Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards offers up his opinion on pop, rap and why he doesn’t own a mobile phone ahead of the release of Hackney Diamonds.
In an interview with the Telegraph, Richards holds court on his career to date, briefly touching on the state of modern music. “I don’t want to start complaining about pop music. It’s always been rubbish. I mean, that’s the point of it.” “They make it as cheap and as easy as possible and therefore it always sounds the same; there’s very little feel in it. I like to hear music by people playing instruments. That is, I don’t like to hear plastic synthesised Muzak, as it used to be known, what you hear in elevators, which is now the par for the course.”
READ MORE: Mick Jagger on streaming: “People of all generations can access music from all periods”
Apparently, he’s got the musical taste to back the statement up, preferring to listen to blues, jazz and classical than anything gracing the pages of a magazine anytime soon. Just a few months before his 80th birthday, Richards (probably unsurprisingly) isn’t too keen on rap. “I don’t really like to hear people yelling at me and telling me it’s music, AKA rap. I can get enough of that without leaving my house.” On the process of making the new album, the guitarist seemed pretty chuffed with the result. “I’ve never ever not had fun recording, but this one had real urgency and energy,” says Richards. “We blitzkrieged that thing.” Hackney Diamonds, the Stones’ first new material album in 18 years, is due out on 20 October. You can pre-order it from the band’s website here.
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In an interview with the Telegraph, Richards holds court on his career to date, briefly touching on the state of modern music. “I don’t want to start complaining about pop music. It’s always been rubbish. I mean, that’s the point of it.” “They make it as cheap and as easy as possible and therefore it always sounds the same; there’s very little feel in it. I like to hear music by people playing instruments. That is, I don’t like to hear plastic synthesised Muzak, as it used to be known, what you hear in elevators, which is now the par for the course.”
READ MORE: Mick Jagger on streaming: “People of all generations can access music from all periods”
Apparently, he’s got the musical taste to back the statement up, preferring to listen to blues, jazz and classical than anything gracing the pages of a magazine anytime soon. Just a few months before his 80th birthday, Richards (probably unsurprisingly) isn’t too keen on rap. “I don’t really like to hear people yelling at me and telling me it’s music, AKA rap. I can get enough of that without leaving my house.” On the process of making the new album, the guitarist seemed pretty chuffed with the result. “I’ve never ever not had fun recording, but this one had real urgency and energy,” says Richards. “We blitzkrieged that thing.” Hackney Diamonds, the Stones’ first new material album in 18 years, is due out on 20 October. You can pre-order it from the band’s website here.
Want to write about music? Pitch us your ideas. Are you passionate about music and have a story or hot take to share? whynow wants to hear from you. Send your music-focused pitch to editors@whynow.co.uk. Let’s make some noise together.
