Astrid S Quotes

In 2010, aside from that niche of music that I have no interest in - Black Eyed Peas territory, disposable pop stuff - there's almost an incentive to go back to making music as adventurous and groundbreaking as you can, because nobody gets a big hit anymore.

I know it sounds really lame and hater-ish, but I think 2009 was maybe the worst year for music ever.

There are a lot of stuff on the record that I am thinking is generic but actually it is just as good as everybody else who is putting stuff out at the time.

Superficial pop will always exist - there've always been Fabians - but when people like Dire Straits and Bruce Hornsby start having hits, it suggests that there's a revolution going on in music.

I don't really hear much music these days that grabs me. I think there are a lot of reasons for this but the overriding one is that there aren't as many opportunities for a band to get good or experiment or start the next wave of something.

That's just the music industry. They always want you to write something like the one that was popular.

What Nirvana's success means is that certain radio stations now have their ear more cocked to bands like us; they're more open to playing more stuff.

I remember people telling me that at 5 1/2 minutes long, 'Lightning Crashes' would never be a hit song.

There's a place for R&B in the U.K. industry - a huge market. I hope that 'Boo'd Up' can be a testament to the fact. Sometimes, it takes you moving outside the box to prove that it can be done.

If you look at the charts every year, there may be five or ten memorable songs from each year.

On the radio there's only a certain amount of artists: Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kanye, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, T.I., Mary J Blige, Alicia Keys. Other artists are achieving things that are really special, they have a hard time getting people's attention. Music has been just a little bit lacklustre.

There's more good music being made now than ever before.

I think the real problem is that nobody buys albums anymore, so you don't get the depth of the artists that are out today. What you get is whatever they felt is politically correct to get on there and actually make some impact. I think that's where you're losing your depth. You're only getting the very top of everything. It really bothers me.

My songs don't play on pop radio; they play on black radio.

Ninety percent of all music is always crap, and when too many people decide they're going to have guitar bands, then ninety percent of them are going to be crap. It's just a given law.

I don't see that there are any particular changes in popular music.

A lot of people see electronic music as a flavor of the week, but it can be more than that - has to be more than that.

There is so much great talent in the underground, and electronic music is finally getting the props that it's deserved for so long. I feel like now that everyone is discovering it and it's so fresh sounding to so many people. It doesn't get any more rock n' roll than playing EDC or the Staples Center. It's really madness.

And looking at today's music scene, I think it's cool that there are a lot of consumers and fans not limited by what radio and the record companies tell them to buy.

Finally, I would like to remind record companies that they have a cultural responsibility to give the buying public great music. Milking a trend to death is not contributing to culture and is ultimately not profitable.

I'm one of those firm believers that good music will prevail.

G.O.O.D. Music is just real tastemakers, man. Kanye's a real tastemaker. One thing that I feel is tight about G.O.O.D. is that a lot of people have their own style, and you can see that. My style is different than Pusha's, it's different than Cudi's. But it's also slightly similar 'cause we have some similar tastes.

Have you listened to the radio lately? Have you heard the canned, frozen and processed product being dished up to the world as American popular music today?

I don't know if a song is going to be a hit or it's going to flop. I never know. I just do the music and if people like it, they like it.

Artists don't always know. Almost every song I ever recorded that was a hit at the majors that the promotional people picked I didn't think it would be a hit. I was wrong every time!