Michael Schenker still doesn’t listen to any new music — here’s why
A musician who doesn’t listen to new music might sound like an oddity in today’s world, but as Michael Schenker explains, there’s a perfectly good reason behind his decision.
The German guitarist, known for his iconic work with the Scorpions and UFO, has opened up about his creative process in a recent conversation with Portugal’s Metal Global. He explains that rather than listening to other people’s music, he much prefers to look inward for inspiration when it comes to making his own.
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The musician previously told Classic Rock that he “never” listens to other artists, and that “listening to music would be poison” for him: “I need to be completely empty in order to create what I need to create,” he said.
Now, asked if he still doesn’t listen to any new bands or pay attention to the rock world in a new interview, Schenker replies [via Blabbermouth]: “Yeah, I did [in the past]. In the beginning, when I was jumpstarted, [I was] inspired by all the late ‘60s guitarists.”
“But then, [when I was] 15 years old, I already subconsciously knew that that was something I wanted to do. And when I was 18, I made that decision to stay away from [listening to new] music to self-express.”
Attributing his decision to the apparent decline in music quality between the 1960s and the 1980s, Schenker explains: “Because when I heard the guitarists in the late ‘60s, they all had their own style. And it was really good — everything was, like, ‘Wow, this is great. Oh, this is great.’ All different.”
“But [in] the ‘80s, everything was the same. And that was basically watered-down ‘70s; [they] made it simple and commercialized it [to] make money. But the ‘70s [and] late ‘60s guitarists, it was art; [they were] pure artists.”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
