What would Keith Richards do_ - Jessica Pallington West [52]
“I don’t know if anybody’s better off from having their dad come home at exactly six o’clock every evening and disappear again at seven the next morning."
“For me an extended period of time is three weeks."
“The no-man’s-nomad. The nomad’s nomad."
—on describing his life of exile
and having no real home
ROCK ’N’ ROLL
“Rock ’n’ roll: Music for the neck downwards."
“Rock ’n’ roll’s great weapon is humor."
“Rock ’n’ roll has lasted because nothing else came along."
“The rock’s easy. But the roll is another thing."
“The biggest cliché in rock ’n’ roll is there’s no roll. They forgot the roll and they only kept the rock. The roll’s the whole damn thing. The roll is king. Unfortunately most cats don’t get behind the roll."
“ ‘Roll’ means to be light and heavy at the same time. A feather touch. And that’s what nobody really wants to know about, because it’s too difficult to learn … I think we should actually go to a university just for the roll."
“We didn’t perceive the subversive power of rock ’n’ roll, that it carried the seeds of something far more powerful … Rock music became a political and social force. Maybe rock ’ n’ roll had more to do with breaking down Eastern Europe than anybody really wants to give credit for."
“Rock ’n’ roll doesn’t die—it matures."
“It’s like wine, man, they just get better."
—on musicians as they get older
“Even when I was a kid, what I really loved about good rock ’n’ roll was the maturity of it."
“Rock ’n’ roll is really about interaction. It’s not about the actual notes and chords, and it’s not about just pushing buttons and letting machines do all the work … it’s really about the interesting tension and communication going on between one guy and another."
“That’s one of the great things about rock ’n’ roll—every night there’s a different world’s greatest band."
“I don’t think rock ’n’ roll should be analyzed or even thought about deeply. Hesitate, and you’re lost."
“We never did anything consciously to shock people. All we ever did was answer the call of nature."
“It was almost like A.D. and B.C., and 1956 was year one … The world was black-and-white, and then suddenly it went into living color. Suddenly there was a reason to be around."
“Rock ’n’ roll is really a small-room thing. Over the years, we’ve had to learn to do it bigger. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. It’s like some kind of Frankenstein’s monster, some huge juggernaut. And you can end up working for it, rather than it working for you. It can get so fucking big you can’t do what you want to do anymore. That’s why the Beatles stopped."
“I used to like it when TV and rock ’n’ roll didn’t get along. To me, TV is the family and the house. Rock ’n’ roll is something outside the house."
“You should never underestimate the importance of country in rock ’n’ roll."
“They are really out to make rock ’n’ roll illegal."
“Rock ’n’ roll got me into being one of the boys. Before that I just got me ass kicked all over the place. Learned how to ride a punch."
“I thought rock ’n’ roll was an unassailable outlet for some pure and natural expression of rebellion. It used to be one channel you could take without ever havin’ to kiss ass, you know?"
THE ROLLING STONES
“You’ve got the sun, you’ve got the moon, you’ve got the air you breathe, and you’ve got the Rolling Stones."
“The music is bigger than all of us. What are we? We’re just players, no matter how good."
“We’re the Rolling Stones. No one tells us what to do. We’ll stop when we feel like it."
“There’s myriad ideas and concepts of what the Stones are … just depending on how long they’ve known us. We’re constantly going forward as well, always looking for the Stones in the same way. Sometimes you screw it up, but most times it gives us some encouragement that we’ll find it again. It’s very much a focused band, a lot of direction and energy. You can’t ask for more than that."
“When it comes down to the nugget … this thing is bigger than both of us. You cannot deny the Rolling Stones."
“This is basically Stu’s