For decades, some Canadian weirdo that goes by the unusual name of Nardwuar the Human Serviette has been laboriously interviewing musicians backstage, outside of venues, in record stores - having become something of a cult hero (or nuisance, depending on how joyless you are) to alternative rock fans. Visually, Nardwuar (a musician himself, frontman for Vancouver garage rock band The Evaporators since 1986) is immediately recognizable, with his intentionally poorly-matched plaid outfits and tam o’ shanter hat - even more iconic is his voice and interview style: shrill, ear-piercing, annoying, cartoony. He’s even got his own theme song. Search for “Nardwuar [your favorite band]” on YouTube, and you’re likely to find at least twenty minutes of riffing and awkward questions featuring musicians you admire. Each interview, he seems to be hellbent on bugging the shit out of whoever he’s cornered, yammering away rapidly and shoving his mic in their face.
When he doesn’t bring out the best in musicians, he brings out the worst. While his interviews more often than not feature artists having the times of their lives, grinning and laughing through the questions they receive (Drake and Snoop Dogg, among others, always enjoy his company), every once in a while someone will fail to understand Nardwuar’s intentions and come off as humorless, egotistical, or just plain asshole-ish.
Look at his interview with Sonic Youth way back in 1991, right after Goo came out - they play the roles of straight up schoolyard bullies. Throughout the video, they insult Nardwuar, smirking and acting as if they’re above him just because they made Daydream Nation. When he presents to them a vinyl record as a gift, they shatter it and laugh; seconds later, Lee Ranaldo punches him in the stomach as Thurston Moore pins his arms behind his back.
Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, though never an outright asshole, has always seemed devoted to maintaining his bullshit “hyper-macho desert badass” persona in all of his interviews over the years - that shtick is far more annoying than Nardwuar’s. I don't have much to say about his 2003 interview-gone-wrong with Blur that hasn't already been said. Seeing firsthand the contrast between those who receive him warmly and those who desperately cling to their “cool” facades is one of the hidden joys of his interviews. It’s almost laughable how transparent some of them become, almost like parodies of themselves.
It’d be easy to assume Nardwuar is just a troll, attempting to get nothing more than a rise out of his interviewees. But he’s not - if he were, he’d ask questions that were less silly and more transgressive. This is what separates him from slimy, intrusive paparazzi and journalistic shit-stirrers - his intentions are always good. Not once does he ever come off as less than totally respectful; there’s always admiration and love there. All he truly wants to do is get these musicians to have fun with him, to lighten and loosen up a bit, and to enjoy the lunacy.
He channels the music nerd in everyone. With his manner of frantically spouting tidbits of band trivia and personal information (so obscure he frequently creeps out his subjects), he simulates pretty accurately what so many of us would do around our rock and roll heroes if not for inhibitions, social norms, and fear of being annoying - geek out, gush about fandom, go on and on in whiny tones about personal favorite tracks from decades ago. He’s one of the most genuine music journalists out there - you’ve got to love that.
