Rolling Stones founder Mick Jagger recently joined in for an interview with the Swedish radio station P4 when he named Machine Gun Kelly and Yungblud as a couple of examples of artists that are bringing “life” to contemporary rock.
Mick Jagger opens up on Machine Gun Kelly
The style and approach of Machine Gun Kelly towards music is a true contention in the rock, metal, and punk communities for a while now. MGK (Colson Baker) rose to prominence as one of the most popular rappers of the 2010s, and in 2020, he decided to abruptly take his career on a decidedly pop-punk path with the album “Tickets to My Downfall”, and further cemented it with this year’s “Mainstream Sellout”.
However, it wasn’t the change of direction itself that became the receiving end of critiques from longtime fans of the genre(s) in question, but rather Kelly’s frequent bold statements concerning his place in rock music and baffling incidents such as the months-long beef with Corey Taylor.
However, the legendary Rolling Stones frontman appears to think highly of the rapper-turned pop-punk, and even credits Kelly’s “post-punk vibe” for revitalizing his faith in the future of rock (via The Independent):
“In rock music you need energy and there have not been a lot of new rock singers around. Now there are a few.
“You have Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly. That kind of post-punk vibe makes me think there is still a bit of life in rock and roll.”
The Rolling Stones are getting ready to kick off their celebratory UK and European 60th Anniversary Tour this June, elsewhere in the interview Jagger addressed the rumors of the famous band planning retirement afterwards:
“I am not planning it to be the last tour. I love being on tour. I don’t think I would do it if I did not enjoy it.
“I enjoy going out there on stage and doing my stuff. That is what I do. I want everyone to enjoy themselves and forget the troubles in their lives for a couple of hours and just chill out and have a great afternoon and evening.”
