Tool's Maynard James Keenan has shared his thoughts on TikTok, the app that in recent years has taken the music industry by storm through acting as a driving force behind charting hits.
During a recent interview with Joe Rogan, the frontman expresses how he isn't bothered about being relevant to TikTok's audience. Since the app has increased in popularity, big name bands such as Metallica, Ghost, Bring Me The Horizon and more have become an active part of the platform's community.
“I won’t be relevant with the Tik-Tokers of the world because it’s just not on their radar" Keenan explains. "The things they respond to now…I’m not necessarily relevant. But there’s an entire generation of people that’s not my generation. They’ve grown with this thing, so as they’re aging, they’re going to be discovering it.”
When questioned by host Rogan whether relevancy matters to him as an artist, the singer replies: “You can’t [think about that], because then you’ll be desperate and get plastic surgery and look an alien trying to insert yourself into some stupid fucking thing. It turns to desperation really quickly, so just maintain your art.”
As Rogan makes a negative remark about bands' "quest for relevancy" in trying to keep up with what's popular, Keenan responds: "It turns to desperation very quickly. It reeks. So just maintain your art, dude."
Watch the interview below:
Earlier this year, Keenan admitted to stealing song ideas from Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor. In an interview with music producer and YouTube personality Rick Beato, the singer revealed that he was "stealing from [Reznor's] stolen goods" when writing tracks for his band A Perfect Circle.
"Professionals steal, right?" he says. And so, really looking at the work of people like PJ Harvey, Trent [Reznor] on The Fragile - he’s stealing shit all over that album, but I’m stealing from his stolen goods..."
