FIVE SPOT

This month: Benji from Good Charlotte on Rancid, Eazy-E, and his "dark and twisted" sex life (by Chuck Klosterman)

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RECORD TO LISTEN TO IN THE CAR? Rancid's Let's Go. Their lyrics are about struggling and stuff, and we were poor when I was younger, so it made me feel better. I was into more current stuff back then, but through Rancid, I found out who the Clash were, I found out who GBH were, I found out who the Exploited were. The only punk band I didn't find out about that way was Minor Threat. That was through my friend's older brother, who was like, "If you're cool, you'll like this band." They'd smack us and make us listen to it.

WHAT ABOUT WHEN YOU'RE GETTING READY TO GO OUT ON FRIDAY NIGHT? Probably Eazy-E's It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa. It's from when we were in high school. When we'd hang out, that album always made it into the CD player. We thought it was so cool-it was a lot like punk, the shock value. They were saying things I couldn't believe they were saying. It was awesome.

WOULD GOOD CHARLOTTE EVER DO A SONG ABOUT KILLING SOMEBODY? Well, we have a song on our new record called "Bloody Valentine." It's about a girl who's got a boyfriend, and this guy's in love with her, so he kills her boyfriend. It's got, like, an Edgar Allan Poe kind of vibe. I just love anything creepy.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO WHILE YOU'RE HAVING SEX? Usually industrial music.

DO GIRLS LIKE THAT? IT DOESN'T SEEM VERY ROMANTIC TO START PLAYING MINISTRY WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DO IT. I've never had any complaints. I just like the vibe-it's dark and twisted, but it's still pretty.

IS THAT HOW YOU VIEW YOUR SEX LIFE? PRETTY, DARK, AND TWISTED? Maybe that's why I'm still a virgin. But seriously-I just like the vibe it puts in a room. I got my bedroom all painted black, with candles and stuff. I've got a goth vibe.

IS GOOD CHARLOTTE SECRETLY A GOTH BAND? No, it's only me and Paul, our bass player. He's been listening to Joy Division and Bauhaus since he was in, like, fifth grade. I used to dress in all black, with black fingernails.

DID YOU EVER WEAR A CAPE? No, I never wore a cape.

THEN YOU'RE NOT REALLY GOTH. I know. I gotta get a cape.