Reword and rewrite the following article in HTML, use a hip journalistic writing style and make the heading statements in H3 or bold font where necessary: Who better to spend the holidays with than John Waters? Few artists are as festive as Mr. Waters, who releases holiday covers and tours with A John Waters Christmas — evenings of storytelling and indispensable life advice from the filmmaker behind Female Trouble, Hairspray, Polyester, Multiple Maniacs, and Pink Flamingos, to name a few of his indisputable classics.
Waters is nothing if not a Renaissance man. He’s the bestselling author of Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America, Role Models, and his most recent published work, Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance, long overdue for its planned film adaptation. On top of his wordsmith title, he’s also a singer.
Last year, Sub Pop Records released his cover of “The Singing Dogs.” This year, Waters returns to serenade all — in good and bad cheer — with a cover of Little Cindy’s “Happy Birthday Jesus.” As a holiday treat, there’s a “Pig Latin Visit From St. Nicholas” as the B-side. In short, it’s the perfect holiday gift from the Santa Claus of Baltimore.
It’s nothing short of a pleasure for High Times to present an interview with John Waters. The magazine interviewed him back in 1982. He is indeed one of the High Times greats, an artist who has always seen the beauty, fun, and truth in absurdity.
Thanks for speaking with High Times, Mr. Waters.
Glad you’re still coming out. That’s kind of amazing.
We went away for a bit, but then we got resurrected.
Yeah, but you’re not in print, right?
We just came back in print.
Oh, you did? Good, good, good, good, good. Well, good to hear, even though I don’t think I take drugs anymore. But anyway, we can talk about any drug you like. I’ve taken everyone.
What are some of your earliest memories of High Times Magazine?
I just remember always liking it, because when it first came out, it was really radical that there was such a thing, when marijuana was legal nowhere, ever. Your parents used to get scratch and sniff, where they smell like pot, and they could tell you that’s what your kids have, which is part of the reason I did Odorama [for Polyester]. But I always just thought it was a great magazine that most people who are all celebrities were afraid to be on the cover, even though they wanted to be.
I’ve experienced [that] fear, I will tell you.
Really?
It’s not always easy getting a yes.
You can never tell. Johnny Knoxville, who is a total straight boy who isn’t a closet queen, and very gay friendly, when we made A Dirty Shame, he said, “All I want to be on the cover is American Grizzly, the bear magazine.” And they said no, because he wasn’t gay. I said, “Are you crazy? You should put him on it.”
They wouldn’t budge?
They wouldn’t do it because he wasn’t gay, which is so ridiculous. That’s reverse discrimination. So you’re interviewing me and I don’t take drugs anymore. But as I said, I was taking everyone. What made me stop taking
