[Archive 2007-10-16] The Raveonettes on love, death, desire and war

Historical archive — originally published 2007-10-16. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Below is Wikinews reporter David Shankbone's interview with Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo.

David Shankbone: No, I drank so much green tea today I am worried I am going to need to pee throughout the interview.

Sune: It's good. We're only two days in and we're already fucking tired. But we're in great spirits here. We're leaving town tomorrow...we're happy.

Sune: It was beautiful. I love that place. We played Maxwell's last night, which is my favorite place.

DS: This interview may be something different than you guys are used to, because although the questions will be about your music, they will be more about the both of you. They are surveys of the landscape. For instance, in the last week I have interviews the proprietors and mistresses of an S&M dungeon; Evangelical Christian Presidential candidate Sam Brownback, the President of the ACLU, Augusten Burroughs, and the High Priest of the Church of Satan, and now you.

DS: A lot of the questions might be a little different than what you are typically used to; maybe that will make it more interesting for you, or less pleasant. One of the first questions I like to ask musicians is about the challenge to be innovative when so much has already been done. How do you not let that affect your output?

Sune: Well, I don't think we really think about it in those terms. When we started out we had certain guidelines for the music that would ensure that it would sound like no one else, and those were pretty easy to make. Things like don't use a high hat, don't use cymbals, don't use certain things, play all the songs in the same key, do this and this, and that was really...

Sune: Yeah. I don't know what it was, I guess it was a really silly thing, but it worked and it was very inspiring and creative to work within those constraints, I guess. But they weren't really constrains for us, it was actually really easy and simple, but I think it has a sound that I have never heard before. But like I said, I don't really thin that we think...

Sharin: I think it's more that we are not scared of being blunt about what the references are in our music. For instance, if you look at our name, The Raveonettes, it's a complete direct reference to The Ronettes and Buddy Holly Rave On. So, in that sense, we're pretty clear about it.

Sharin: Yeah, where the inspiration has come from. So it's not like we have that fear of repetition.

Source and licence

Text adapted from The Raveonettes on love, death, desire and war by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.