Noted Sgt. Pepper’s hater Keith Richards is at it again. In an interview with, weirdly enough, Rolling Stone, the Rolling Stone said he’s always “thought [Metallica and Black Sabbath] were great jokes,” and that rap sucks because it’s “so many words, so little said.” Still, he doesn’t deny hip-hop’s success, backhandedly noting that “what rap did that was impressive was to show there are so many tone-deaf people out there. All they need is a drunk beat and somebody yelling over it and they’re happy. There’s an enormous market for people who can’t tell one note from another.”
This is, of course, not the first time the 71-year-old has expressed distaste for rap. In a 2007 interview with Rolling Stone, he said he “never understood why somebody would want to have some gangster from L.A. poking his fingers in your face. As I say, it don’t grab me.”
None of this should come as a surprise from Richards, who hardly seems culturally with it anymore. If anything, the Stone’s statements should serve as a reminder to all of us to face down aging with a fervor for staying at least somewhat current, lest we all end up sounding this crotchety some day.
Richards’ new solo album, Crosseyed Heart, is due out September 18.