Adam Curry: Hee hee, glad someone saw it. I guess the lack of honesty was what I disliked the most. If you even came close to the line, let alone toe it, the segment would get "burned"—TV talk for erased. They brought people like me and Kurt Loder in for credibility, but weren't allowed to maintain it with the viewers. MTV is bubblegum for the (young) mind.

CM: I want to ask you about something kind of disturbing: The hair. Whose idea was it? How long did it take to do it before broadcast? Do you kind of miss it?

AC: Well, at the time no one moaned about Bon Jovi or any other hair band. Hey, it's what everyone had, only I was able to produce it day in and day out, with help from my wife Patricia, who would get up with me every morning to do my hair and makeup before I went to the studio. MTV didn't even have a hair and makeup department for the first three years I worked there!

I don't miss it, since I couldn't maintain it myself. I AM, however, very happy I had it—it made me famous and arguably, rich :-)

CM: Is celebrity kinda fun, or is it a pain in the ass? On one hand, you get to hang with rock stars and you've got girls coming on to you in the street, but on the other hand, you can't have a quiet meal with your wife in a restaurant without someone bugging you for an autograph. How do you deal?

AC: Look at the quality of the problem here. Is it a problem at all?!

CM: You were the first person to register mtv.com, and developed the site at your own expense. Later, though, MTV claimed ownership of the site. What was that all about? Also, did the shit come down from MTV itself, or from Viacom?

AC: Well, the official line: "The lawsuit between Mr. Curry and MTV Networks has been settled out of court, neither party has any further comment."

But believe me, if they just would've asked politely, then I would've given it to them! This did get me the publicity and other important elements to really start my first company [Onramp.com].

CM: You're now living in Amsterdam and have a radio show. Why did you choose to move there?

AC: I grew up here, when my parents moved in the 70's. Its also were my wife is from, and after we cashed in on selling the company, we wanted to check out Europe. Currently we live in Belgium, near Antwerp, and keep a pied a terre in Amsterdam. I also thought there would be good business opportunities here. . . which is true!

CM: What direction is your career taking? Do you get to do more what you really want to be doing?

AC: Well, I really don't work—[just a] two-hour radio show on Fridays that is broadcast nationally. But I really enjoy writing, especially on the weblog. Thousands read it every day and traditional media frequently quotes me. I'm a really lucky guy that I'm healthy and can do pretty much what I like.

I'm also pretty active with my wife's cosmetics company (www.lapaay.com), our helicopter company (www.rotorjet.com) and our datahosting company www.databarn.net

CM: Do you see the political climate changing in Holland, and Europe in general? Is Holland still what you were looking for when you returned there? What do you blame for the change?

AC: Well, we just installed a new cabinet. Assasinated politician Pim Fortuyn's party had a landslide victory, which completely overturned the political landscape. The Minister of Economic affairs, for example, is the previous owner of Arcade records. He's 51 and drives a Bentley. . . too cool.

Of course this is going to create lots of friction, but most of the Dutch seem happy that there is at least a change for the first time in eight years.

CM: How have things changed specifically since the EU really came together?

AC: Well, the euro wasn't really about the monetary unit, but more about shifting control to the central European leaders in Brussels (about an hour from us). Lots of folks don't want leaders they didn't elect telling them what to do. I tend to agree. Not that I mind a European government, but I would certainly like to have a say in the matter of who is appointed/elected to do what.

CM: One last question: The expanding role of the Internet in media. Your blog was a major source of accurate information on the Pim Fortuyn assassination, reporting facts that the more mainstream media was getting wrong (for instance, that Fortuyn was not a "hard-right winger" in the traditional sense). Where do you see as the future of the Web as a force for truth, and the role of the individual in the media?

AC: I can only answer that with the tagline for my blog:

"There are no secrets. Only information you don't yet have."

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Posted July 28, 2002 11:08 PM