Keep On Rockin’ in the Free World: The Stylings of @nardwuar
To see more of Nardwuar’s interviews and style, check out @nardwuar on Instagram. For more music stories, head to @music.
Universities, take note: If you’re looking to prep the next generation of great reporters, introduce them to Nardwuar the Human Serviette (@nardwuar). At 47, the Vancouver-based radio host and on-air personality is the world’s most sincere, enthusiastic and fashion-forward music journalist. And he has simple advice for anyone who wants to conduct great interviews: Do your research.
For Nardwuar, that means going online or even flipping through vintage publications to find out exactly what holds sentimental value to his subjects. Based on his findings, he collects a stack of pop artifacts to present to them.
“People are too lazy to find that information. They don’t want to take that extra step,” Nardwuar says, over the phone from Canada. “But I just think, what the hell? You might as well do it. If I can do an interview, anybody can.”
Pharrell (@pharrell) called Nardwuar’s interview “one of the most impressive” he’d ever experienced after the journalist pulled out one of the beat-maker’s favorite albums, Carl Sagan’s The Music of the Cosmos, on vinyl. The rapper Tyler, the Creator (@feliciathegoat) let out a trail of expletives when Nardwuar revealed that he knew Tyler’s mom was half-Canadian. And, the moment Nardwuar gave a rare issue of the fanzine Rocktober to Questlove (@questlove), the Roots drummer wondered aloud whether the man could have found Bin Laden before SEAL Team 6 did.
“I try to zero in on stuff people haven’t asked,” he says. “Maybe they thought, Oh, I am doing an interview with Pharrell, he’s been asked everything, what’s the point of trying to find new stuff? I guess I was able to break through that barrier because people had given up to find different questions.”
Nardwuar (born John Ruskin) is easy to spot. He is a walking, talking meme. Not only does he arrive with his gifts, he shows up in his standard outfit — red plaid pants, a multicolored sweatshirt and a tartan hat — a style that has been described as both an “exploded 1970s Soviet golf catalog” and “a sartorial no-man’s-land between first-wave punk and PGA Tour.” He also finishes every interview with a sign-off message –– “Rockin’ in the Free World,” a nod to Neil Young’s 1989 democratic anthem, and the end of the “Shave and a Haircut” jingle.
“I always looked to bands that dressed cool,” he says, about his style inspirations. “Like The Cramps, they always had a cool sense of style. And Poison Ivy, she looked pretty amazing. Even Jello by Biafra, of the Dead Kennedys, he had weird T-shirts. So I guess it was just looking at records and seeing what people are wearing and then you see it in the store and going, Oh, I will try to get that.”
Nardwuar got the tartan from his godmother, replacing a toque Sebastian Bach stole from him during a 1994 interview. The Skid Row lead singer later destroyed the only evidence of the crime — a VHS tape — because, Nardwuar says, Sebastian thought he was mocking him. Other artists thought they were being pranked by Nardwuar too. During a conversation with Blur, the band’s bassist Dave Rowntree stole Nardwuar’s hat and glasses. While interviewing Sonic Youth, guitarist Lee Ranaldo broke a rare 7-inch record the journalist had presented him.
“As long as the video camera is capturing what’s going on, I will be OK,” says Nardwuar, about these more aggressive moments. “Right now there’s no evidence of [the Sebastian Bach or Skid Row] interviews because they thought I was making fun of them, so they destroyed [the tapes]. There are situations where it does get scary and it does get intense. However, I am not scared if someone is documenting it.”
Nardwuar has been taping his interviews since high school. He remembers the date of his first one: September 26, 1985. He was president of his school’s student council, and therefore in charge of getting a band to play the school dance. He picked a group called Poisoned (not to be confused with hair metal gods Poison), fronted by Canadian punk rocker Art Bergmann. To mark the occasion, Nardwuar decided to ask Art a few questions. Two years later, Nardwuar landed his own local radio show at the University of British Columbia, which still broadcasts to this day.
“I tried to be an engineer and an accountant, but I just gravitated toward the radio station,” says Nardwuar, who also plays keyboard in his band The Evaporators. “I didn’t really think of pursuing anything. I am still trying to get to the top of the rock pile myself. I still have a long way to go. But it was fun to be able to live out these fantasies of being on the radio. I still can’t believe I have a radio show. People can actually hear me on the radio!”
Nardwuar would eventually get his chance to shine on television, with a freelance gig on Much Music in Canada. By then he had already become something of a cult favorite in his home country. What really propelled him to fame was the rise of the Internet, where people were able to view his work whenever they wanted. Still, he’s quick to remind you that not every interview he conducts is as revelatory as the ones with Pharrell, Questlove or Drake. Sometimes the conversations click, sometimes they don’t. He’s just there to try to make the discussion interesting.
“I still feel like I am doing my first interview,” he says. “I think that’s what makes me want to strike and find information on people, because a lot of times people show up to radio shows or video interviews, they think they know it all, and because they think they know it all, the interview turns out boring … Most of the time it’s pretty straightforward. I just want to have a fun conversation with somebody.”
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