Narduwar on the new WFMU schedule!

[snogrog]

I watched a youtube video of one of his interviews and for the first few seconds I could've sworn he was a JW character. I was very confused.

Definitely had the same reaction!

[Spoony]

Have you been following C. Love on twitter? Talk about exhausting... Ugh.

Jen Kirkman was saying something to that effect today.

[betheboy]

I trust the judgment of Tom and FOT's so I'm going to check out some Narduwar on YouTube even though I found his appearance ton the show to be a little hard to bear. 

[cutout]

I didn't hear last night's show, but I have seen Nardwuar clips before. Today while I was home sick, I went to his site and watched about 30 of them in a row. From what I'd remembered, I was totally prepared to hate it. Then I started noticing how consistent his formula was. He was able to disarm so many musicians just by showing himself to be a (really) informed interviewer who genuinely cares about the backstory and all the big web of connections within music. It was neat to watch him blow so many people's minds, people who are accustomed to being annoyed with unprepared interviewers who don't care much about their subjects. Like I said, everything about his schtick seems hateable at first, then I finally realized his charm, if you could call it that.

[wwwes]

I had the same experience. He's like JW's Glenn Danzig. You assume the worst, which makes the intelligence and effort put forward all the more impressive.

[Kim Kelly]

Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore were big bullies. Uncool.  

And is anyone surprised Henry Rollins was an aggro douchebag, drinking his Venti Starbucks latte?

[Martin]

I too have now caught up with tons of Nardwuar YouTube clips. Almost ruined my entire workday, I was glued for hours. But I'm not complaining, as now I've come around - I GET IT. I do stand by my first impression, but there's no denying his ability to get to his interview subjects. Really entertaining, especially his interviews with people from the hiphop community. You can tell how impressed these jaded guys are when someone comes along and actually has done his homework. Some of the shtick is a bit annoying though, and I can see how that can be off-putting if you don't know the context - there's so many sub-MTV shows out there with whacky hosts and shady intentions that you're bound to be on the defensive when a guy like Nardwuar comes along. Still, that doesn't excuse the absolute assholish behaviour on display in the interviews with Sonic Youth ('91) or Blur ('03!).

And it's almost spooky how much he sounds (not looks, as we know that's rule #1) like JW. I mean really, the pitch of his voice, not to mention the insane pop trivia and everything. Minus the Canadian accent of course.

[Omar]

I too have now caught up with tons of Nardwuar YouTube clips. Almost ruined my entire workday, I was glued for hours. But I'm not complaining, as now I've come around - I GET IT. I do stand by my first impression, but there's no denying his ability to get to his interview subjects. Really entertaining, especially his interviews with people from the hiphop community. You can tell how impressed these jaded guys are when someone comes along and actually has done his homework. Some of the shtick is a bit annoying though, and I can see how that can be off-putting if you don't know the context - there's so many sub-MTV shows out there with whacky hosts and shady intentions that you're bound to be on the defensive when a guy like Nardwuar comes along. Still, that doesn't excuse the absolute assholish behaviour on display in the interviews with Sonic Youth ('91) or Blur ('03!).

And it's almost spooky how much he sounds (not looks, as we know that's rule #1) like JW. I mean really, the pitch of his voice, not to mention the insane pop trivia and everything. Minus the Canadian accent of course.

Well said, Martin.  Welcome to Nardville.

[cutout]

Sonic Youth (1991) seemed like snobs, but that's also by far the most annoying Nardwuar performance. Bad questions, interrupting, tangential, just a mess all around.

[todd]

I don't think you can fault people for being dicks when ambushed like that. There's a weird aggression to doing this sort of prank-interviewing that puts me off. I know you can spin it a hundred different ways ("He just knows a lot about them, how is that bad!?"), but the fact that it confuses people and makes them feel like they're the butt of a joke? That's just bullying.

It reminds me of Improv Everywhere, where if you don't immediately start clapping and singing along to their food court musical, you are a humorless asshole.

[Sarah]

Dan,  you said and I quote: I feel like this is some sort of elaborate hoax!

I had that very same feeling about a similar situation many years ago....



It wasn't.

I wished it was.

2000?  Or 2004?  Or maybe 1980?

[wwwes]

I think it's the opposite of bullying in the Sonic Youth video. He's so in the flesh that it makes it profoundly easy for people who are so inclined to knock him down and kick sand in his face. Regardless of how he was asking questions, they, completely unprovoked, broke his rare record and physically assaulted him. How is that defensible?

Of course, compare that to his more recent interview with Sean Lennon where he's badgering a son about whether his mom was writing songs about masturbation and what he thought about her nude photos, and it's easy to see that it definitely comes full circle.

[todd]

I think it's the opposite of bullying in the Sonic Youth video. He's so in the flesh that it makes it profoundly easy for people who are so inclined to knock him down and kick sand in his face. Regardless of how he was asking questions, they, completely unprovoked, broke his rare record and physically assaulted him. How is that defensible?

Of course, compare that to his more recent interview with Sean Lennon where he's badgering a son about whether his mom was writing songs about masturbation and what he thought about her nude photos, and it's easy to see that it definitely comes full circle.

I haven't seen the Sonic Youth one - just a couple where people seem either agitated or tell him to fuck off (I think it was Courtney Love?). I'll check the Sonic Youth one out, but from the way you describe it, you're absolutely right. I didn't know they actually broke his shit - thats awful.

[AlizaEss]

About a year ago I submitted a project to this book called Yarnbombing, published through Arsenal Press. I recently checked out their website and they had a photo series from the Vancouver event Word on the Street. The project I submitted is in photo #2 (the orange collage piece) and Nardwaur is holding the book in photo #4.

Here's the link: http://yarnbombing.com/mixing-it-up

One of those creepy/exhilarating "The Best Show has invaded my life" moments.

p.s. One of the book's editors, Leanne Prain, left a comment at the bottom of the Nardwaur pic that gives a kind of hilarious insight into what it's like to be interviewed by him.

[crumbum]

Three or four years ago when I lived in Vancouver I had the good luck to attend a screening of Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains hosted by Nardwuar. As you would expect, he introduced the movie with an insanely digressive and detailed series of anecdotes about the making of the movie, which was filmed in Vancouver around 1980. More impressively he also distributed a little pamphlet he had created for the occasion which I've now lost, but which I think was a collection of hardcore/punk show photos from that era taken by a woman who had a small part in the movie (my memory's a bit foggy on that part); she was in attendance and said a few words about being on set. That was a really fun night.

(And to anyone who hasn't seen that film, rent it as soon as you can.)