Interview articles from June 2002

Interview archives from June 2002

Letters.
June 1, 2002... BEFORE SHABBY WAS CHIC Dear Interview, As a frequent reader of your magazine, I always enjoy the high quality of your articles and photography, which is why I was shocked to see the "Simple Gifts" fashion story in your March 2002...

Aimee Allen: the "I love rock 'n' roll" one. (Music--Predicting The New Divas).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... She lived in her car before she had a record deal, but Aimee Allen is quick to point out, "I don't want to be another Jewel. And I'm not Britney." Instead, this 23-year-old-rocker resembles a hot-wired amalgam of Angelina Jolie and Joan Jell....

Lamya: the wildly original one. (Music--More New Diva Predictions).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Long before her first record deal, Lamya worked in supporting roles for the likes of James Brown, Duran Duran, Guns 'N Roses, Soul II Soul and David Bowie-and she was beginning to worry. "I was like, When's my turn going to happen?"' she...

Avril Lavigne: the young and the restless one. (Music--More New Diva Predictions).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... At 16, Avril Lavigne left her tiny Canadian hometown for a seedy Manhattan neighborhood, hoping to make it as a rock star. Suddenly, the fishing holes and hockey rinks of her childhood seemed worlds away. "I'd look out my bedroom window and all...

Fundisha: the daughter of a preacher woman one. (Music--New Diva Predictions Goes On).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... With a name like Fundisha (pronounced Foon-DEESH-ah), which means "to teach" in Swahili, it's no mystery why the 27-year-old Newark, New Jersey, native titled her hotly awaited solo debut Lessons (So SO Def/Columbia). "I'm at a stage in my life...

Elton's CD shopping list. (Music-Tip Sheet).(Interview)
June 1, 2002... INGRID SISCHY: Typically, you've had an uncanny ability to predict what summer music would take off. So what's been on your mind, musicwise? ELTON JOHN: There's a track by a band called Trik Turner, "Friends & Family," [on Trik Turner,...

Instant vintage. (Raphael Saadiq).
June 1, 2002... Saadiq's organic, orgasmic approach to soul balances sex, smarts and sunny funk. After shining in Tony Toni Tone and Lucy Pearl he sashays out solo (with a little help from D'Angelo and other bold-faced friends). The result? Sensual,...

Live on brighton beach. (Fatboy Slim).
June 1, 2002... Electronica's pop ambassador got his freak on with a free DJ set in front of 40,000 revelers in his hometown last July. This recording captures the vitality of Fatboy's performance: the playful energy he transmitted via his turntables makes...

Masquerade. (Wyclef Jean).
June 1, 2002... This erstwhile Fugee dispenses with masks on his latest album to explore his street roots. Still, Wyclef doesn't neglect social consciousness or experimentation (who else mixes country fiddles with dub reggae?). Despite thugged-out grooves,...

Around the house. (Herbert).
June 1, 2002... Multi-instrumentalist Herbert ransacks his house in search of cool-sounding appliances to sample. It's gimmicky, but the combination of Dani Siciliano's ethereal voice and Herbert's elegant keyboards creates arias of haunting, humorous grooves....

Freak of nature. (Anastacia).
June 1, 2002... Anastacia is the Parkay of pop-soul: Upon hearing her megawatt R&B voice, it's hard not to exclaim, "I can't believe she's not black!" Barely known in her native U.S. but a multiplatinum superstar everywhere else, Anastacia overcomes...

GameDay, PBB. (No Good).
June 1, 2002... These Miami microphone controllers don't often transcend hip-hop's "three Bs"--bitches, blunts and bullets. But when their blazing rhymes merge with infectious electro-funk bounce--like on their Southern player's anthem "Ballin' Boy"--it's all...

Good Morning Aztlan. (Los Lobos).
June 1, 2002... Even for a band as musically diverse as Los Lobos, this album is imbued with a brilliant sonic swagger. Moving joyfully between blustery roots-rock, searing soul and salsa-inflected balladry, Los Lobos' mad mood swinging shouldn't make sense,...

You can't fight what you can't see. (Girls Against Boys).
June 1, 2002... GVSB awaken from a late-'90s major label K-hole in time to capitalize on nostalgia for the sleazy, disco-rock sound they concocted 10 years ago. This album is a return to a form they never left, a corroded soundtrack to an endless cocktail...

Long playing grooves. (Loudbomb).
June 1, 2002... LoudBomb is an anagram for former Husker DO/Sugar frontman Bob Mould; under this alias, the post-punk songwriter ditches his trademark stun-level guitars in favor of samplers, sequencers and techno beats. The gambit works, as the icy atmosphere...

Never a dull moment. (Tommy Lee).
June 1, 2002... Like a Behind the Music episode, this album is about living down an indulgent past. Determined to prove he's a serious artist, the ex-Motley Crue drummer/inadvertent porn star delivers competent rap-metal and grungy power-balladry without...

Slumber. (Jana McCall).
June 1, 2002... The former bassist for Seattle grunge group Dickless, McCall now makes sparse lo-fi rock prone to minor keys and tonal complexity. Her spooky, androgynous voice is still probably too subtle for the cockiness of modern rock radio, but it's...

Alice and blood money. (Tom Waits).
June 1, 2002... Hide your kids--the Waits carnival is back. These two albums are like a carousel in a cocktail lounge, each song a different animal inspired by Lewis Carroll and 19th century German playwright Georg Buchner. As each detail emerges, so does the...

MTV unplugged No. 2.0. (Lauryn Hill).
June 1, 2002... Stripped of production, processing and beats, the Fugees star grabs a guitar and delivers a truly unplugged concert of new songs, traditional reggae chants and a few unedited rants. Naked, her voice crackles with unvarnished beauty; her bravery...

Days between stations: sound collages that tell a real story without singing word. (Music Column).(The Private Press )
June 1, 2002... Somewhere in the middle of DJ Shadow's The Private Press (MCA) you may find yourself mentally looking over your shoulder, wondering what you've missed. It's not that the entirely sampled constructions move too fast: Each one seems to enforce...

Repping actors and becoming benefactors: known for Cruise and Hanks, now CAA's cruising for L.A.'s next picasso--and picking up the tab. (Art Surprise).(Michael Rubel and Daniel Torres)(Brief Article)(Interview)
June 1, 2002... The common stereotype of a Tinseltown talent agent is a sharp-tongued devil who only cares about his 10 percent, his Porsche and his regular table at the Ivy. However, Creative Artists Agency (CAA)--the powerhouse firm that represents Hollywood...

Rose Byrne: making noise with quiet inner turmoil. (Movies--Two to Watch).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Rose Byrne is Australia's answer to Audrey Hepburn--with a darker edge. Full of gamine charm, a sharp, elusive conversationalist with passions for P.J. Harvey and the French philosopher Michel Foucault, the actress has, she explains, "a...

Jonathan Jackson: Insomnia has audiences waking up to this actor.(Brief Article)(Interview)
June 1, 2002... When Jonathan Jackson got the script for Insomnia, director Christopher Nolan's new thriller, he was a bit thrown. "My agents handed it to me and said, 'It's an Al Pacino movie,"' he recalls, "and I was like, 'Hah. That's funny."' Jackson...

Roman Coppola: directing his first movie about a guy who really wants to direct movies. (Movie News).(Brief Article)(Interview)
June 1, 2002... AMY BARRETT: Your feature debut, CQ, starring Jeremy Davies and Angela Liudvall, just came out. A movie from a first-time director about a director making his first movie begs the question: How autobiographical is it? ROMAN COPPOLA: It's...

Emile Hirsch: he got his start on a police show. Now he won't stop stealing scenes. (Movie News).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... In 1999, while most boys his age were fretting about braces and algebra, 14-year-old Emile Hirsch had concerns of a different sort. The young actor, who'd made appearances on such TV shows as NYPD Blue and ER, was looking for, he recalls, "a...

Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. (Preview).
June 1, 2002... Directed by George Lucas (Twentieth Century Fox) Hayden Christensen plays young Anakin Skywalker under the tutelage of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) as the two protect Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) Word is after the...

Scooby-Doo. (Preview).
June 1, 2002... Directed by Rala Gosnell (Warner Bros.) The beloved Great Dane with the speech impediment, that hysterical haunted-house-hunting canine Scooby-Doo comes to the big screen with actors only slightly less animated than the computer-generated...

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. (Preview).
June 1, 2002... Directed by Callie Khouri (Warner Bros.) Khouri, screenwriter of the wonderful Thelma & Louise (1991), makes her directorial debut with Ashley Judd, Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, Cherry Jones and Maggie Smith starring as the deeply devoted...

About a Boy. (Review).
June 1, 2002... Directed by Paul and Chris Weitz (Universal Pictures) Hugh Grant fans will be happier with the Weitz's adaptation of Nick Hornby's bestseller, About a Boy, than Hornby fans. While the film nicely captures the flavor of London's upper-middle...

Insomnia.
June 1, 2002... Directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner Bros.) In his anticipated follow-up to Memento, Nolan takes us to small-town Alaska where two L.A. cops (Al Pacino and Martin Donovan) arrive to investigate a brutal murder against the eerie backdrop of...

Gangster No. 1.
June 1, 2002... Directed by Paul McGuigan (IFC Films) Altogether less rueful than Sexy Beast, this nostalgic homage to London underworld thuggery stars the excellent Paul Bettany as an ice-cold, psychotic gangland soldier who, in '68, betrays his sleek...

Cherish.
June 1, 2002... Directed by Finn Taylor (Fine Line Features) Ditzy computer animator Robin Tunney is put under house arrest while awaiting trial for vehicular homicide and falls for the guy who services her electronic ankle bracelet (Tim Blake Nelson). Oh,...

The Importance of Being Earnest.
June 1, 2002... Directed by Oliver Parker (Miramax Films) Wild about Wilde? Then you'll love Earnest. The non-diehards among us will find Parker's adaptation solid, albeit unimaginative. Rupert Everett (Moncreiff) and Colin Firth (Worthing) are the...

Shots in the dark: a movie that shows you don't need a bullet to make a bang. (Movie Column).
June 1, 2002... Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) is the first feature from the Inuit film industry in Canada's arctic Nunavut territory. It might also be one of the most beautiful movies ever made--at least it feels that way in 2002, when beauty has become a...

And summer begins: nights are turning hot. Leaves are turning green. Here's a style that's both. (Look of the Month).(Fashion Designers of America award)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... In olden days, a green thumb was the key to survival: you could dig your hands into the dirt and make things grow. But in our era of futuristic farmers, hi-tech agrobusiness and hydroponics, the world's most important cash crop is now ideas. As...

You and eyelets: the presence of their absence is everywhere.(fashion design)
June 1, 2002... My father used to say that your absence could speak louder than your presence. Designers this season seem to have embraced this idea, as we've noticed eyelets on everything from shirts and dresses to pants, shoes and even bags. Eyelets,...

Toe-tal harmony: why should color coordination stop at the foot? (Fashion--What's Matchin').(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Modern technology has coordinated cell phones with PalmPilots and computers with cameras. Fashion has always been big on matchmaking, too (except when it's clash-making). But it used to be that there were strict rules for matching lipstick with...

View letter from the editor June.(The Osbournes; An American Family)
June 1, 2002... "We're not trying to be something we're not," Kelly Osbourne tells our interviewer, Elvis Mitchell, in a story that begins on page 58 of this issue. Right. And that's one reason why millions of people have become obsessed with watching and...

Mos Def: in all the noise about race in America, here's a voice that cuts through--singing, rapping, acting.
June 1, 2002... JEFFREY WRIGHT: Let's start with the important question of the day: Who are you screwing? MOS DEF: No comment. [both laugh] C'mon--let's talk about the play, man. JW: Well, hold on. You're doing the play, Topdog/Underdog, [for which...

Kelly & Jack Osbourne: Ozzy gave birth to heavy metal. But his other offspring gave MTV its biggest hit ever--and new life to his career.(Interview)
June 1, 2002... America's mast talked-about TV show, The Osbournes, is reality television flipped on its ear. Where shows like Survivor make ordinary people into celebrities, The Osbournes has turned a celebrity family into ordinary people. When the patriarch...

Open season.
June 1, 2002... What's so great about an opening? Just ask a door or a window. Without a sense of aperture, we'd never get anywhere. This month is the season not only of the U.S. Open, as well as of countless club and restaurant openings, but also the time...

David Bowie: rock's major chameleon sheds his skin like never before.(Interview)
June 1, 2002... INGRID SISCHY: What struck me immediately about your new album, Heathen [ISO/ Columbia], is that, unlike so many of your records, it doesn't seem to be pointing either forwards to the future, or backwards to the past. DAVID BOWIE: That's...

Jennifer Love Hewitt: the Internet's become a shrine to her. From her start as the girl in the barbie commercials, now she's on a career-altering path.(Interview)
June 1, 2002... ERIC MCCORMACK: OK, let me get this out of the way: Any residual anger I had over your not coming to see me on Broadway last summer in The Music Man is gone. I've let it go. It's out there in the ether. JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT: But I schedule...

A short time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
June 1, 2002... ARTWORK BY FRED TOMASELLI, JOVI SCHNELL, AND ROB PRUITT AS THE LATEST STAR WARS WAS PREPARING TO TOUCH DOWN IN THEATERS, WE TURNED TO THREE ART STARS AND ASKED THEM TO CREATE ORIGINAL, NEW WORKS INSPIRED BY THAT GALAXY FAR, FAR WAY. THE...

Mark Ruffalo: the former wrestling champion grapples with dark, tricky roles and takes them to the mat.(Interview)
June 1, 2002... A high school wrestling champion, actor Mark Ruffalo is still battling, grappling with the Hollywood machinery that surrounds his rising stardom. Having grown up in Wisconsin, Virginia and Southern California, the 34-year-old eventually landed...