Anthony Kiedis on the eternal youth of Mick Jagger
Rock and roll is a young man’s game. It’s been said a million times and not for no reason: deafeningly loud music, constant touring, and extravagant lifestyles sound great at first, but by the time you reach a certain age, the novelty has worn off. What’s left is just a pile of flesh and bones that still needs to go out on stage and entertain the masses for a few hours. Some can handle it, while others can’t. Two people who can most definitely handle it are Mick Jagger and Anthony Kiedis.
On paper, Jagger and Kiedis don’t have a whole lot in common. Their bands, The Rolling Stones and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, play very different kinds of rock music. Jagger is British, while Kiedis is American. Both have reputations for chemical and carnal indulgence, but Jagger is more of a refined control freak, while Kiedis comes off as a punk-funk party animal. Jagger is almost two decades older than Kiedis, but now that they’ve both reached 60, that gap doesn’t mean quite as much as it used to.
That’s one of the major bonds the two share, as Kiedis acknowledged during his recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience. “What I am surprised is that Mick Jagger hasn’t blown both his hips out,” Kiedis joked. “He’s so light. His bone structure, his anatomy is light. And he’s written a song or two.”
Kiedis explains that he’s “looking down 60” but credits his active lifestyle for keeping him youthful and energetic. The pair have a good laugh trying to pin down just how old President Joe Biden is and marvel at the comparisons between him and Jagger. Kiedis stops short of directly comparing himself to Jagger (that would be a hard road to go down), but he uses Jagger as an example of how rock stars can age into any state now, as long as they’re still rocking and rolling.
Kiedis has a lot to stay active about. The Chili Peppers recently released their second album of the year, Return of the Dream Canteen, and are currently touring across the world in support of it. This week, the Chili Peppers became the first band in more than a decade to score two number one albums in the same year. Kiedis is going to have to keep drinking from the fountain of youth because the Chili Peppers aren’t slowing down any time soon.
Check out Kiedis discussing Mick Jagger down below.
