Hawkins was chatting on Matt Wilkinson’s Beats 1 Radio show where he spoke of his thoughts on the current state of the genre.
“We talk about the changing of the guard when Nirvana’s Nevermind came out and it really kicked open the door and kind of got rid of what people called plastic hair metal,” he said.
“I really realised it just being up onstage with Axl the other night – they were the first tickle if you will, into what became alternative rock. When I heard Appetite For Destruction when it first came out, it was scrappy and you knew there was danger in that band.
“The songs have endured and there’s no more alternative rock any more – we’re just a bunch of dads playing music now,” he added. “All of that has gone by the wayside.”
During his chat on the show, Hawkins also revealed how he felt the first time he heard Nirvana‘s iconic hit ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.
“We sat there and waited on MTV, like you used to do back in the day and watch videos…here it is! I was just like ‘fuck!’ It was literally that same moment that all those kids in America had when The Beatles played on Ed Sullivan,” he said.
“Like literally, I remember where I was and the colour of the light outside changed…I don’t know if they knew what they were doing when they made ‘Nevermind’ but they made a perfect, pristine and yet still reckless and amazing record,” he continued.
“And then, their answer to that was to make an even less pristine and even more guttural thing. But the guy [Kurt] just couldn’t help but write perfectly beautiful, amazing melodies, haunting lyrics and the band was pretty good too!”
