Man, what a daunting task this paragraph seems to be. Somehow, in some way, I'm supposed to provide a proper introduction for an interview with my favorite musician ever. This is tough.

Let me try the professional approach first:

Once upon a time, there was a band from Oxford that captured the essence of post-Madchester UK psychedelic rock. Crafting layer upon layer of fuzzy guitars over hypnotic basslines and pounding white-hot drums, they somehow managed to push the sonic envelope time and time again, without once losing their knack for a captivating hook and powerful melody. The press dubbed it 'shoegazing,' but when push came to shove, the music defied labels, defied description, defied definition. There were dozens of these bands around at the time - several of which were great, several of which were crap. But only one of these bands had the ability to break through the underground to achieve massive critical acclaim AND commercial chart success. That band was called Ride.

Flash forward to 2001. Ride, like most of their contemporaries, are no more. But just in time for the holidays, the boys of Ride have given us a mighty present: a remastered back catalogue, a greatest hits collection, and a triple-disc box set with two entire CD's worth of unreleased tracks (one live, one studio outtakes.) To commemorate the release of the box set, Excellent Online was able to e-mail off some questions to Ride drummer Loz Colbert.

Ah, f**k it. I've never been a professional, I'm not starting now.

Lisa Y. Garibay has another fantastic interview on her site, Then It Must Be True. Go read it because, c'mon, he's the "Father of Goth"! And then come back here and tell us what you think.

Long time contributor to Excellent Online, Lisa Y. Garibay interviewed Phil Selway for her site, Then It Must Be True. It's a great feature with some amazing pictures from Aleks Garibay and Jamie Lilenfeld so make sure you check out!

A guitarist and a bassist sit in a hotel suite in the middle of Hollywood. They represent the most popular band in Australia - multi-platinum albums, sold-out stadium shows, the whole bit - yet no one on this continent knows who they are. It really proves just how far Australia is from America when a band that's topped charts for years in Oz comes to the States opening for Coldplay. Proven too is how different the mentality is of "rock stars" down under.

Interview by Lisa Y. Garibay

Simply brilliant. Those are really the best words to describe The Doves. By now, most of you should know their story intimately. From their beginnings as electronic act Sub Sub, through the devastating fire that levelled their new studio and destroyed a new album's worth of master tapes, only to see the band's Phoenix-like rise from the ashes to be re-invented as The Doves. "Lost Souls," the band's timeless debut album, hit shops unassumingly last year, and ended up making nearly every critic's year-end list (including reaching #5 on Excellent's own 2000 Reader's Poll.) The record takes snippets from a lifetime's worth of British (and especially Mancunian) influences, and layers them meticulously into an album that's wonderfully diverse in tunes, yet astoundingly cohesive in overall tone. Thoughtful, dark, moody, and powerful, The Doves defy description. They're simply brilliant.

The band made their very first Stateside trek in February and early March and we spent an early Chicago evening in the back of the Doves tour bus, casually hashing out the inner workings of the band with Doves frontman/bassist Jimi Goodwin. Here's a complete transcript of our VERY casual exclusive interview.

Interview by Shane Brown and Stuart Reid

Brian Molko is, without doubt, a bit of an odd duck. Capitalizing on the perfect mix of hedonism, ego, and androgyny, he's led his group Placebo to great worldwide success, while ensuring his face adorns the cover of many a magazine. But Placebo find themselves in a bit of a sticky situation these days. The band's third album, "Black Market Music," was met with less-than-stellar reviews from the British press, and has been pretty lukewarm in sales since its October release... This at a time when the band's American popularity has reached an all-time high with the modest US alternative radio success of 1998's "Pure Morning." At press time, there's still no sign of a US release for the new record, but it's likely to happen sometime in the coming few months. Before the October release of "Black Market Music," Excellent Online was able to get a few words with Molko prior to a London webchat. What follows is a complete transcription of the interview.

Interview by Scott Stegenga

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Richard Ashcroft, former leader of the seminal UK stalwarts, The Verve, has just released his first solo record, Alone With Everybody. Excellent Online correspondant Jay Babcock was able to sit down with Ashcroft to reflect on his former band, his new album, and his renewed look on life. Notes from this interview were used for a story which originally appeared in July/August 2000 issue of Mean magazine, but we're pleased to bring you the transcript of the entire interview.

Interview by Jay Babcock

On a gorgeous April afternoon, Rob Dickinson sprawls by the rooftop pool at a West Hollywood hotel, looking every bit the native LA sun worshipper. "I used to live here, four or five years ago," he says, sipping a beer. "I really like this place." Dickinson and the rest of The Catherine Wheel have come to promote Wishville. It's their first album in three years, during which they've bid farewell to founding member Dave Hawes; joined forces again with Tim Friese-Green (producer of their breakthrough debut Ferment); and broken down what Catherine Wheel was all about, putting it back together as who they are now.

Interview by Lisa Y. Garibay

So, we all know Britpop’s dead, right? Limp Bizkit and the Backstreet Boys rocked and popped their way all over the charts, effectively killing off the lackluster Britpop genre. And then… along comes salvation. And it’s a salvation that comes from, of all places, Athens, Georgia – the famed home of REM, and now the famed homebase for the critically lauded Elephant Six Collective, a loose grouping of friends and bands who live and breathe by pop hooks and funny noises. Though there are only a few bands who actually carry the Elephant Six imprint on their sleeves, some of the more interesting sounds to emerge of late are from the bands on the fringe of the E6 mini-culture. Among that lengthy list is Of Montreal. Owing more to the Kinks and Blur than to Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr., Of Montreal are helping to redefine the American indie soundscape. Purveyors of complex songs that sound simple, every track by the band is a mini-epic in itself. It’s pop with BRAINS, with a discography of character studies and concept albums aplenty. Excellent Online was able to conduct an exclusive phone/e-mail interview with Of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes, as the band was rehearsing for their June 2000 tour (and yes, you should go see them.)

Interview by Shane Brown

It's pretty rare when we give a full feature on this site to an American artist. But then again, it’s pretty rare when a band like the Apples in Stereo come along. As founders and kingpigs of the critically acclaimed Elephant Six Collective, the Apples are spear-heading a roots pop movement that’s unquestionably the freshest thing in American guitar indie music today. Their new album, “The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone,” pushes the boundaries even farther, with forays into northern soul and Motown. Frontman Robert Schneider is well on his way to becoming the Phil Spector of his generation, handling production duties for the Apples as well as most of the bands under the Elephant Six wing. On the eve of their extensive world tour (see our Tours page for their North American dates,) Excellent Online sat down with Apples keyboardist Chris McDuffie for a brief chat about all things Elephant. Here’s a complete transcript of the interview.

Interview by Shane Brown