"We're more into expressing ourselves than making radio hits"
About this Quote
It is, on its face, a shrug at chart-chasing. Underneath, it is a boundary line drawn in permanent marker: don’t judge us by the pop scoreboard.
When Adam Jones says, "We’re more into expressing ourselves than making radio hits", he’s defending a band identity built on control, opacity, and long-form immersion. The phrasing matters. "We’re more into" is casual, almost dismissive, as if the whole machinery of hooks, singles, and promotional cycles is a boring side quest. "Expressing ourselves" carries the moral high ground of authenticity, but it’s also strategic: it reframes any lack of radio presence not as failure, but as choice. That’s the subtextual judo move.
As a musician associated with work that resists easy compression, Jones is also implicitly critiquing the medium. Radio rewards immediacy: short intros, repeatable choruses, familiar structures. A band invested in tension, texture, and slow-burn dynamics is bound to sound like an argument with that format. The quote becomes an artistic alibi and a mission statement at once: if the songs sprawl, if the melodies refuse to smile on command, that isn’t indulgence - it’s integrity.
There’s a cultural moment embedded here, too: the late-90s/2000s split between mainstream rock’s commercial polish and a growing prestige economy of "serious" alternative music. Jones’ line signals allegiance to the latter, while quietly acknowledging the former’s gravitational pull. The boast is not that they can’t write hits; it’s that they won’t let hits write them.
When Adam Jones says, "We’re more into expressing ourselves than making radio hits", he’s defending a band identity built on control, opacity, and long-form immersion. The phrasing matters. "We’re more into" is casual, almost dismissive, as if the whole machinery of hooks, singles, and promotional cycles is a boring side quest. "Expressing ourselves" carries the moral high ground of authenticity, but it’s also strategic: it reframes any lack of radio presence not as failure, but as choice. That’s the subtextual judo move.
As a musician associated with work that resists easy compression, Jones is also implicitly critiquing the medium. Radio rewards immediacy: short intros, repeatable choruses, familiar structures. A band invested in tension, texture, and slow-burn dynamics is bound to sound like an argument with that format. The quote becomes an artistic alibi and a mission statement at once: if the songs sprawl, if the melodies refuse to smile on command, that isn’t indulgence - it’s integrity.
There’s a cultural moment embedded here, too: the late-90s/2000s split between mainstream rock’s commercial polish and a growing prestige economy of "serious" alternative music. Jones’ line signals allegiance to the latter, while quietly acknowledging the former’s gravitational pull. The boast is not that they can’t write hits; it’s that they won’t let hits write them.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
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