Måneskin have weighed in on the long-running 'Rock is dead' debate, commenting specifically on Mick Jagger's recent comments crediting Machine Gun Kelly and Yungblud as two reasons why “there is still a bit of life in rock‘n’roll”.
In a new interview with NME, the Italian Eurovision 2021 winners discuss rock's longevity and its place in today's musical landscape.
When informed of the statement made by The Rolling Stones' evergreen frontman, Måneskin vocalist Damiano David suggests that it is actually "a very old-fashioned way" to view the genre's standing within contemporary culture.
He responds: “Nobody is ‘keeping rock’n’roll alive’. It’s just impossible to kill."
"In my head what we’re doing is very different to what MGK is doing, which is very far from what Yungblud is doing, which is very far from what Willow Smith is doing," he says, "but a lot of artists are bringing back that kind of sound and energy: distorted guitars and real drums, to fucking play with a band with real analogue sounds, stage-diving – all the rock’n’roll shit.
"Music is just developing. Everything is colliding and mixing in a good way."
Of how Måneskin are mixing up rock's conventions, particularly in the light of their recent decision to cover pop princess Britney Spears' track Womanizer at Coachella (an unexpected song choice for most rockers), the band reveal how their eclectic, mish-mash approach to picking their influences and songwriting annoys the older generations of rock fans who tend to only view the genre as defined by its past.
When asked if the band take "delight" in pissing off these "naysaying rock dinosaurs", Davis responds, “Yeah! Too much, maybe! It’s my guilty pleasure. For me, it just makes no sense to expect us to behave like the Stones or Queen. It already happened and peaked.
"They fucking created a legacy and nobody can touch it. It’s so stupid and pointless to expect a band of 20-year-olds to replicate what was happening in the ’70s and ’80s. We’re in fucking 2022, so we’re just trying to do something new that makes us feel satisfied and happy. I really enjoy seeing people say, ‘Oh, they’re not Led Zeppelin’. I know! We never will be. I’m not Robert Plant; I wish I was! I have to do my own shit.”
Earlier this month, Måneskin released the new single, Supermodel. The song was produced by uber-producer Max Martin, who's worked in the past with everyone from Britney Spears to Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Coldplay and Lady Gaga.
"We wrote Supermodel after spending the best few months in LA," say the band. "At times we were surprised yet intrigued to find how people cared so much about the idea of “celebrity” and status, obsessing over their looks and connections.
“We started to imagine an enigmatic Supermodel character. She is really cool, fun and social, yet in reality she is troubled, hiding sadness and addiction. In a way you love her, because she knows how to have a good time, but you also want to avoid her, because she might get you into trouble."
