Foomy On Art, Books, Social Issues, Life & Work

二○○六年二月十日初の投稿

金曜朝１１時半。私は初めてブログを書く。有名タレントのプロデューサー、キャロル・プロップに勧められて。彼女は、私が話す自分に起きた馬鹿げた出来事を実話として受け止める人間がいるかどうかを知りたい、と言うのだ。「僕は信じるよ、少なくとも僕は」と私は答えた。読者のあなたを私の人生へ招きたいと思う。

そのキャロルと私が会話している間、『便利屋さん』が来た。昨夜、私の車に勝手に落ちてしまったガレージドアを、今彼が開けようとしている。シアーズ（米国のチェーン店）で売っているようなチャチな窓付きガレージドアとは違って、手作りの木製の何トンも重いドア。それが今、私のレクサスにのしかかっているのだ。１８才の保険無しのイスラエル人が車のリアをぶつけたばかりの、私のレクサス。せめて良いほうにとろうとしてみれば、そのイスラエル人にやられたダメージと、ガレージドアにやられたダメージと両方のダメージを一つのダメージとして扱ってもらって、一回分の修理代にできないかな、と。ほら、ボディーショップとかのエステで、身体の二カ所を一回分のトリートメントにしてくれたりするよね？ああ、もう死にたい。

そんなわけでガレージドアが車に落ちて空かないままだが、ガレージの中はアンチークショップの品物でいっぱい。アンチークショップとは？と思う人に説明すると、ツアーしてないあいだの暇つぶしにアンチーク品でも売ろうかと思ってショップを開いたことがあったんだ。ツアー後ノイローゼを防ぐための趣味として、土曜日ショップ、というやつを開いたが３ヶ月後、その店をデヴェロパーが受け継ぐことになり、私は渋々、数千品も買いそろえたアンチークものを車の中に入れて自宅へ戻すことになった。その哀れな車、つまり私のレクサスのリアが、つい一週間前にイスラエル人にぶつけられ、フロントがガレージドアに挟まれ、両側ともつぶされた状態なのだ。ガレージを奇麗にして、中身のアンチークものをガレージに出して、私は２００件のEメールを出した。「５０％オフの骨董品を買いに来て下さい」と書いた。その素晴らしい骨董品のガレージの唯一のアクセス手段である誰か知らない、グリーンカードを持たない怪しい職人が造った２０００パウンドの重いドアのせいで開かないまんまなのだ！

In Jamaica they were getting two radio stations from the US that could reach that far with a very clear signal. One was out of Nashville, which played country music, obviously. And the other one was from New Orleans. And when I came back to Jamaica at the end of 1972, I realized that what they(d been doing was listening to these two stations and stacking them together. Listen to “Send Me the Pillow That You Dream On,” the reggae version that came out then by the Bleechers. The rhythm section is New Orleans, the voice and song are Nashville. You had basically the rockabilly, the black and the white stuck together in an amazing fashion. It was the same mixture of white and black that brought you rock and roll.

At Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Alabama, we cut “Wild Horses”, “Brown Sugar” and “You Gotta Move.” The people that put the studio together – great bunch of southern guys, Roger Hawkins and Jimmy Johnson – famed musicians, part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section – great soul records had been coming out there for several years – Wilson Picket, Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, it was on par with going to Chess Records, even though it was out of the way, we had wanted to record in Memphis.

Jim Dickinson: “Keith and I hit it off right away. Waiting for Jagger and whoever else, we started jamming. They still to this day think I’m a country piano player. I’m not sure why, because I can barely play country music. And I think Keith was kind of fascinated by country music. So we sat around that afternoon, playing Hank Williams songs and Jerry Lee Lewis songs, and they let me stay.”

Black American Music was going along like an express train. But Buddy Holly died, and Elvis was in the army gone wonky, white American music when I arrived was the Beach Boys and Bobby Vee. They were still stuck in the past. The Beatles were a milestone. Without the Beatles nobody would have broken the door down. And certainly they weren’t blues men. Beach Boys have very well-constructed songs, I took easily to the pop song idiom.

I’ve talked to guys like Joe Walsh about what they listened to when they were growing up, and it was all very provincial and narrow. He was listening to doo-wop and that was about it. Amazingly, he was first exposed to the blues, he said, by hearing us. Bobby Keys reckons he can tell where someone came from by their musical tastes.

彼らは俺と同じテキサス／ラボック出身のBuddy Hollyの曲『Not Fade Away』をカヴァーした。
「この青白い顔した、変な英語を喋る、細い脚の奴らがバディーの歌で金を稼ぎにきたのか？奴らを蹴っ飛ばしてやる！」と思った。
同じ理由でビートルズも嫌っていた。本当は始めからストーンズを好きだったが認めなかった。いいよ、俺は一生ハーブ・アルパート＆ティフアナブラスでも吹いてるからな、とツッパってみせた。ストーンズはヘッドライナーだったし、俺の 地元で俺の地元の音楽をやってのけることが許せなかった。三日間のイベントだったが、彼らはアメリカの音楽を俺たち以上によく知っていた。彼らには、エルヴィス、チャック、バディー、オービンソン、スコッティーの要素がたくさんあった。そして楽屋ではいつも音楽の話しをしてたし、ジョージ・ジョーンズの演奏を必死に研究していた。そして俺の顔を見るとすぐテキサス州の歴史について質問を投げかけた。とても人なつこい、研究熱心な奴らだった。特にギターのキースはね。そしてミックの歌はバディー並みに素晴らしかった。

Led Zeppelin? I played their album quite a few times when I first got it, but then the guy’s voice started to get on my nerves. I don’t know why; maybe he’s a little too acrobatic. But Jimmy Page is a great guitar player.-Keith Richards
AC/DC
I’ve always liked AC/DC, all right?
- Keith Richards, 1988
AEROSMITH
Oh God, Aerosmith! They’re just rubbish – absolute bullshit. The singer (Steve Tyler) is quite a nice guy, mind you. He’s almost too bloody sweet. He’s very kind to me, anyway (smirk). Yeah, you know what I mean. He’s such a little sweetheart, really – what can you do with him? Punch ‘im in the mouth? Here, what are you playing at, fuckin’ impersonating me? – Slam! (Laughs)
– Mick Jagger, 1977
BEATLES
I liked John very much to start. We all had a good relationship with John. He seemed to be in sympathy with our kind of music, so we used to go out to clubs a lot… He was educated and very smart and cynical and funny and really amusing company. He had a very funny take on the rest of the Beatles… But I used to get on with Paul as well. Paul is very nice and easy to get on with – didn’t have the acerbic side. You always knew with John, you’re gonna be on the end of a lot of sarcastic remarks that you weren’t always in the mood for.
– Mick Jagger, 1995
No, I’m not at all interested in what (Paul McCartney) does. Unfortunately, John Lennon’s dead… – Keith Richards, 1997
DAVID BOWIE, TALKING HEADS, THE POLICE, EURYTHMICS
No one seems to be doing anything very innovative in stadium shows. I’ve seen David Bowie, I’ve seen Talking Heads and the Police, and I mean, is that all there really is?… I’m still waiting for something I haven’t already heard. But, I mean, there’s no stopping a record like Eurythmics’ – it’s just straight pop. Real good for what it is. Better than a lot of the bands earning money in arenas, I think, just for records.
- Mick Jagger, 1983
CHICAGO I would think contrived.
– Keith Richards, 1988
THE CLASH
I don’t feel connected with bands like the Clash, the bands that still play every night. I can only see them as repeats of everything that happened before. I think it’s a bit unfortunate, too, but I think no one would disagree with me. Most musicians in fact do agree with me. Bands like the Selector and the Specials, which are good bands, are repeats too. I mean, I
saw bands like that in 1959. It’s the same old thing done slightly differently. I like some of the shows I’ve seen.
- Mick Jagger, 1981
DURAN DURAN
Q: Do you like their records?
Mick: Who?
Q: Duran Duran.
Mick: (Closes eyes, smiles, remains silent for 15 seconds.)
Q: Uh, right…
Mick: (Laughs) C’mon, Chris, gimme a BREAK!
- Mick Jagger, 1984
GLORIA ESTEFAN
A Holiday Inn band, a club band that made it.
- Keith Richards, 1988
GUNS ‘N’ ROSES
I admire their guts. But too much posing. Their look – it’s like there’s one out of this band, one looks like Jimmy (Page), one looks like Ronnie. Too much copycat, too much posing for me.
- Keith Richards, 1988
THE HIVES, THE STROKES, THE VINES, THE WHITE STRIPES
I love it. It’s gratifying that people are realizing rock ‘n’ roll is still vibrant. It’s great that doors are opening but it’s hardly a breakthrough. Imagewise, it looks very much middle-’60s, but musically it’s more ironic. Obviously, it’s unapologetically taken from that era. They’re not trying to hide their influences any more than we were trying to hide that we got lots of ideas from Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. I don’t have a problem with that. And I’m sure some of the bands will go on to create their own style.
- Mick Jagger, 2002
I haven’t really (listened to them). I’m looking forward to seeing them (on the tour). I don’t want to listen to the records until I see them. (But it is encouraging to see new guitar music being made.) That’s the whole point. What Muddy Waters did for us is what we should do for others. It’s the old thing, what you want written on your tombstone as a musician: HE PASSED IT ON. I can’t wait to see these guys – they’re like my babies, you know?
- Keith Richards, September 2002
INXS
INXS I’m quite interested in.
- Keith Richards, 1988
ELTON JOHN? Lovely bloke, but posing.
– Keith Richards, 1988
Led Zeppelin
I just read in Sounds the poll for awards. (Shakes his head in disagreement) For best songwriter, it said Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, followed by Ritchie Blackmore and some amazing people I don’t know. England is very strange, as far as its music goes.
– Keith Richards, 1977
ZIGGY MARLEY
Ziggy Marley I find interesting because he’s not just the son of.
- Keith Richards, 1988
GEORGE MICHAEL
Shave and go home. A wimp in disguise.
- Keith Richards, 1988
Ugh, the New York Dolls! What a load of rubbish!
– Mick Jagger, 1977
NIRVANA & PEARL JAM
I’m not in love with things at the moment. I was never crazy about Nirvana – too angst-ridden for me. I like Pearl Jam. I prefer them to a lot of other bands. There’s a lot of angst in a lot of it, which is one of the great things to tap into. But I’m not a fan of moroseness…
- Mick Jagger, 1995
PINK FLOYD & ELVIS COSTELLO
I liked the Pink Floyd show – better, anyway, than Elvis Costello’s. But I haven’t been interested in rock for years – I mean interested in it in the way of wanting to talk about it. It’s not really the 100% of everything I’m interested in. I guess, I never have been.
- Mick Jagger, 1981
POLICE
The Police are good old hands; I mean, Andy (Summers)’s from the same era as I am. I thought their reworking of Stand By Me – Every Breath You Take – was a beautiful record. The basic thrust of the song is real Drifters, a classic pop sequence with an extra twist thrown in. And Roxanne was one of our big favorites during the 1978 tour.- Keith Richards, 1983
IGGY POP
Iggy (Pop)’s all right. I saw him with David Bowie on that last tour – the band was pretty ropey, I thought. Here, but listen, I know who started all that! Lou Reed. Lou Reed started everything about that style of music, the whole sound and the way you play it. I mean, even WE’VE been influenced by the Velvet Underground… No, really. I’ll tell you exactly what we pinched from the very first Velvet Underground album. You know, the sound on Heroin. Honest to God, we did! – Mick Jagger, 1977
THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
The Chili Peppers have a sort of sense of the theatrical, but they can’t take it anywhere. It’s become a bit cliché, just a guitar thing. Everybody wants to be Neil Young, and Pearl Jam is trying to drive ticket prices down. Doing that, they will never get themselves on a stage this big.
- Mick Jagger, 1995
THE SEX PISTOLS
Well (if Johnny Rotten said we should have retired in 1965), then he should definitely retire next year. He was on Tops of the Pops in England and that was a cop-out for the Sex Pistols. It’s difficult for Americans to know what Top of the Pops means, but it’s the only pop music show on television – and I do mean pop – and the only place for Top Twenty records and it’s the most banal – it’s aimed at a real teeny market, people with clean hair ad all that…. Now they’re on the front of the Rolling Stone. That’s a real cop-out. If I was Johnny Rotten, I wouldn’t do either. I wouldn’t do Top of the Pops and I’d tell Rolling Stone to go fuck themselves… I don’t care what Johnny Rotten says. Everything Johnny Rotten says about me is only ’cause he loves me ’cause I’m so good. It’s true. (Grins)… I’m not pleased at Johnny Rotten, who says all these nasty things about me. I know that he feels he has to because I’m, along with the Queen, you know, one of the best things England’s got.
- Mick Jagger, 1977
I don’t think that Bowie or Johnny Rotten or all the Zeppelins are anywhere in the future let alone the present. Jagger believes punk is today, is now. To think you’ve got to do something new just for the sake of doing it isn’t real. It’s the equivalent to when a lot of Dixieland bands added electric guitars, calling themselves R&B just to stay up with the times. For a band of the Stones’ position to do that would have been ludicrous. It’s fatal for the Stones to try that. Why the fuck do WE have to sound like the Sex Pistols for? What’s the point of listening to that shit? It’s for mass-media consumption.
- Keith Richards, c. 1977-78
PRINCE
I happen to think Prince is probably the best of all the newer (artists)… In his position, doing what he does, with what he does, he’s by far and away the best, I think. Most exciting, Prince is… He’s a good player, as well. When you’re that good, you don’t start nowhere. You can’t be half of these guys unless you’re grounded and, on top of that, have a very good natural ability.
- Charlie Watts, 1994
It’s fashionable to knock Prince now because he seems to have gone off on a tangent (laughs)… No, I think Prince is a great artist, very traditional in some ways. Prince has been overlooked. But he’s so incredibly in the mold of the James Brown sort of performer. He broke a lot of musical modes and invented a lot of styles and couldn’t keep up with himself. Very prolific, which is rare. Mostly people write three songs and repeat themselves. Prince has a lot of talent as a writer, and I’ve seen great performances by Prince. He’s outperformed almost everyone. I’d rate him at the top. I don’t think there’s a lot of competition from new artists.
- Mick Jagger, 1995
RAP
I mean, I’ve had enough of bloody rap. (Imitates rap over knee-slapped beat.) I mean, Mary had a little lamb, her fleece was white as fucking snow. What’s the attraction of that? This is kindergarten shit. It’s like karaoke. But I’m making records that people can listen to. Obviously, the attraction is there, until they all shoot each other – and they’re doing a good job of it. If you want to hear good rap, you should listen to early Jamaican dub, which is some really interesting stuff. At least they didn’t keep it to just one meter.
- Keith Richards, 1997
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Oh, yeah, (I saw the Springsteen show). (Laughs) Sure, through the bear and everything. I liked it. I thought the band sounded wonderful; I thought he sounded wonderfully well. It was better than when I saw him last time around. I thought the drums sounded fantastic. I took the kids also. To tell you the truth, the kids did not like it very much.
- Mick Jagger, 1984
That’s a tough one, because I like the GUY… I love his attitude. I love what he WANTS to do. I just think he’s gone about it the wrong way. These are just my opinions, and OK, I’ll annoy the lot of you. Bruce? Too contrived for me. Too overblown.
- Keith Richards, 1988
THE STRANGLERS
Don’t you think the Stranglers are the worst thing you’ve ever fuckin’ heard? I do. They’re hideous, rubbishy… so bloody stupid. Fuckin’ nauseatin’, they are.
THE STRAY CATS
We wanted the new record (Undercover) to sound very 1983, as opposed to something very period, like the Stray Cats. They’re very good, but not what I’m after at the moment.
- Mick Jagger, 1983
Mick and I picked up on the Stray Cats before anybody else did and tried to sign them to the Stones’ label. Brian Setzer’s an excellent player and they’re all nice guys.
- Keith Richards, 1983
STEVE WINWOOD
He’s a great musician but… he’s kind of faceless. A great voice, but that’s not enough.
- Keith Richards, 1988

売れる前に、マネージャーはなんとかビートルズのようなイメージにさせたかったが、ストーンズはアルバムジャケットのセッションでもいい加減な服装で、マネージャーを苛立たせた。「みんな同じスーツを着るんじゃなかったっけ？君のスーツはどこだ？」「あ、僕の彼女に貸しちゃった」別に反ビートルズを演じる気もないけど、わざわざ売れるために妥協するのは絶対嫌だった。「なんで言うことを聞かないのかね？」「なに、俺たちはデルタ、ミシシッピを知ってるんだ！」そんな態度だった。

They are songwriters, they’re trying to flog their songs, it’s Tin Pan Alley, and they thought “I Wanna Be Your Man” would suit us. We were a mutual-admiration society. Mick and I admired their harmonies and their songwriting capabilities -
they envied us our freedom of movement and our image.
With the Beatles and us, it was a friendly relationship, also cannily worked out, because in those days singles were coming out every six, eight weeks, and we’d try and time it so that we didn’t clash. John calling me up and saying, “Well, we’ve not mixing yet.” “We’ve got one ready to go.” “OK, you go first.”