When it came time to pick a name for his group, Tom Holkenborg rather

specifically chose Junkie XL.

The name conjures images of excess, fiendish hedonism and drug debauchery.

But Holkenborg had other, far more outlandish things in mind ... such as

creative diversity, workaholism and musical balance.

"For me, it is just like, 'You should open your eyes,' " Holkenborg said

via telephone from his home in the Netherlands. "That's what the XL stands

for -- expanding limits." And as for the Junkie bit, Holkenborg said it is

the nickname he's been loaded up with because of the addictive work habit

he developed through his music.

The result of all this is Saturday Teenage Kick (Roadrunner

Records), Junkie XL's debut album. With its crazed electronica beats, fat

rock guitar and distorted, aggressive raps by Urban Dance Squad's Rude Boy

(a.k.a. Patrick Remington), the record creates a tough but danceable brand

of techno that is countered and complemented by rock and heavy metal.

There are few limits on what Holkenborg may throw into the mix. While the

sounds he uses are sometimes worlds apart musically, from slowed-down

breakbeats to a looped re-recording of a guitar snippet from Husker Du's "Divide and

Conquer," no one element dominates the music. Saturday Teenage

Kick's sound is cohesive and unified, a study in Junkie balance.

Holkenborg said the album is supposed to be a fun study, though, hence the

title. People should be dancing to Saturday Teenage Kick, he said,

since that's what big beats are for.

But for an album that's supposed to be about fun, the raps are damn

serious. Take "Billy

Club" (RealAudio excerpt), for example: "Life is hard, life is

short/ Pained by laws/ Billy Club/ Scatter, scram/ Here's the man/ Laws to bend

that hurt like hell."

Holkenborg downplayed the significance of the lyrics. "For me and (resident

rapper) Rude Boy," he said, "the lyrics are really just an extra bonus. We

really don't focus on the lyrics at all. It's more about how the raps sound."

One of the most distinctive elements in Junkie XL's sound is Rude Boy (who

will play a few U.S. shows with the group starting this month, along with

guitarist Dino Cazares). Rude Boy decided to join Junkie XL after hearing a

tape of the group, Holkenberg said. It's a good thing, because there aren't

too many extraordinary Dutch rappers hanging around. "If you want to work

with a rapper in Holland," Holkenborg said, "there's only one really good

one, and that's Rude Boy."

The key to the Junkie sound -- from the beats to the raps to the metal and

the rock -- comes down to Holkenborg's elastic musical sensibilities. "I

always listen to different kinds of music," he said. "I listen to funk,

rock, classical, metal, punk, and for me, in every musical category, there

is somebody who does things that are important to my musical direction. I

try to find a balance in these different kinds of music."

That might explain why Holkenborg -- a big fan of harder rock groups such

as Sepultura and Helmet -- is also proud to point out that a Dutch

orchestra has performed classical versions of several Junkie XL songs.

This eclecticism is also reflected in the way that Junkie XL have attracted

a wide range of fans to the stops on their recent Eruopean tour -- with many

of them seemingly drawn to Junkie XL's mix of electronica, rock and hip-hop.

"People from the rave scene -- who would normally be pretty reserved when

dancing -- they'd be jumping up and down during the concerts," Holkenborg

said. "And we had people who were into rock slam-dancing. The weird thing

is, by bringing people who like different music together, you create a new

atmosphere." [Mon., March 9, 1998, 9 a.m. PST]