Top Q&A’s

139. What do you do when you're by yourself?

I count raisins. —Zach Galifianakis

138. Have you ever fended off a charging rhino with your beard? 

Yes. That was the late '80s. —Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top

137. How's Tripoli? 

Trippy. —Lady Gaga

136. Have you ever played your song "Blowtorch Slaughter" and then immediately snuggled a kitten?

I don't know if I've done that exact thing. I don't have a problem with kittens. —Cannibal Corpse

135. What are the similarities between flying a plane and playing a saxophone? 

I'd say there's no comparison. —Rob Lind, the Sonics

134. Do you like igloos? Talk about igloos. 

I like igloos. —James Blake

133. Are you a sexter? Gimme one sext off the top. 

My sexting days are behind me. —Beck

132. What time is it for you? 

Yeee. Neee-neee. —Yo-Landi Vi$$er, Die Antwoord

131. I've got the all-access Manilow pass.

I didn't know we were doing that. What sort of access is it? —Barry Manilow

130. Will there be mud baths and juice bars? 

You bring the mud, I'll bring the bath. Actually, don't bring mud. —Snoop Dogg

129. Will you marry me? 

It's my day off, so no marrying today. —Sharon Jones

128. I picture you soaring through the air like a giant eagle. Or maybe you're something odd, like a gopher. 

I like the idea of the golden eagle. —Yanni

127. Any castle stories? Was it a castle castle, with a moat?

I'd say it was more a very large, dramatic looking white manor. —Tim Kingsbury, Arcade Fire

126. Would you consider yourself a wizard?

You mean like a wizard that casts spells with a wand? —Willie Nelson

125. What do you do when you're not feeling jolly? 

You overcome it. —Billy Joe James, Off-Duty Mall Santa

124. Do you tan?

[Pauses] Yes. —Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West

123. Is solving a really hard equation similar to sex at all? Are endorphins released?

Endorphins are released, yes. But I would caution you about being too reductive. I know journalism is a narrowing chasm of click-bait trash, but knowing nothing about you, I think you are above that. —Dan Snaith, Caribou

122. Can you baptize me over the phone?

Press play on the ocean, swim to God. —Lee Scratch Perry

121. Did you know wildebeest is not spelled "wildabeast"? They can also be called gnus. Who the hell calls a wildebeest a gnu?

Good question. I can't spell. —Yukimi Nagano, Little Dragon

120. So you're not an animal god in a trance onstage? 

I don't want to ruin anything for you. —Randall Dunn, Master Musicians of Bukakke

119. There's a rodeo sport where children grab on to the back of sheep. Do you know mutton busting?

I don't know that, unfortunately. I won't be busting any mutts. —John Taylor, Duran Duran

118. Do you want to camp after your show at the Gorge? My friend Kevin can lend you a sleeping bag. We have Fireball. We won't stab you. 

That's tempting. Let me think about it. —Geezer Butler, Black Sabbath

117. Don't confuse Louisiana voodoo with Haitian vodou or Southern hoodoo. Look for the snake deity, Li Grand Zombi. Shit's for real.

Making a note of that right now. —Tom McFarland, Jungle

116. So after jamming a song for 18 minutes in front of a couple thousand people, you're thinking about folding laundry? No way.

Yep. Sorry. —Mark Gardener, Ride

115. Did you watch your spit freeze?

I'd say I probably did spit at one point or another... and may have glanced in its direction as it landed. Do you like to watch your spit freeze? —The Ting Tings

114. You know how there are people who say they remember their birth?

I don't remember my birth at all. —Calvin Johnson

113. Don't mix Whoppers and Red Bull.

Thanks for looking out. —Esperanza Spalding

112. Do you think you're glorifying murder and psychotic behavior? 

If you want to see murder and psychotic behavior, look at Israel and Palestine. Look at what any number of governments do to innocent people every day. —Rob Zombie

111. I was up all night reading about Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo murdering and sacrificing people for a religious cult and drug cartels. He sacrificed lion cubs. 

Uh-oh. —Greg Dulli, the Afghan Whigs

110. If you had a 3-D printer, and could make anything, what would you make? 

I'd make a hundred 3-D printers. And I'd give them to the people of Staten Island, so they could make whatever they needed. I'd make them the best university in the world, with the best professors. —Cappadonna, Wu-Tang Clan

109. I see it on an animalistic level. A pride of lions picks out the sick, limping baby wildebeest to attack and kill. We're animals.

I agree. —Tom Araya, Slayer

108. You could always just say it's a societal metaphor for overconsumption and how the Earth Mother is eventually going to vomit everything back up.

True. —Alicia Bognanno, Bully

107. It's a festival food, a bunch of strawberries on a stick, dunked in chocolate. With sprinkles. They look like deformed dildos.

Bring me two. —The Dirtbombs

106. Did you eat grits?

I didn't eat any grits, I don't think. Is that pork? — Stuart Murdoch, Belle and Sebastian

105. I can't believe people do acid and huff Freon at the same time. Of course they're gonna pull their intestines out and eat their own shit.

America seems to have about 80 percent more of these cases than anywhere else we tour. —Bill Gould, Faith No More

104. In the United States, we call that Fox News.

People who want change are marked as progressive, and those in power want to keep their power, so they mute the progressives. —Kayus Bankole, Young Fathers

103. What do white people need to know?

If someone's 80-year-old grandmother is afraid to call the police because of what might happen, then there needs to be complete police reform. —Aeon Fux

102. What parts of American culture do you think are the strangest?

Nothing seems weird to me. I'm just very curious about Mormonism. —Peng Lei, New Pants

101. What do the Rolling Stones serve for their welcome-to-the-band dinner?

I had my first Peking duck. —Karl Denson

100. What is it about the aspects of a battle that fit with your music? People full of vodka on the dance floor battling for mates? Battling to procreate to further the species?

It's not a literal thing. —RL Grime

99. What's a song you've written that came out of nowhere? Like, while you were staring into the toaster, watching the heating coils glow oranger and oranger.

My latest song is called "New Moon Over the Hudson." It didn't happen from staring into the toaster. —Judy Collins

98. Please tell me about your mom having to be in the room when you filmed your McLovin love scene for Superbad.

So my mom had to drive down and chill on set while I shot my sex scene. She was a proud mother. —Christopher Mintz-Plasse

97. What was it like having big breasts in Fight Club?

I don't know. I was the character. I was Bob. Ask Bob. —Meat Loaf

96. If you were a sex toy, what would you be?

A dolphin. —Die Antwoord

95. Tom Cruise is Adolf Hitler.

I've read everything that Tom Cruise has read... I know what Scientology OT Level 7 is. —Brian Jonestown Massacre

94. Titties everywhere.

Coming to a city near you. —A Place to Bury Strangers

93. You should get grills—they could say "I'M MAYOR."

I know about grills. [laughs]. —Mayor Mike McGinn

92. Never judge a band by its 18-foot-tall demonic mascot.

We drink tea before we play our shows. —Iron Maiden

91. Do you want to hold the Spirit Box upside down, with your left hand, the way Hendrix played guitar?

No. —Ken Arnold, Puget Sound Ghost Hunters

90. How the hell does Green Day have a Laser Green Day? You gotta be fucking kidding me with that. 

An interesting point. Someone may be kidding you, but it is not me. —Les Claypool, Primus

89. Tell me a story about lighting something on fire. 

There was an oil field with an old truck that looked like it hadn't been driven since World War II. My buddy hot-wired it, started driving, and then jumped out. We watched it ghost ride off of a cliff into the darkness. Then we heard a giant explosion. There were flames 30 feet high. We ran. It was a fucking oil field. —The Growlers

88. What about the mystery meat? Do ghosts of the cafeteria whisper about questionable stroganoffs?

Oh yeah. Stroganoffs and stews. There may even be some whispers of soy-based products. —Brandon Summers, the Helio Sequence

87. Have you been reincarnated? 

I don't know if I've had other lifetimes or not, but I regularly feel a kinship with the image of a cross-eyed Chinese man. —Bianca Casady, CocoRosie

86. What's your advice to women in music? 

Don't lead with your butt or cooch. —Ann Wilson, Heart

85. I heard Oprah hired y'all to play in her shoe closet? Because she likes to have live music while she picks out shoes? 

We played the Bloomingdales in the Beverly Center one time, which is a mall in Los Angeles. —Bethany Cosentino, Best Coast

84. Let's talk about your imitation of Oprah Winfrey. What runs through the mind of Tracy Morgan as he puts himself in the mind of Oprah Winfrey? 

That wasn't my real talent. —Tracy Morgan

83. Tell me about the guy you met in Arizona named Scotch.

He'd been there since 4 p.m., trading the OxyContins he had for his back pain for Long Island iced teas. Instead of heckling us, he'd be like: "No, no, nooo, that sounds too much like Donovan." —Brian Noyeswatkins, Tomten

82. If you could have a vial of sweat from any musician ever, whose would you choose and what would it taste like?

I'd say Guy Fieri if it's open. —Thomas Burke, Blood Drugs

81. What foods have you used during times of lovemaking? 

A worm from a tequila bottle, and Twizzlers. —Joey Veneziani, Glitterbang

80. What's the name of the song you all have about the gigantic crackhead who came into Shorty's trying to get a gin and tonic in the middle of the day? How did you know he was on crack? 

The song is called "4to9." The dude was gigantic. The smell of burnt plastic wafting off of him and the fact that he was wearing a leather vest and no shirt in the middle of January were sure signs of highness. —Josh Kramer, the Crap

79. Describe the elements of your sound in metaphorical terms. Maybe Sebastian's drumming is something surprising, like a hummingbird.

My spirit animal name was Raging Ferret for about 25 minutes. It didn't really stick. —Sebastian Thomson, Trans Am

78. Does your mind ever wander when you play? Like, have you ever had a microscopic vision of a sperm penetrating an egg to start a human life? Or have you ever become a mosquito that lands on a fried Twinkie at a fair outside Albuquerque? You try to suck blood, but you suck the Twinkie's cream filling, and for whatever reason, the sugar makes your mosquito brain think you're Neil Patrick Harris, who's from New Mexico, believe it or not. Then the cream filling kills you.

These are great thoughts. —Bill Frisell

77. What's your advice for new drummers?

If you can't keep steady time, you won't get gigs. —Matt Cameron, Pearl Jam/Soundgarden

76. There's no way you didn't play the song "Love Gun." Everyone's played "Love Gun."

Pretty positive there was no "Love Gun." —Adam Stephens, Two Gallants

75. After you see the great white sharks, you're going to turn into a reggae folk singer. 

I fucking hope not. —Gary Numan

74. Have you ever rammed your nuts into the corner of a pool table? Or put a Matchbox car up your ass or anything?

Maybe not either of those things specifically. I don't want to back myself into a corner and say I've never rammed my testicles into a pool table, because it's possible it's happened accidentally. —Dave Harvey, Nudity

73. It's a new form of audiovisual entertainment called Pole-Vault Lozenge Rock. Way beyond next-level stuff. You know what anime is? 

I know some anime. —Jeff Bridges

72. 'Cause you're a huge Molly Hatchet fan. No one really knows how big a Molly Hatchet fan you are. 

You're being funny now, right? —DJ Shadow

71. What's the latest on your feelings toward Prince? 

It all comes down to "At least he's paid"? And I'm thinking, what about principle? Now it's like he's just running back to the master's house. —Meshell Ndegeocello

70. What do you think about the royal family? 

Prince Harry was photographed wearing a full Nazi uniform at a party. Prince William just uses our money to fly around in helicopters and cut ribbons at hospital openings. The royal family is a disgrace. —George Mitchell, Eagulls

69. Could you hear John Lennon's voice in your head when you played it? Or was it just a normal piano? 

There was definitely a vibe.—Sharon Van Etten

68. I know you said you don't like to talk about your music. So let's talk about your music!

Lyrics hit me in the middle of the night. Often, I'll think of things on airplanes. —Mark Kozelek, Sun Kil Moon

67. In "Theme Song," your "peach is ripe." You're "on the prowl." What do you mean by ripeness? 

Actually, this song is just called "Thunderpussy." —Whitney Petty, Thunderpussy

66. You have a song called "Last Day on Earth." What would you do with your last day on earth? Besides sex? 

I was going to say probably sex. —Chris Martin, Kinski

65. How's Tokyo? What's some weird shit going down over there?

They've been telling me about the popularity of this thing called a Tenga. It basically sounds like a really high-tech, high-end pocket vagina? Apparently, it's really popular here with men and available at every convenience store. —Aziz Ansari

64. Where have been your favorite places to play? 

I like the Know in Portland. We played with the Therapists, and that guy barfed on command four different times. —Matt Nyce, Wimps

63. Have you ever vaped upside down in a walk-in meat freezer hanging next to a slab of cow on a hook? Kids are doing it—it's called "flank steaking." 

You showed this question to the Home Alone guy? —Random Guy Named Lou Reed

62. How do you keep all the activity up? 

You gotta find somebody you really like and fuck 'em all the time. And I don't do coke. —DJ Quik

61. What made you want to do a cookbook? 

I treat rap like a sport. Very few athletes sit around and eat fried food all day.—2 Chainz

60. When was the first time you knew you were going to be a rapper?

I was 2 and I seen Ninja Turtles and I wanted to be Michelangelo. —RiFF RAFF

59. How did you first become a baller? 

Tupac came down from the sky and fed me raw meat. He told me to listen to Curtis Mayfield and Shock G. Then we worked out on his home gym machine doing sit-ups and tricep exercises for five years. —Yung Lean

58. Are you taking a crap? Because that would be an amazing secret.

No, sadly. We're near Albany, it's freezing outside, so I found a bathroom to talk from. —Kyle Shutt, the Sword

57. Describe the smell in that van. 

A special blend of warm male musk mixed with delicate spice notes and a stale Rainier finish. A combination of a ladies' locker room, a gay bar, and a natural hot springs. —Gus Clark, Country Lips

56. Have you ever seen "Two Girls One Squid"? Wait till you see this shit. 

I can't talk about any of this. You need to speak to Lt. Daniel. —The Blue Angels

55. It's like you're looking into somebody's window, a voyeuristic thing. 

We spent a lot of time driving the van across deserts and talking about art. —Danny Bland

54. What makes you write? 

In the Seattle Times, there was an article on Shackleton's Antarctic Endurance photographs. On the next page was a story about a guy who tried to drive a Metro bus off the Aurora Bridge, and what his apartment looked like inside. I ended up writing a song out of those two things. —Mark Lanegan

53. And now that you're talking about miming, I see a mime exploding. 

It's a celebratory song. It's about the energy of people with the intention toward reclaiming a world for the society they live in that's not defined by capitalist concerns. —Thurston Moore, Sonic Youth

52. Should I just sing John Denver songs for you? 

Let's get you some information first. —Merrill Garbus, tUnE-yArDs

51. Do you dabble with jumpsuit wearing? 

Oh, I got a whole collection. I've been jumpsuiting quite a while —Jaleel Bunton, TV on the Radio

50. What's next? Where do you go from here? Tightropes? Cliff diving? You know you need to add fire. 

I'm not sure. This isn't something I'm proud of, like I said. —Guy Who Jumped on a Dead Whale Being Eaten by Sharks

 49. What does Skrillex think of you having tantric sex? Is it true you banged his mom?

You will not besmirch the good name of Judy Skrillex in my presence. —Skrillex's Haircut

48. Who was it that called you all freak monkeys?

I have no problem being called a freak monkey. —Radiohead

47. Thom Yorke has no talent whatsoever.

He's never influenced me, ever. —Other Lives

46. After breakfast in bed, there's the horse-carriage ride to the spa. What do I play in the carriage? 

Play "Battlezone”. —Bizzy Bone, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

45. I spoke with Glenn Danzig, and he said punk is dead. 

I don't know if Danzig is really a punk spokesman. —Marky Ramone

44. What does Glenn Danzig do during downtime? 

I try to work out. I like to read. —Glenn Danzig

43. How do you crush a moth casually? 

You tell me. —Alice Glass, Crystal Castles

42. Ellen DeGeneres was so not into Jon Bon Jovi's lipstick lesbian look. Is that why they broke it off? 

I don't know if he and Ellen were really an official couple. What do you mean by lipstick lesbian? —Tammy (who I thought was Dina Martina)

41. What's the weirdest thing you ever saw happen onstage? 

If it wasn't weird, that was weird. —George Clinton

40. Has the announcement been made about the Postal Service headlining WrestleMania IX? Can I break that? 

What? Yeah, sure, why not. —Ben Gibbard, Death Cab for Cutie, Postal Service

39. Do you own your own Slayer Christmas Sweater? 

I approved it! The ugliest fucking sweater on earth. —Tom Araya, Slayer

38. What's the most disgusting thing you've ever seen done to a rat?

Rats eating rats. —Colin Dawson, Haunted Horses

37. With hoarders, there's a maggot element. You don't have maggots. 

That's true. I haven't seen any maggots yet. Sometimes I might leave a cup in my car. —Peanut Butter Wolf

36. It was the spot to hump disgusting old sofas. 

He was humping it, and he'd snap his head and look at us, and then keep humping. —Jordan Jeffares, Snowden

35. Tell me about partying with Lance Armstrong and Lars Ulrich in Tokyo. Y'all had a saltine cracker fight? Lars wouldn't get off the bidet? 

I'd rather talk about the first time we played in London. —Nic Offer, !!! (Chk Chk Chk)

34. Then what happens? 

We see that his belly had indeed been sliced by the blade, so finely that the wound was unnoticeable until time began again. As life drains away from him, he sees that he's back in the garden where their love blossomed. —Ioanna Gika, IO Echo

33. Next topic: Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle. 

I don't know what that is, but I don't like it. —Seth Bogart, Hunx and His Punx

32. Who else was on that bill with the Sex Pistols the night you decided to form a band? 

The Clash, playing their third show. Siouxsie and the Banshees had Sid Vicious on drums. They did a 20-minute version of "The Lord's Prayer." —Tim Butler, the Psychedelic Furs

31. You said you used to have a KISS room. Let's be honest. You still have a KISS room. 

There may be some KISS stuff around, you're right. —Mike McCready, Pearl Jam

30. There are farm animals. Where did you get them? Can I get a goat story? 

We crowdsourced the goats. We asked for one and got THREE. The internet is an amazing place. —Brady Harvey, Tea Cozies

29. What's this about you having an epileptic cat? 

We have an epileptic cat. Her name is Pearl. Does anyone else out there have an epileptic cat? —Zera Marvel, Dead Ship Sailing

28. What happens to the character the night before he ships off to war? 

It's the allegory of man literally fucking the world. —Nate Quiroga, Iska Dhaaf

27. FlyLo-Thundercat Meth will be a fine meth. 

Runnin' real deep in these streets, you know? Get yourself a team. —Thundercat

26. Do you get asked if you're into furries? You know, the people who dress up in animal suits and Barney suits and stuff, and have sex. 

I know about furries. —Munaf Rayani, Explosions in the Sky

25. I wanted to ask about bandannas. 

Apparently, orange will keep you covered for just about anything. Maybe stay away from wearing a brown one, unless you're into that. —Brighton Kenoyer, Wishbeard

24. I pulled up a video of a lady who married the Eiffel Tower. She's an "objectum sexual." Objectum sexuals fall in love with objects.

Crazy shit right there. —Tyler, the Creator

23. How many times did you look at Kevin Barrans's beard and think, "God, it's so abundant and silky, I could land a floatplane on it?" 

Every time I look at Kevin's perfectly groomed, two-foot-long beard, my imagination runs wild. I think about it being some other land that a really small, magical colony lives in. —Faustine Hudson, the Maldives

22. What's your passion? 

I'm fairly into anime pillows. —Frankie Crescioni/Jim James

21. What would be your criteria for judging Olympic synchronized diving?

You wouldn't want me to be a judge. —Too $hort

20. How does your new stuff sound?

I don't know, crappy? —Strong Killings

19. You're a clown who raps and plays country? Is it hard to cross over like that?

I'm a performance artist. —Ronald McFondle

18. What started the rift between you and weatherman Steve Pool?

He fell madly in love and proposed to me. I laughed at him and told him I was just working. —Jackie Hell

17. Imagine you are a grain of sand floating through space. Take as long as you need.

Nope. Still here. —John Doe, X

16. Baby turtles are the last thing I would have imagined bringing your band together.

It was the baby turtles, yes. —the xx

15. You're next to the prime rib, and you're foaming with murderous want. Right?

It's not about being in the meat section and needing to kill someone, no. —Of Montreal

14. Is he a bear? How did he smell?

I think he's more of a daddy. A leather daddy. He smelled very good. —Perfume Genius

13. Are you ever embarrassed that you're an adult and you watch cartoons?

Like, Akira? On Blu-ray? In 5.1? No. That's how adults watch cartoons. —He Whose Ox Is Gored

12. How does the band Lesbian relate to the ballet of Don Quixote?

Balance of opposing forces, tied by gravity but desiring to soar. —Lesbian

11. The way you parlayed that into sperm was amazing.

Thank you. Sperm is an elemental archetype that you keep in your head at all times. —Andrew W.K.

10. We're all on this rock, and we're all on LSD.

I've watched the skin of a woman's face fall off as she was laughing at me, until she was just a skeleton. —White Hills

9. Do you sprout gills and voyage to the primordial space-land of trans-Neptunian protoplanets?

We aim to transport. —Moon Duo

8. If an optigan was an animal, what would an optigan be?

It'd be a giant owl. —Califone

7. Talk about the mountains and mountains of cocaine. We all know what "hunting groundhogs" means.

There was actually no cocaine involved in any of these stories. —Beat Connection

6. But what if you had to name your double-neck guitar?

Then I would name it Steve. —El Ten Eleven

5. If you were a dessert, what would you be?

I would be brownies. —Eighteen Individual Eyes

4. You blink and become Raiden Tameemon, the greatest sumo wrestler who ever lived.

Exactly. —Vox Mod

3. Do you ever hurt each other?

When we were kids, we definitely beat the crap out of each other. —Tegan and Sara

2. Talk about your sacrifice of baby animals.

I cook dead animals for a living at Linda's Tavern, that's about it. —Black Breath

1. What the fuck are you doing?

We're beyond excited to perform for our fans. – Backstreet Boys