Creativity Quote by John Oates

Oates is drawing a boundary line between evolution and betrayal, and he does it in the plainspoken language of a working musician who’s spent decades being told what his catalog is supposed to mean. “We’ve changed our style” admits the obvious: trends shift, studios get shinier, radio formats mutate, and any band that lasts long enough either adapts or becomes a nostalgia act. The pivot is “but,” where he insists on an older, almost moral category: roots. Not “brand,” not “sound,” not even “influence” - roots, as in the foundational instincts that predate marketing.

The intent is defensive, but not insecure. It’s a claim to continuity that protects Hall & Oates from two common accusations: that pop success is inherently shallow, and that reinvention is just costume change. By framing their shifts as stylistic rather than structural, Oates argues that the core identity (R&B and soul phrasing, doo-wop craft, a songwriter’s ear for hooks) stays intact even when the surface updates to match an era’s textures.

Subtextually, it’s also a quiet flex about legitimacy. “Roots” signals authenticity in a genre ecosystem that loves to punish crossover artists: too Black for rock purists, too pop for R&B gatekeepers. Oates suggests they’ve been translating the same musical DNA into different decades, not chasing whatever’s loudest. In the long arc of legacy, that’s the real fight: convincing listeners that change is evidence of life, not evidence of compromise.