If ever there were a man who was perfect for the job of giving his opinions live and for all the world to see, it is the inimitable John Lydon, a.k.a. Johnny Rotten. It's not surprising, then, that the colorful Lydon, who spoke to Spinner for a long-form interview on topics ranging from Amy Winehouse and the Sex Pistols to his hilarious and strong opinions on the current crop of presidential candidates (the full interview goes live September 6), is embracing his role as a judge for the Bodog Battle of the Bands live series.

Lydon, who will be on hand at L.A.'s House of Blues on September 5 for the crowning of the winner, to be aired on Fuse TV, is getting behind what the bands who've competed throughout the run are trying to accomplish. "They're writing their own songs and they're performing them," he says. "It's enjoyable in the extreme. Some of them are not great. Others are really quite startling but not every time. They just dump songs; there are great songs. But it's live music and it's their own songs, wonderful."

In the same style he's been relishing since the Sex Pistols attacked the fabric of popular music 30 years ago, Lydon sees the Bodog series as a middle finger to a music industry he finds lacking. "I don't see any record companies really out there supporting live music or songwriting at all," he says. "So here we are with Bodog doing something all right. I think it's great fun; I don't see no harm in it at all."

While he offers no insight as to how he might be leaning in the final vote, Lydon has found some bands that have impressed him, if for no other reason than their composure. "They get up there and they do that in front of us knowing that they're going to be on TV and they're coping with all that pressure, and I'm watching that and that's how I can tell who the survivors and the winners are," he says. "But there are a few of these bands just might last. They just have that little bit that matters."