Looks like another classic-rock dinosaur has reared his head to spew gibberish at young whippersnappers while shaking his fist from the rocking chair on his rickety porch.
Tom Petty, who has sold millions of records through hilariously archaic methods like “touring constantly” and “being good at playing an instrument,” had the gall to suggest in a recent interview that taking the quick route to fleeting fame might not be the way to go for today’s up-and-coming musicians:
“A lot of people get famous now very quickly, and then they seem to have a turnover where they weren’t famous for that long, but someone else steps in to fill the slot. They’re sort of disposably famous I suppose. But I can’t keep up with who’s famous anymore … I know in my time, in my generation, if you had come, if they tried to offer my generation music by someone that had won a game show, it would have been hysterical. You would have been laughed out of the room. I mean we were suspicious of people that had hit records. I mean it was that different of a time.”
Sorry Tom, it’s hard to hear you through the rattling of your dentures! If you’re suggesting that paying dues and working hard is the recipe for success, it sounds like somebody’s living in the past. Contemporize, man! The music biz has changed – what used to take years to accomplish through dicey gigs, shady booking agents, and perfecting a craft can now be knocked out in an afternoon if you don’t mind waiting in a long line. Kind of a no-brainer there, Mister “I Was In a Band with Bob Dylan.”
I mean, let’s be honest: no one can name 10 Tom Petty songs, but I’m pretty sure we can all name the last 10 American Idol winners.
Checkmate, Tom!