Single of the Moment
Jon Wiederhorn / Rolling Stone
02.11.1995
02.11.1995
THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN Rage Against The Machine On "I HATE ROCK & ROLL"
Any band that would pen a line like "I hate rock & roll/I hate it 'cause it fucks with my soul" has got to have a serious problem with the music business. The Jesus and Mary Chain have several.
Since 1985, when they emerged from Scotland with their feedback-shuddering debut album, Psychocandy, the Jesus and Mary Chain have been embraced by savvy critics and emulated by peers, yet they've never broken out of the alternative underground. The closest they've come was with their last record, the largely acoustic Stoned and Dethroned, which contained the single "Sometimes Always," featuring guest vocals by Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. But even that album sold only 110,000 copies, a paltry figure considering the Jesus and Mary Chain's influence and notoriety.
"What frustrates me is that it's not good enough just to be a musician," says William Reid, who, along with his brother Jim, forms the creative core of the band. "You've got to be a politician, actor and businessman. The best moments I've had in this business have been sitting in a room playing my acoustic guitar and writing songs. After that, it's kind of been downhill."
Such frustration and disappointment fuel "I Hate Rock & Roll," the sonically volcanic first single from the group's seventh record, The Jesus and Mary Chain Hate Rock & Roll, which contains four new songs and nine B sides. One of the band's most scathing, corrosive cuts, "I Hate Rock & Roll" takes a sardonic stab at the traditional power anthem and signals the group's return to the volatile style it pioneered a decade ago. Bristling with distortion-drenched guitars and sleepy, jaded vocals, the song expounds upon the Reid brothers' distaste for conservative rock-industry protocol.
"I don't hate rock & roll, but I hate the business of rock & roll," says William, who wrote the song in five minutes last year. "I came into this industry as an idealist. I thought I was going to make art, but I got that kicked out of my system after about 10 minutes, when we did our first single for Warner Bros., 'Never Understand,' and they asked us to turn down the feedback and turn up the voice and drums for a radio mix. That felt to me like somebody saying, 'Hey, Picasso, could you redo this painting, because there's a nipple in it, and we want to show it to schoolchildren.' "
The most lyrically confrontational moment in "I Hate Rock & Roll" comes when William drones, "I love the BBC/I love it when they're pissin' on me/I love MTV/I love it when they're shittin' on me." Needless to say, William has a special place in his heart for the nurturers of Beavis and Butt-head. "I hate the power of MTV," he says. "A lot of times, if you've got a crappy video and a great song, you're not going to get very far. What would happen if Aerosmith didn't get on MTV? Nobody would buy those records. We were talking about not doing anymore videos. But when we told our managers and record company, everybody freaked out and said we were stupid."
The Jesus and Mary Chain did end up filming a video for "I Hate Rock & Roll," but it's not likely to end up in the Buzz Bin. And in England, the band's blackened bile has alienated many DJs and mainstream journalists. "I think there's a lot of people in rock hating me now because they take it as a personal attack," William says, sneering. "Maybe this song will finish our career. If it does, I'll have proven my point."
Any band that would pen a line like "I hate rock & roll/I hate it 'cause it fucks with my soul" has got to have a serious problem with the music business. The Jesus and Mary Chain have several.
Since 1985, when they emerged from Scotland with their feedback-shuddering debut album, Psychocandy, the Jesus and Mary Chain have been embraced by savvy critics and emulated by peers, yet they've never broken out of the alternative underground. The closest they've come was with their last record, the largely acoustic Stoned and Dethroned, which contained the single "Sometimes Always," featuring guest vocals by Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. But even that album sold only 110,000 copies, a paltry figure considering the Jesus and Mary Chain's influence and notoriety.
"What frustrates me is that it's not good enough just to be a musician," says William Reid, who, along with his brother Jim, forms the creative core of the band. "You've got to be a politician, actor and businessman. The best moments I've had in this business have been sitting in a room playing my acoustic guitar and writing songs. After that, it's kind of been downhill."
Such frustration and disappointment fuel "I Hate Rock & Roll," the sonically volcanic first single from the group's seventh record, The Jesus and Mary Chain Hate Rock & Roll, which contains four new songs and nine B sides. One of the band's most scathing, corrosive cuts, "I Hate Rock & Roll" takes a sardonic stab at the traditional power anthem and signals the group's return to the volatile style it pioneered a decade ago. Bristling with distortion-drenched guitars and sleepy, jaded vocals, the song expounds upon the Reid brothers' distaste for conservative rock-industry protocol.
"I don't hate rock & roll, but I hate the business of rock & roll," says William, who wrote the song in five minutes last year. "I came into this industry as an idealist. I thought I was going to make art, but I got that kicked out of my system after about 10 minutes, when we did our first single for Warner Bros., 'Never Understand,' and they asked us to turn down the feedback and turn up the voice and drums for a radio mix. That felt to me like somebody saying, 'Hey, Picasso, could you redo this painting, because there's a nipple in it, and we want to show it to schoolchildren.' "
The most lyrically confrontational moment in "I Hate Rock & Roll" comes when William drones, "I love the BBC/I love it when they're pissin' on me/I love MTV/I love it when they're shittin' on me." Needless to say, William has a special place in his heart for the nurturers of Beavis and Butt-head. "I hate the power of MTV," he says. "A lot of times, if you've got a crappy video and a great song, you're not going to get very far. What would happen if Aerosmith didn't get on MTV? Nobody would buy those records. We were talking about not doing anymore videos. But when we told our managers and record company, everybody freaked out and said we were stupid."
The Jesus and Mary Chain did end up filming a video for "I Hate Rock & Roll," but it's not likely to end up in the Buzz Bin. And in England, the band's blackened bile has alienated many DJs and mainstream journalists. "I think there's a lot of people in rock hating me now because they take it as a personal attack," William says, sneering. "Maybe this song will finish our career. If it does, I'll have proven my point."
