Steven Daly
Steven Daly became a contributing editor at Vanity Fair in May 1999. Prior to that, he was a contributor to Rolling Stone, Interview, and Spin, where he served as music editor from 1991 to 1992. He also served as the U.S. cultural correspondent for BBC Radio 1 from 1994 to 1997. Daly is a co-author of Alt.culture (HarperCollins, 1995) and of The Rock Snob's Dictionary (Broadway, 2005).
50 articles
List of articles in the library
Guy, Teddy Riley: Teddy Riley: Swingin'
Interview by Steven Daly, Blitz, September 1989
A meteoric rise has seen Teddy Riley, at the age of 22, become one of theworld's most sought-after producers. ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, 1990
The woman Michael Bolton calls "the Hit Bitch" talks about her working practice; how a song goes from demo to hit; her favourite artists; how she persuaded Cher to record 'If I Could Turn Back Time'; seeing the Beatles as a kid, and becoming a writer; not being keen on co-writing; still being thrilled to hear her songs on the radio; not wanting to be a performer; the writers she admires... and the songs Rod Stewart turned down.
File format: mp3; file size: 43.8mb, interview length: 45' 35" sound quality: **½
Deee-Lite: Multi Cultural Delight
Profile and Interview by Steven Daly, Spin, June 1990
What will happen to dance music in a decade slated to make the '60s look like the '70s? Deee-Lite is what will happen. ...
John Lydon, Public Image Ltd, Sex Pistols: John Lydon (1990)
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, September 1990
John Lydon, eco-warrior, talks about — among many things — rap, NWA, and the Moral Majority; Malcolm McLaren and Bernie Rhodes; ex-bandmate Steve Jones; living in Los Angeles; punks becoming the new establishment; football and his beloved Arsenal; his take on fashion; liking Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour and offending Joni Mitchell; the current PiL and the band's previous members; on being involved in film... and being very rude about the Clash.
File format: mp3; file size: 104mb, interview length: 1h 48' 20" sound quality: ***
Profile and Interview by Steven Daly, Spin, September 1990
Monie Love arrives in this country with a rep as the only British rapper who matters. ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Spin, December 1990
After a three-year recording hiatus, INXS are back with X. STEVEN DALY corners the Australian band in a London hotel. ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, 1991
The Bristol trio talk about the time being right for their music; what they listen to; albums vs. singles; the Bristol scene and sound, plus the influence of reggae; their recording and mixing process and the place for remixing.
File format: mp3; file size: 42.3mb; Interview length: 44' 04"; sound quality: **
Interview by Steven Daly, Interview, January 1991
RESPLENDENT IN a California combo of fluorescent shorts and suntan, and crowned by a thatch of blond hair, the former Johnny Rotten answers the door ...
Monie Love turns a phrase and catches a beat
Interview by Steven Daly, Spin, January 1991
SCHOOL'S IN. Listen up as Monie Love explains what it takes to be a good rapper: "You need a good perception of the English language, ...
Morrissey, The Smiths: Morrissey: Lyrical King
Interview by Steven Daly, Spin, April 1991
With Morrissey's new album, Kill Uncle, about to be released and talk of a U.S. tour, England's last great pop poet is back. STEVEN DALY ...
De La Soul: Cool Hip Hop: De La Soul De-flowered
Interview by Steven Daly, Spin, May 1991
Declaring that De La Soul Is Dead, the beat-box beatniks turn ornery. Have they lost the plot? Or are they writing it? STEVEN DALY explains. ...
De La Soul, Prince Paul: De La Soul: Pushing Up Daisies
Interview by Steven Daly, Blitz, June 1991
De La Soul are back, but rap's original hip-hop hippies are no longer wearing flowers in their hair. De La Soul Is Dead, the long-awaited ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, Spring 1991
De La Soul on their second album De La Soul Is Dead: the move away from the Daisy Age; Mase on recording and sampling; making tracks like 'Pease Porridge' (Pos), ‘Afro Connections’, and ‘Kicked Out the House’ (Trugoy); getting grief from hardcore fans thinking they've gone "soft"; how life changed after hit debut album 3 Feet High and Rising; the pressures on hip hop; parenthood (Trugoy and Mase); commercial rappers like Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer, and the difference between rap and hip hop (Pos)... and what they're into now.
File format: mp3; file size: 37.4mb, interview length: 38' 58" sound quality: ***; File format: mp3; file size: 50.7mb, interview length: 52' 46" sound quality: ***
Morrissey, The Smiths: Morrissey (1991)
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, Spring 1991
The professional controversialist on his new album, Kill Uncle; his refusal to explain his music, and other people's interpretations; his relationship with the music press; his hatred of Madchester; his lack of interest in pushing musical barriers; on Margaret Thatcher; lyrical taboos; working with Mary Margaret O'Hara; not suffering fools gladly, and not being a sex symbol.
File format: mp3; file size: 122.3mb, interview length: 2h 07' 04" sound quality: ***
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis: Terry Lewis (1992)
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, Fall 1992
Part One: Terry on setting up Jam & Lewis' Perspective label and producing Sounds of Blackness; what he and Jimmy ask of their acts; the duo's work ethic; looking back at The Time; on "attitude" records and revealing their artists' personalities; sustaining success and originality; race and the music business, and their role as producers. Part Two: Terry talks about producing his wife Karyn White; on what Prince and Madonna do which sets them apart; on Johnny Gill; on appealing to more than one age group; turning down established stars; on Ralph Tresvant and New Edition, and about the enduring talents of Janet Jackson.
File format: mp3; total file size: 52.4mb, total interview length: 54' 13" sound quality: ***
Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 27 May 1993
England's new Band of the Century hits a glam slam ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, August 1993
The Rashomon interview, in which Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and The Other Two — Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert — share their respective memories and offer their varying opinions on: touring the USA; recording new album Republic; their side projects Electronic and the Other Two; the chaos that was Factory Records; the Haçienda fiasco; Acid House, and their relationship with Manchester.
Bernard Sumner: File format: mp3; file size: 58.8mb, interview length: 1h 00' 54" sound quality: **½ (background noise) Peter Hook: File format: mp3; file size: 26.6mb, interview length: 29' 46" sound quality: **½ (background noise) The Other Two: File format: mp3; file size: 26.6mb, interview length: 42' 02" sound quality: ***
Snoop (Doggy) Dogg: Snoop Doggy Dogg (1993)
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, 22 December 1993
A month after his debut album topped the Billboard charts, Calvin Broadus Jr. talks about his Compton youth; about the influence of his mother and the music he grew up hearing; about his criminal youth and the difference between the penitentiary and the county jail; and about the society he grew up in, then and now. He also addresses the subject of gangsta rap and his somewhat misogynistic lyrics.
File format: mp3; file size: 41.6mb, interview length: 43' 19" sound quality: **½
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, Spring 1993
Brett Anderson and Mat Osman talk about being out of place and initially dismissed as a joke; about Suede's breakthrough; their non-nostalgic Englishness; the effect of Melody Maker's "greatest band" headline; being provincial; the importance of the Smiths; lyrical concerns; their relationship with the UK's Nude label while being signed to Columbia in America; how they reach their fans; the US resistance to British pop and the nature of "taking America" (or not).
File format: mp3; file size: 56.1mb; Interview length: 58' 29"; sound quality: ****
Depeche Mode's Martin Gore and Alan Wilder (1993)
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, Summer 1993
Messrs. Gore and Wilder talk about the stresses of recording their latest album, Songs of Faith and Devotion, and the band's internal dynamics in the studio; the effect that living in L.A. has had on singer Dave Gahan; electronic versus traditional musical instruments. Martin Gore also discusses his songwriting; the band's development from the early days... and fatherhood. Alan Wilder talks about touring, the future of Depeche Mode and his place in the band.
Part 1, Martin Gore: File format: mp3; file size: 29.3mb; Interview length: 30' 29"; sound quality: **½; File format: mp3; file size: 46.1mb; Interview length: 48' 03"; sound quality: ***
Snoop (Doggy) Dogg: Snoop Doggy Dogg: A Dogg's Tale
Interview by Steven Daly, The Face, February 1994
Snoop Doggy Dogg is currently America's top rap star. He's also due to be tried later this year as an accessory to murder. In his ...
Joan Jett: The Original Riot Grrrl
Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 24 March 1994
Joan Jett lives up to her bad reputation ...
Report and Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 16 June 1994
PRIMAL SCREAM return to rock roots with Give Out but Don't Give Up. ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 11 August 1994
MADDER ROSE balance prettiness with dissonance on Panic On ...
Profile and Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 3 November 1994
BLUR stand up for their mod-rock roots on Parklife ...
David Lee Roth, Van Halen: David Lee Roth (1995)
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, December 1995
The erstwhile Van Halen frontman talks about his youth, and his memories of uncle Manny Roth, who started the Greenwich Village Café Wha?; on being first turned on to music; his love of boats; his current gig playing Las Vegas, and the uniform blandness of the modern world. He also revisits the end of Van Halen and their legacy, and the part cocaine played in their break-up.
File format: mp3; file size: 93.8mb, interview length: 1h 37' 44" sound quality: ***
Porno for Pyros' Perry Farrell (1996)
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, 17 April 1996
The Porno for Pyros frontman talks about his upcoming ENIT Festival and the ecological angle that involves tree planting, craft beers and the "spirits" of heroin and cocaine. He also looks back at his involvement with ENIT's hugely successful predecessor Lollapalooza – and how he became estranged from it. Lastly, he considers, slightly optimistically, how technology is going to change the music business...
File format: mp3; file size: 60.2mb, interview length: 1h 02' 39" sound quality: ***
Profile and Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 18 April 1996
Steve Albini is working on their next album, and their lead singer is pals with Courtney Love. Does that make them a band to ridicule ...
Report and Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 13 June 1996
LOLLAPALOOZA is the "alternative" tour, and H.O.R.D.E. a neo-hippie haven. Is there room for the ENIT Festival, the weirdest of them all? ...
Garbage: Modern Life is Rubbish
Interview by Steven Daly, The Face, September 1996
ONCE SHE WAS just another washed-up indie singer from Edinburgh. Then fate, MTV and three American rock musos intervened, and now Shirley Manson finds the ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, October 1996
The Bristol maverick discusses his treatment by the music press and talks about being pigeonholed; about not repeating Maxinquaye; about recording in Jamaica and what went wrong with Massive Attack; about Trip Hop and his relationship with Martina Topley-Bird; about his criminal past and his gangster uncles; about his memories of Bristol, the Wild Bunch and Smith & Mighty; and about his role in Luc Besson's The Fifth Element...
File format: mp3; file size: 74.3mb, interview length: 1h 17' 26" sound quality: ***
Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant (1996)
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, November 1996
Starting off with an hilarious account of how 'Go West' became a football chant, Neil Tennant goes into a treatise on British pop culture: the limitations of irony; the ideologies of the '80s against the triumphalist '90s; sexuality as cultural choice, and politics. He also looks back on his time at Smash Hits, and feeling beaten to it musically by New Order's 'Blue Monday'.
File format: mp3; file size: 56mb, interview length: 58' 17" sound quality: ***
Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant (1996) [transcript]
Audio transcript of interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages transcripts, November 1996
This is a transcript of Steven's audio interview with Neil. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 14 November 1996
Each year, Rolling Stone looks to the far edges of rock & roll in search of new artists who march to the beat of a ...
Report and Interview by Steven Daly, Details, July 1997
She's the wonder from the tundra, a guitar-strumming siren who spent the past two years on the road, driving herself to the top. Steven Daly ...
Texas, Wu-Tang Clan: Beauty and the Beats: Texas meet the Wu-Tang Clan downtown
Report by Steven Daly, The Face, December 1997
It's the pop story of '97, the most unlikely end to a weird year: Texas collaborating with the Wu-Tang Clan. First, a Scottish rock band ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 19 March 1998
ON THEIR DEBUT, MOON SAFARI, THE FRENCH DUO AIR MAKE LOUNGE MUSIC FOR THE ELECTRONIC SET ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, 21 March 1998
Over the sounds of a noisy restaurant, la Carey remembers her Long Island childhood; moving to Manhattan at 17 and her determination to sing; in the light of her new album Butterfly, her memories of hearing early hip hop, and using rappers on the new album; on being mixed race; her early image; her film project All That Glitters; her change of musical style, and making videos with Diane Martel.
File format: mp3; file size: 61.6mb, interview length: 1h 04' 11" sound quality: ** (background noise)
Mariah Carey: The Caged Bird Sings
Interview by Steven Daly, Arena, June 1998
Like every tragic heroine, Mariah Carey traded freedom for fame, creativity for commercial success. Now she's writing her own script and the ending has shifted ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 25 June 1998
With a little help from her faeries, she is doing more than just getting by ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, August 1998
Shortly after participating in the Woodstock "Day in the Garden" concert, Joni talks about missing the original festival; not really joining in with youth culture; her youthful tangle with polio; starting smoking at nine; her musical adventures; her Canadian bolthole; her dislike of the music business; her new album Taming the Tiger; her guitars and tunings; finding Jaco Pastorius; becoming a painter... and being reunited with her daughter.
File format: mp3; file size: 126.2mb, interview length: 2h 11' 26" sound quality: ***
Joni Mitchell: "I'd Rather Not Compromise. I'm In It For The Musical Adventure."
Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 29 October 1998
BY THE time she got to Woodstock, they were 25,000 strong — and it was twenty-nine years too late. But Joni Mitchell cared not that ...
White Zombie, Rob Zombie: Rob Zombie: Monster of Rock
Report and Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 4 February 1999
Hot Pants, Hot Rods, Guitars that spit blood: How he went from a television-addicted high school loser to the new King of Heavy Metal ...
Britney Spears: Inside the Mind (and Bedroom) of America's Teen Queen
Profile and Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 15 April 1999
The child navigates becoming a woman while the former Mousketeer courts worldwide fame ...
Underworld: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York NY
Live Review by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 10 June 1999
OUTSIDE UNDERWORLD'S only Manhattan show, dealers are touting coke and ecstasy. And judging by the euphoric mood inside, there are more than a few takers. ...
Limp Bizkit: Send Porn Stars, Funk and Money: The Limp Bizkit Story
Report and Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 5 August 1999
"WHO WANTS to speak to me?" Fred Durst regards his cell phone with suspicion. "Adam Sandler?" The Limp Bizkit leader has been chatting with producer ...
Spiritualized's Jason Pierce (2001)
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, Fall 2001
Mr. Pierce talks about the making of Spiritualized's latest album, Let It Come Down: creating the orchestrations, the support of record company Arista; on making Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, and working with Jim Dickinson in Memphis; losing his old band and finding a new one; not being an autocratic bandleader; not being in competition with other bands, and the meaning of the sleeve of Ladies and Gentlemen...
File format: mp3; file size: 36.6mb, interview length: 38' 05" sound quality: ***
Audio transcript of interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 2002
This is a transcript of Steven's audio interview with Madonna. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, July 2002
La Ciccone talks about her love of foreign films; about London then and now; about her new film Swept Away and other stage and movie projects; about being slagged off as an actress; about the difference between British and American class; and about her lapsed Catholicism and her devotion to Kabbalah.
File format: mp3; file size: 82.4mb, interview length: 1h 25' 51" sound quality: ***
The Sugarhill Gang: Hip-Hop Happens: The Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight'
Retrospective and Interview by Steven Daly, Vanity Fair, November 2005
Released in 1979, the single 'Rapper's Delight' launched hip-hop as a multi-billion-dollar phenomenon. The opportunistic 15-minute track also revived the career of its producer, a ...
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