What music moves you the most?
My favorite kinds of tunes are the new pop tunes. I don’t know much of them, I mean Tame Impala is OK, but because there’s no such thing as the record industry anymore, because generations of fans have trained themselves to download and file-share and stream for free, the new guys of the world will never get a chance. So there will not be another Beatles. You can play the game, 1958 until 1988 is thirty years, Elvis, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Madonna, Prince, Jackson, U2, ACDC, maybe Kiss, and from 1988 until today, give me the new Beatles.
Do you stand by your statement a couple of years ago that rock is dead?
I’m going to ask you again, from 1988 until today, who’s the new Beatles?
I think groups like Pearl Jam and Radiohead…
Hold on, hold on hold on hold on. You’re talking to a big fan. If Thom Yorke walked down the street in Pasadena, what would happen?
I think a lot of people would be shocked and thrilled to see him.
I think you’re delusional. I’ve been with Dave Grohl when he was walking down the street and nobody knew, and he’s a big star. No, that’s not what a star is. Prince was a star. You could see him coming from a mile ahead. There are successful artists. Pearl Jam, by any standard, is very successful…how about this: more people would know Mötley Crüe walking down the street than Radiohead. Of course, I don’t mean they are better.
Look, the system is broken, and because the system is broken. New rock bands are very fragile. They’re like babies. You need to give them love and caring and give them a chance to come up with their better stuff so that they start with “Love Love Me Do” end up writing “A Day in the Life.” The same band. They had the time to mature and grow. But if they were living in their mother’s basement and had to work for a living, which is what’s going on today, it’s not going to happen. Yeah, rock is dead. Not that it can’t come back to life, but the business is dead. If the business is dead, rock is dead.
You know what’s not dead? Pop. Lots of pop divas, little girls buy the material. Black music, especially rap, their fans buy the music. Country, yup, their fans buy the music. Rock, no.
