Sure, Gene Simmons and his ageless cronies have been making countless headlines while dissing the new generation of music. But Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan recently topped all of that with a straight-up rant.
Taking aim at computer-assisted tunes, Gillan fired every round in his chamber.
"When computers got invented, they replaced Jim Marshall as being tools of the trade for young musicians," he told WikiMetal (via U-G). "And so they started speaking with a different voice."
On instruments... "I heard last week from somebody on TV that said in order to be a world-class, top-class musician now, you don't even have to be able to play an instrument. And, of course, it's true.
On computers... But they're not musicians, they're computer operators. And they press buttons and create rhythms and sounds, which are very exciting, and they've rejected what's come before. But now, I think, as I look at what's going on around me and I see all the changes every five years, every ten years — something came out of Seattle or out of Manchester...
On the '90s... There was the Oasis period, then there was the grunge period, and all of these things that were just gradually replacing each other. And it was just a fashion trend that tragically hip people in the big cities wanted to follow this trend, and so the media hooked onto it and made it massive.
And that's cool, that's great, and that's what fashion is. But it's not music, and it's not rock and roll — to me. Now it's all about people using their eyes to listen to music, not their ears.
"Get off my lawn" time... You listen to the production on the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and stuff like that, and George Martin's production on the Beatles and listen to the early sound recordings from Elvis; it's impeccable — glorious, glorious sounds, whether you like the music or not.
"And now we're just talking s--t — it's utter crap. No one cares about the sound. MP3s sound like s--t. I won't even play them. I mean, it's just rubbish, garbage. It doesn't matter about the music, because all you're hearing is a fly in a jam jar, a bee in a bottle. [Laughs] It's awful. And so is telephone communication.
So, what have we learned? Gillan isn't wrong by any means, but his unbridled attack on the music industry as we know it has clearly been festering in his soul for years.
This interview gives us more hope that more old rockers are still itching to come out of the woodwork. Glenn Frey? Steve Miller? Phil Ehart? Where y'all at?
