsteen and others joined forces to barnstorm through swing states on the Vote for Change tour. The tour hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, […]
This past September 23rd was the 23rd Anniversary of one of the most famous and truly meaningful rock concerts ever staged: U2 playing Sarajevo, soon after the end of the war in Bosnia and the hellish three and a half year seige of the city. Since then time has, as it often does, slobbered all […]
As part of our 35th anniversary, we’re naming the most influential artists of the past 35 years. Today, we’re at #9. From Long Island, New York, here are Public Enemy. CREDIT: Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images Formed around the nucleus of rappers Chuck D and Flava Flav, production collective the Bomb Squad and others, Public […]
We know, we know — the best concert of all-time is your friend’s obscure indie-punk band playing a sweaty neighborhood basement back in ‘94. We admit that one slipped through the cracks. Maybe it’s a fool’s errand, but this list is our attempt to narrow down three and a half decades of worthy live music events […]
This interview originally appeared in the April 1994 issue of SPIN. The Dalai Lama, since 1950, has inspired worldwide devotion as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and as a political ruler of uncompromising integrity. Dan Reed and Bob Guccione, Jr., journey to India to talk to the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner. When Tibet’s 13th […]
As part of our 35th anniversary, we’re naming the most influential artists of the past 35 years. Today, we’re at #10. From Los Angeles, California, here are Rage Against the Machine. CREDIT: Lindsay Brice / Contributor Tom Morello once described Rage Against the Machine’s debut album as a “raw wound,” but it was much more […]
“Hello, Liza. This is John Mellencamp. What do you want to talk about?” It’s a cold, cloudy East Coast afternoon, and, for so many reasons, including John’s 69th birthday on Oct. 7, it’s been tough for us to connect. “I want to talk about you,” I say. “Boy, that’s a boring topic,” he states. I […]
SPIN launched in the peak MTV era, when an innovative — or even just salacious — music video could make or break an artist. Thirty five years later, YouTube is an obligatory part of any promotional push, but no one’s counting on a mind-blowing clip to sell a record. (The views do often matter — just […]