One of the many fascinating things about the recent Eddie Van Halen interview in Billboard is that Eddie claims he barely listens to music. He doesn’t even bother turning on the radio or catching his opening acts. I’ve heard lots of acts say they don’t listen to their own music, but not anyone’s music? Any other musicians that really aren’t fans of other people’s music? And on the other hand, are there musicians as obsessed with listening to music as many fans are?
I make noise with quite a few instruments and I listen to music pretty much all the time unless I’m actively making music.
Mike Portnoy.
Cite: years of following his Facebook page
I’d think, in an interview, most musicians are going to say they love music. It would be silly, IMO, to say you don’t, but then someone like EVH has paid his dues and he’s probably not going to lose a whole lot of fans no matter what he says. It’s not like he’s looking to grow his fan base and the people who are with him now have been loyal to him now for (in general) decades. I could also see a statement like that coming with a qualifier like 'I want to come up with my own original music, not something influenced by/sounds like all the other music I listen to". An up and coming artist really needs to be careful with what they say. Headlines get twisted to try to get people to read the article, but if all you see is “[new artist] doesn’t listen to music” or “[new artist] hates all the other bands in her category” they’re not going to come off so well and end up having to do some damage control.
It reminds me of whenever an actor is on the late show circuit talking about the new show or movie that they’re in and the nearly always say ‘oh, this is a great group of people to work with, I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun on a set’, like they’re going to say ‘ugh, the director works us for 14 hours a day making us do each scene like 15 times and then using the first cut and one of the camera guys is kind of a jerk’. Even if it’s true, it’s going to make them going off poorly.
Sure, given Eddie’s ego, there is an element of “I don’t have to give a shit” in the response. To be clear: in circles that matter to Eddie, he is up there with The Beatles in his historic, genius status. He is literally viewed as a Rock Guitar Singularity - there is “Before EVH” and “After EVH” - having that spoonfed to you for 40 years does things to you.
But, speaking as a musician, there is another thing going on: one of the highest levels of Genius and Cool is being The Creator. When you write hits, year after year, and are seen as a Songwriter/Creator, then you can say you Don’t Listen to Music™. That is a way of saying “I don’t want to be influenced, or distracted away from Direct Channel I have.”
I’m a True Musical Genius, beeyotch. The music in my head sounds better than anything on Spotify.
Given his track record, and his groundbreaking playing, he has a claim.
That’s pretty much what I was saying (though I was thinking more of VH as a whole than EVH as one person, but whatever). Now think of Lourde or John Newman or Haim saying “Yeah, no, I, um, don’t actually like music” and how much that’s going to come off as “the suits just tell me where to point my face and what to sing and then give me a paycheck.”
Ah, got it.
Haim show their debt to 70’s singer-songwriter and pop rock to claim that.
Lorde has the right arrogance. If she could string more hits together, I could totally see her claiming not to listen to other music.
Then you have Sting, who will say he is listening to Brazilian mandolin bands, Tuvan throat singers, and, of course, the lute. So it goes.
Brian Terry, lead of Lil Brian and the Zydeco Travellers is totally into music. I’ve been with him at a music festival listening to a band, when an announcement was made looking for him because his band was due to start playing on another stage. The last time I heard him play in Pittsburgh, the club closed down at 1 am, then he hung out with a handful of us, playing until three.
I believe John Cummings (Johnny Ramone) claimed he never practiced playing the guitar, calling it “pointless.” It wouldn’t surprise me if he rarely or never listened to music.