Keith Richards says pop music has “always been rubbish”: “That’s the point of it”
The Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards says he believes that pop music has “always been rubbish,” and “that’s the point of it”.
The legendary guitarist was speaking to The Telegraph about his career, the state of music and his band’s comeback album ‘Hackney Diamonds’.
“I don’t want to start complaining about pop music,” Richards said. “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.”
He added: “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.”
Giving his take on rap music, he continued: “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.”
The rock icons announced details of their new LP this month and shared its lead single ‘Angry’, which came with a music video starring Euphoria actress Sydney Sweeney.
They’ve since revealed that a new documentary about the album is in the works, which is being made with Fulwell 73, the same team behind The Kardashians series.
“The film will chart the band as they started working on the 12 tracks which appear on ‘Hackney Diamonds’,” a source close to the project told The Sun’s Bizarre column (via The Mirror). “It will give followers an intimate and candid look at Mick, Keith and Ronnie as they work their magic in the studio, including the banter between them.”
The source also claimed that the documentary, the title of which has not yet been revealed, will also contain “nods to Charlie Watts”. ‘Hackney Diamonds’ is the band’s first album since Watts’ death in 2021.
‘Hackney Diamonds’ is set for release on October 20 (pre-order here). It was also revealed that a number of huge names also feature on the album including Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and Elton John.
The band have also explained the meaning behind the album’s title and have teased fans by announcing that they’ve already begun work on another new album.
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Will Richards
NME
