Songwriting UK — Winter 2017

(Axel Boer) #1

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istock

you, you know! It’s like, ‘hold on a second.
If I dig this, just because you don’t, it doesn’t
mean that I have to change what I think
about it.’
“It’s just one of those things where I’d
rather write something I’m happy about and
fail, than to write something successful that
didn’t come from my heart.”

Do you think rock still has the same
power now as it did in the late 80s and
early 90s?
“It’s interesting. I think it’s getting it back.
I think a lot of it has lost its way, in a weird
way. Before it used to be that you’d write
some music and you’d go out and tour. Now
everything’s so complicated, it’s capitulated,
it’s commercialised, it’s stuck into little
boxes; it has to mean something.
“I get so fucking bored with rock having
to mean something. It doesn’t! Write a song
and put it out there. Whether it’s a broken
heart or a broken foot, just put it out there
and let somebody feel it - it doesn’t have to
be so serious.
“Honestly that’s one of the reasons why
concerts have dwindled, as far as building
a new audience for new bands, it’s because
everyone thinks they have to be so serious
all the time. And it’s also one of the reasons

One day people are gonna wake up and
go ‘oh, that’s all garbage. Let’s go back and
check out what rock n roll’s up to.”

The pinned tweet on your Twitter
account is: “all that is necessary
for the triumph of evil is that good
men (and women) do NOTHING.” -
Edmund Burke. With Trump in office,
what do you think people should
be doing? And as a songwriter do
you think you should be taking a
particular action?
“Especially when you’re as, sadly(!),
outspoken as I am, you tend to end up
on one side or the other. The thing with
Trump is that he’s just getting worse and
worse. I have faith that people in the right
places are doing what they can. But he’s
such a jackass that it’s really hard to keep up
with his missteps.
“So I pinned that Tweet specifically to
remind people that sometimes you do
have to speak up. Whether you’re on the
right side or the wrong side you just can’t
stay silent. But here’s the main thing, if
you’re going to speak up, please know what
you’re talking about! Please just read a
fucking article, do some research, educate
yourself. Too many people are stuck in

why the pop and hip hop audiences have
never gone away, because they’re not
nearly as serious, they’re just trying to have
a good time.
“Rock is sorely missing that right now
and that’s one of the things that we’re
trying to do, we’re trying to bring that
back. Bring that good time back. There are
certain songs that mean something, but
they don’t all have to be a fucking thesis on
the depression of the human spirit. And
you don’t always have to mosh to every
song. I see people mosh to Through Glass
and I go, ‘what the fuck are you doing?! Are
you serious?!’
“People have forgot how to act at rock
concerts - you come to have a good time
and to release it and enjoy yourself. But
because everybody feels like they have to
be an extreme metal show, they don’t know
how to act at a regular rock ‘n’ roll, or hard
rock, concert.
“So, it’s tough. I think that a lot of bands
are trying to bring that positive spirit back,
but people are so cuckolded about how
they’re supposed to be at a concert that
they’re having a hard time picking that up.
But we’ll see how it goes. I have faith that
it’s [rock] still out there, especially with all
the shitty pop and hip hop that’s out there.

INTERVIEW: COREY TAYLOR

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