Keith Richards Calls Black Sabbath & Metallica Jokes, Says Rap Is For The Tone Deaf

Living pickle and finely aged piece of albino leather Keith Richards has lash outed wildly at the music industry again, a change from lashing out wildly at his liver and sense of coherence.

In a recent interview with the New York Daily News discussing his new solo album Crosseyed Heart, The Rolling Stones guitarist took the opportunity to offer his opinion on the state or rock and roll today, as well as heavy metal, hip hop and plenty else.

“It sounds like a dull thud to me,” says Keith. “For most bands, getting the syncopation is beyond them. It’s endless thudding away, with no bounce, no lift, no syncopation.”

Not happy with leaving it at that, he left aside the opening salvo, taking aim next at heavy metal. “Millions are in love with Metallica and Black Sabbath,” he says. “I just thought they were great jokes.”

Well and truly dug in and fortified by this point, Richards wound up the artillery once again, this time levelling the barrel of his bitterness howitzer at hip hop and rap. “Rap — so many words, so little said,” laughs the 71 year old.

“What rap did that was impressive was to show there are so many tone-deaf people out there,” he continued. “All they need is a drum beat and somebody yelling over it and they’re happy. There’s an enormous market for people who can’t tell one note from another.”

Happy with impact of those remarks, he turned his assault back to world of rock and roll, laying out some punches at The Beatles and his fellow Rolling Stone Mick Jagger. The Beatles comments follow on from his recent labelling of their seminal album Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band LP a “mish mash of rubbish,” with Richards adding further fuel to the fire this time round by criticising their iconic Shea Stadium performance for being “out of sync”, adding that by the time The Beatles had gone to India to visit the Maharishi he “gave up”.

Speaking of band mate Jagger however, he reinforced recent comments labelling the singer a snob, quoting Jagger’s own daughter against him and painting a picture of him as holding himself above his fellow band mates.

“His daughter, Georgia Mae, was sitting around in my room and she said, ‘Oh, you know what dad’s like. He’s such a snob.’ He can come off that way even to me and the rest of the band,. He comes on the plane and doesn’t say, ‘Hey mate.’ He’s preoccupied with something really boring. He’s a control freak… He lost himself a bit in the details.”

While unlikely to garner him any love from his contemporaries, Richards knows his audience, and knows they love his take no prisoners attitude, even if they don’t care too much about his new album, any mention there-of being overshadowed by his personality and penchant for acid tongued headline grabbing remarks like these…

Gallery: The Rolling Stones @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre, 2015 / Photos By Rebecca Reid