Ian Anderson Shares His Thoughts on State of Music
By Matt Shaw

Ian Anderson is uncertain about the future of music. When asked where he thinks it’s heading, the lead vocalist and flutist for rock icon Jethro Tull had an interesting view.

“Given the relatively small change in the last 25 years I think it would be unreasonable to expect a whole lot of change in the next 25 or even the next 40,” he said. “It’s gone pretty much everywhere it can go.”

He argues that since the days of Elvis Presley, music executives in the U.S. and U.K. have copied successful artists’ styles and created a formula upon which other musical acts can reach similar success. It’s often hard to find musical independence in this feeding-frenzy style of musical advancement. Still, Anderson feels every so often one catches a glimpse of it.

“I think a spark of that came about with bands like Nirvana,” Anderson said. “It was something that was a little independent. Punk music too, for a little while, had that kind of stark sense of in-your-face independence, but of course was immediately turned into a marketable commodity. It became a brand. Johnny Rotten and others became very quickly dissolute in it ~ really in a matter of months after it began. It was that quick.”

Anderson is also concerned with the direction of pop music and the artists branded to a certain style.

“A lot of [modern] music is called jazz which I don’t think is jazz at all,” said Anderson. “Such as the drivel turned out by people like Mary Winehouse or whatever she’s called ~ Amy Winehouse ~ being termed a jazz singer! I mean goodness me, she’s just a copycat soul singer with a couple of really bad habits.”

Jethro Tull formed on the principle that music could be created from a plethora of influences, from Art Monk to Frank Zappa and everywhere in between. Tull’s style cannot be copied.

“To play pieces of music on stage from the 16th and 17th century is kind of unusual for a rock group to manage,” said Anderson.
He credits this as the reason that Jethro Tull’s style, as difficult as it is to define, is one-of-a-kind. It is the exploration of music for music’s sake rather than for the sake of stardom.

There is one thing Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull wish to impart on their younger audience members.

“You can once in a while get lucky doing what you want to do without having to tow the line commercially or follow the orders of record companies, managers, agents, promoters and record producers,” said Anderson. “You can just sometimes get away with doing what the hell you want and turning out something that can be treasured by a few people.”

Jethro Tull’s 40th Anniversary Tour comes to Boston’s Bank of America Pavilion August 4 with guest stars the Young Dubliners. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com. To get more info about Jethro Tull, visit www.j-tull.com.

Pic: (L to R) David Goodier, Doane Perry, Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, and John O’Hara of Jethro Tull. Photo Credit: Jethro Tull Productions.