Beth Gibbons Quotes

I used to think of 'alternative rock' as a radio format, kind of the way 'indie rock' used to have more meaning. But it means different things depending on where you are or what country you're in.

I never considered myself like a pop musician or rock star, because that didn't really exist when I started.

I guess one thing that makes my music stand out is that it is quite hard to determine what genre it is.

I mean, there's plenty of artists who are making R&B music, but because of their ethnicity, it's considered something else.

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

I don't know anybody who doesn't hate being called alt.country. It just sounds like a website. I don't mind being called Americana, I don't mind being called country noir, or independent country is fine, but the words alt.country make me insane.

I am not a jazz singer. I wouldn't place myself on that footing. I wouldn't even enter that arena.

I can't tell you what genre Maroon 5 is in. I don't know if they're rock or pop or alternative. I don't know what they are. I have a hard time separating that stuff. I just know what I like when I hear it.

Country music has always sort of been country music.

It can be a bit frustrating to always get the soft-rock stamp.

I don't know why I keep saying this, and I don't know why I keep using their names... And I'm not dogging them. I'm not slandering them. I'm not saying they are bad musicians. But how can Taylor Swift or Justin Timberlake win for R&B and funk? They are pop singers.

Rock music is niche.

The word we have in Korea for K-Pop is 'Gaio.' And I guess it's a huge umbrella term. Basically it's like saying Coldplay and Kanye West, or Eminem and Celine Dion, are the same genre.

A lot of people who have been perceiving my music have been trying to formulate a genre for it, and I think it's just a natural thing; it doesn't need to be categorized. It doesn't need to be sectioned, if you will.

I don't think our music has much to do with math rock.

I'm still looking for the rules of what is and isn't pop music. I'm pop. I mean, of course I am. What isn't pop? There should be a pop amnesty where everyone reclaims it.

When I got my record deal at Atlantic, at the time, 'indie' wasn't a style of music: it was a kind of label. And I think, eventually, the bands that ended up on those labels began to be branded as 'indie bands,' and then it became a genre.

I wouldn't necessarily say she is a country artist. I mean, obviously Taylor Swift started in country, but she morphed into somewhat of a cultural icon, so, who am I to judge what she is?

I don't think I'm a country artist, really. I'm a country person, but I don't think I'm necessarily a country singer or musician.

I don't really classify 'Wichita Lineman' as country.

The misunderstanding out there is that we are a 'hard rock' band or a 'heavy metal' band. We've only ever been a rock n' roll band.

One of my biggest fears with 'Coloring Book' was that it would be labeled. I hate labels. I never sought out for people to recognize it as a gospel album.

I agree that it's absurd to call a category of music 'female-fronted metal,' because if you look at Otep or Epica or Arch Enemy, we don't sound anything alike.

I don't think I am a soul singer and definitely don't think that I am a country artist by any stretch.

I never identified with 'indie,' I don't like that word.