Rock In The Mainstream Culture Has Lost

Great Music Completely Obliterates Any Conceptions Of Genre.

Actually, I Was Having Dinner With Michael [stipe, Of R.e.m.] When Our Second Album Went Platinum, Which Up Until That Point Was The Highest Success We'd Ever Had. And He Turned To Me During Dinner And Said, 'welcome To The Deep Waters, Kid.' I'll Never Forget That.

As A 28 Year Old Who's Lived Long Enough To Know The Difference, I Know Now That The Feelings I Felt An 16 Were Not Necessarily Correct. But However Overly Dramatic, The Desperation And Hopelessness I Felt At 16 Was My Reality.

I Mean There's Certainly A Lot Of Progressive Rock And Metal That Exists At The Underground Level, Which Has Its Own Vitality, As It Should. But It Seems To Have Lost Its Ability To Really Charge Up The Hill.

I've Been Too Productive For Too Long, And Despite What Anybody Wants To Strip Away From Me, I Am Influential. I Am.