Sir Mick Jagger has said he is fully aware of what is happening in the music world around him, but believes that blindly copying musical trends is a mistake, since by the time you lock one in, it has already vanished.
The Rolling Stones, widely regarded as one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time, were co-founded by Jagger in 1962 alongside Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, and the late Charlie Watts. The best-selling rock band has scored eight number-one singles on the UK charts, with 14 of their albums also reaching the top spot over a six-decade career that continues to produce new music.
“We Have Moments of Elizabethan Music”
Speaking as a guest on BBC Radio 2’s “Tracks Of My Years” alongside Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger reflected on how the band keeps pace with musical trends while contemplating the longevity of the Rolling Stones.
“All the Stones’ music has quite a few influences. The obvious ones, the blues, soul music of all kinds, also very influenced by country music and various other genres… We have moments of Elizabethan music, and so on,” he said.
“It was always a band that covered a lot of different musical ground. They always say: ‘oh, the Stones are a rock band.’ When you listen to ‘Hackney Diamonds’ or our album ‘Foreign Tongues,’ how can you say it’s pure rock? There aren’t many songs that are like that, maybe two or three,” he added.
“It’s Like Knowing What Cars Are on the Road”
“I have full awareness of what’s going on around me. I’m not addicted to it and I don’t spend all day listening, but it’s like knowing what cars are driving on the road. I know what music is being played,” Jagger noted.
“I have moments where I listen to pop music only for about two weeks and then I say: OK, I’m done,” he added.
The rock icon explained that he enjoys listening to “all kinds of music” from different eras and genres, and then draws from that variety when working on new material.
“I think it would be a mistake to try and blindly copy a trend. By the time we record the trend, the trend has disappeared,” he concluded.
