"Everyone talks about rock these days; the problem is they forget about the roll"
About this Quote
Richards is needling a culture that loves the brand name of rock more than the bodily experience it was built to deliver. “Rock” is the part that photographs well: attitude, leather, riffs you can merchandise. “Roll” is messier. It’s swing, looseness, sex, groove - the sense that the music is pushing your hips before it flatters your taste. By setting up the line like a throwaway complaint, he smuggles in a hierarchy: virtuosity and volume are cheap; feel is rare.
The wit is in how small the pivot is. One missing word becomes an entire indictment of modern rock’s self-seriousness. Richards isn’t arguing that rock has disappeared; he’s saying it’s been embalmed. When people “talk about rock,” they talk about identity - what it signals socially - rather than the physical engine that made it dangerous in the first place. “Forget” is the key verb: the loss isn’t accidental so much as convenient. Roll requires surrender, a little un-coolness, a willingness to be corny or ecstatic. Rock culture, especially in its later canonized forms, prizes control.
Context matters: Richards is a custodian of an older lineage where rock and roll is a hybrid music (blues, R&B, country) whose power lives in timing and taste, not just distortion. Coming from a Rolling Stone, it’s also a self-policing statement: a reminder that rebellion isn’t a pose, it’s a pulse. He’s telling younger bands - and aging legends - that if the groove is gone, the mythology is just noise.
The wit is in how small the pivot is. One missing word becomes an entire indictment of modern rock’s self-seriousness. Richards isn’t arguing that rock has disappeared; he’s saying it’s been embalmed. When people “talk about rock,” they talk about identity - what it signals socially - rather than the physical engine that made it dangerous in the first place. “Forget” is the key verb: the loss isn’t accidental so much as convenient. Roll requires surrender, a little un-coolness, a willingness to be corny or ecstatic. Rock culture, especially in its later canonized forms, prizes control.
Context matters: Richards is a custodian of an older lineage where rock and roll is a hybrid music (blues, R&B, country) whose power lives in timing and taste, not just distortion. Coming from a Rolling Stone, it’s also a self-policing statement: a reminder that rebellion isn’t a pose, it’s a pulse. He’s telling younger bands - and aging legends - that if the groove is gone, the mythology is just noise.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|
More Quotes by Keith
Add to List
