“I am seeking more than that”: The genre Tom Petty thought he was smarter than
The last thing that any artist can hope to be is insincere. Fans have no problem calling out some of their favourite artists if they find them doing something inauthentic, and the minute that someone looks like they are making music because they have to is usually a sign for them to hang it up or take a break and see where their priorities were. Although Tom Petty never lost the joy of playing music during his lifetime, he did know that certain changes in the music industry weren’t exactly for him.
Then again, when he first entered the business, Petty was always open to change in some form or another. He knew how slimy the industry types could be, and the minute he started going to war with his record company over everything from songwriting royalties to the price of his records, he always made sure to do right by his fans rather than shilling out whatever product the big wigs wanted.
However, the modern age of rock and roll looked a lot different once Petty entered his elderstatesman phase. Wildflowers may have received a relatively warm welcome from fans in the 1990s, but the flavour of the day was about bands that kept things real in the same way Petty did back in the day, with Pearl Jam and Nirvana stripping things back a lot more. But this was also the era when rock started to get overtaken by other genres.
There were always going to be genres like Britpop and industrial rock that found their way onto the charts every now and again, but by the late 1990s, hip-hop was suddenly becoming the biggest thing in the world. Rap might still be considered a bad word by every single rock purist who refuses to pull their heads out of their own ass, but there were still some great tunes to be found amongst the greatest artist at the time, be they Tupac, Snoop Dogg, or Biggie.
When Petty started to notice the new flavours of the day seeping in, though, he couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed. After all, Rick Rubin had worked with artists who had some legitimate points to make about the way of the world, and now that he was in the midst of the ‘Bling era’ of hip-hop, where everyone was more likely to talk about their chains rather than their place in the world.
“I’m frustrated by what I hear. Maybe it’s not meant for me. Personally, I’m way too bright for a lot of the hip-hop lyrics to affect me.”
Tom Petty
For someone who had spent their entire life talking about the everyday beauty around him, even Petty couldn’t help but turn his nose at the rise of new hip-hop, saying, “I’m frustrated by what I hear. Maybe it’s not meant for me. Personally, I’m way too bright for a lot of the hip-hop lyrics to affect me. I’m much too smart to think that jewellery or how cool I am is really going to change much about my personality. If you’re dumb enough that it entertains you, have a great time.”
Then again, that’s probably what made Petty so intolerant of hair metal back in the day as well. Sure, they didn’t talk about their chains or anything, but the interest in fashion above anything else was the reason why Petty’s authentic approach was sorely needed, especially when bands were getting record deals by merely being in the right place at the right time.
Petty may have been a little too broad when singling out hip-hop as a whole, but looking at the state of conscious hip-hop, he may have been interested in hearing what they had to say. The era of gold chains and misogynist lyrics may have had its place in history, but listening to something like ‘Good Morning’ by Chamillionaire probably didn’t change Petty’s feelings about the genre.
