10.
Brian Jonestown Massacre – Their Satanic Majesties’ Second Request
I saw them perform at the Viper Room in Los Angeles. In Dig! Anton Newcombe comes across as a really arrogant guy, but then I was really drawn into listening to their music which I really fell in love with. When I saw them I was really struck by their dedication to being musicians. They really loved playing their music. You could tell. They’re very authentic and sincere about what they are doing.
I feel that a lot of modern bands who get acclaim, they might look fantastic but really, when you get into in it, they’re just day trippers. It’s a hobby. People say it’s a way to get girls but it’s not.
With us and Brian Jonestown Massacre and others, we’re fans and we’re passionate about it and we’re not looking for critical ratings. We’ve found the music and this is the noise that we all make together when we’re in a room. Bobby Gillespie and Andrew Innes and Alan McGee are like that. We love this shit! You put us all in a room together and it’s that child-like wonder.
Commercialism has devalued music. The art of it, the introspection and the profoundness of what it once was, we’re not likely to go for those artists because maybe they’re more niche and we can’t accommodate that as much as we could. Not that it stops these artists from making records or being creative, it’s just that as a culture we choose not to shine a light on them. It’s like we can’t accommodate the Lou Reeds or the Patti Smiths anymore. But then you’ve got PJ Harvey and Feist making amazing music, and these people should be at the epicentre of the culture, not on the fringes.
