I had the honor of speaking with Asimov. The album ended up being something not directly related to Asimov, but related instead to the concept of the power of robotics.
You know, I was such a big Beatles fan, and when I'd buy a new album I'd invariably hate it the first time I heard it 'cause it was a mixture of absolute joy and absolute frustration. I couldn't grasp what they'd done, and I'd hate myself for that.
Time Rolls On' is my most political piece so far. It's not on my album because people didn't support it.
The whole point of 'Acid Rap' was just to ask people a question: does the music business side of this dictate what type of project this is? If it's all original music and it's got this much emotion around it and it connects this way with this many people, is it a mixtape? What's an 'album' these days, anyways?
The main issue was deciding what to play: Should it be old Ramones material or new material? I had about three albums worth of new material, but I knew that people would rather hear the Ramones songs.
Billboard called my solo album, 'Standing In The Spotlight,' a great party album and even said that my raps put the Beastie Boys to shame.
My audience are the same people who bought my albums years ago. These people are now married, with their own homes, their own families. If I'm in concert, I get people now who bring their kids.
My favorite album would have to be Rocket To Russia. I feel this album has the most classic Ramones songs.
I come from a time when pop music was the coin of the cultural realm and in a certain way was the only coin of the realm; movies didn't matter as much, and not TV - it was all about pop music. In the era when I started - which was the early '60s - it was all about singles leading to albums.
I can still do clothing, movies, cartoons. I'mma get mine regardless. Whether I put an album out or not, I'm still gonna see a check.
I wanted to make an album that melodically people can connect to; something that reflects our times and the kinds of difficulties we face.
Just like zillions of children, album covers educated and informed me, and certainly did I later transpose organically, rather than by intent, those principles both in fashion design and photography.
I think I got turned onto The Beach Boys for the first time with the 'Endless Summer' album in 1974. The power of that music still, to this day, bypasses the brain and goes straight to the heart. You don't have to think about it; it's something that you feel.
I know the difference between venture capital[ism] and vulture capitalism. Venture capitalism is a good thing, comes in, gives that gap funding to help these companies get off and get started creating jobs, and work. But Mitt Romney and Bain Capital were involved with what I call vulture capitalism. And they walked into Gaffney and took over that photo album company for no other reason than to basically pick the bones clean. And those people lost their jobs.
Back in the day you wanted your albums to have a theme, and 'Sports' theme was really a collection of singles. It was really a record for its time.
I just realized how long it was since the last album, and where did the time go? You know?
It was so simple in the old days. You put out an album, people promoted it, it got in the charts, and you had a hit.
I'll probably never put out another album because I'm a tough critic of my work, and I don't think I could come up to those standards any more.
I'm working on my new album right now. Hopefully to get that out at the top of 2005, January 2005.
I don't think the label cares about an album... People just want their number-one record.
I'd like to do a pop album with an R and B influence. I definitely want to have those big ballads with the uptempo hits as well.
Dizzee's just my childhood hero. He's definitely the inspiration. He's got himself to a very good place. He's defied the expectations of what British black urban music was like. He was the first person who made the rest of Britain realise it wasn't just a one-album-type situation. You've got to take your hat off to somebody like that.
When you look at the Lady Gagas of the world, or the Jay-Zs, or the Black Eyed Peas, these are people who have one album release and it's a worldwide one.
I've never wanted to name an album from a song title if I could avoid it because I like it to be a body of work.
The second album of Black Mages is currently in the process of recording and the basic tracks have already been completed. Hopefully sometime in the future we will be able to have a concert.
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