Måneskin singer Damiano David responded to Mick Jagger’s pessimistic outlook on rock ‘n’ roll – the up-and-coming rocker doesn’t think it’s necessarily young artists keeping the genre alive. The 79-year-old Stones icon said, “Rock ‘n’ roll, or any kind of pop music, is not meant to be made by people in their 70s.” In general, it is very exhausting to do anything energetic at this age.
Rock ‘n’ roll evolves
Måneskin frontman David, 23, called Jagger’s views an old-fashioned take. “No one keeps rock ‘n’ roll alive,” he continued. “It’s just impossible to kill him.”
“In my mind, what we do is very different from what Mick does, which is a very different way from what Yungblud does, which is very different from what Willow Smith does, but a lot of artists bring those Kind of sound and energy back: distorted guitars and real drums, playing with a band with real analog sounds, stage diving – all that rock ‘n’ roll shit. The music is evolving. Everything collides and blends in a good way.”
Own artistic identity
Damiano David also spoke about the feeling of angering rock purists: “This is my guilty pleasure. It just doesn’t make sense to me to expect us to behave like the Stones or Queen. You have created a legacy and no one can touch it.”
“It’s so stupid and pointless to expect a band of 20-somethings to replicate what happened in the ’70s and ’80s. It’s the fucking year of 2022 so we’re just trying to do something new that makes us content and happy. I really enjoy it when people say, ‘Oh, they’re not Led Zeppelin’. I know! We will never be. I’m not Robert Plant; i wish i was! I have to do my own shit.”
Mick Jagger on the future of rock
Most recently, Mick Jagger put hope in young artists: “Rock music takes energy and there haven’t been many new rock singers lately. Now there are at least a few.” In this role he sees his compatriot Yungblud, 24, from Doncaster in northern England, and Machine Gun Kelly, 32. Both would be different characters. But their post-punk vibe gives him hope that there’s still some life in rock ‘n’ roll.