Noel Gallagher recently talked to Rolling Stone, here’s what he said about several artists and pop music…
What did you think of Kanye West’s statement that Beck should “respect artistry” and give his Album of the Year award to Beyoncé?
He’s a character, I’ll give him that. And I love his track “Black Skinhead.” But somebody needs to buy that dumbass a dictionary so he can look up the word “artistry.” Beck can play the banjo, for fuck’s sake. Nobody plays the banjo! Get him a dictionary from me, I’ll fuckin’ sign it and give it to him so he can look it up.
You’re friends with Bono. What do you talk about when you hang out?
Of all the people I know, he’s the most fun to hang out with, for sure. He’s a funny fucker, and he can drink. And he’s got big ideas — for his band and for my music as well, which is astonishing. He’s always giving me titles for songs and albums. I call him Father Bono.
What did you think of U2’s new album?
I like it. Some of the greatest moments of my musical life have involved U2. Anybody who doesn’t like The Joshua Tree is a cocksucker, for a start. And anybody who went to see the Zoo TV tour and didn’t think it was the greatest of all time at that time is also a fucking idiot.
Have you heard any other music that you’ve liked lately?
Do you know that track by Alt-J, “Left Hand Free”? That is a great track. But Alt-J can fuck right off as far as I’m concerned. It’s a great tune, and I paid 79 pence for it, but I am in no way a fan of Alt-J.
Why not?
I don’t know. One of them’s got a mustache, and that’s unacceptable.
You recently said that you didn’t want to live in a world where Ed Sheeran was headlining Wembley Stadium. Unfortunately, he is. Should we be worried about your well-being?
Am I going to take my own life, is that what you mean? No. He’s all right, Ed. He took it with good humor, which is how it was meant. I was bemoaning the fact that the biggest rock bands in England can’t even sell out Wembley, and yet pop music can.
Do you listen to much pop?
No. It’s fucking awful. Modern pop music is bland nonsense. There isn’t even a word yet that’s capable of describing it. If it was a color, it would be beige. Do you know what color beige is?
I do, yeah.
It’s like a milky brown. Not for me.
What about Taylor Swift? She’s a pop star, but many people praise her talent as a songwriter.
[Laughs] Who says that? Her parents?
Lots of people.
Who’s “people”? Name these people. You’re fucking lying. She seems like a nice girl, but no one has ever said those words, and you fucking know it.
What about One Direction, do you like them?
I know Harry Styles. We’ve hung out a couple of times. They’re lovely lads. But I’ve got to say, I have difficulties with people who don’t write their own songs, who’ve got a team of songwriters who work for your record label.
Well, One Direction co-write a lot of their songs, to be fair. And many of the great Motown artists had teams of songwriters behind them — is that how you feel about them, too?
If you’re trying to insinuate that what’s going on now is akin to what was going on at Motown — what, were you out late eating magic mushrooms? Not equivalent. Not in the slightest.
Is songwriting still as fun for you as when you started out?
Oh, yeah. I still think tomorrow might be the day that I write the greatest song of all time. It’s like going fishing. The guitar is your fishing rod, and if I’m not fishing for that song, fucking Bono will get it, and if he’s not, Chris Martin will. And fuck those two guys, because they’ve got enough. We’re all fishing in the same river, and it’s cutthroat, baby.
Source: Rolling Stone