Renowned former frontman of The Jam, Paul Weller, has expressed his frustration with what he perceives as a lack of productivity among younger artists in the music industry. The key to Weller’s enduring career, he believes, lies in a consistent cycle of recording new music and embarking on tours. The 65-year-old musician finds it perplexing that some artists can go several years without releasing new material.
In an interview with the Daily Star Sunday’s Wired column, Weller stated, “Isn’t that part of the job description, that you go on tour and you make records? That’s probably an old-school way of looking at it, but that’s all it’s about really. I think there’s something to be said for consistency and keep pushing it and pushing it and pushing it out.”
Expressing his bewilderment at the trend of prolonged gaps between album releases, Weller commented on younger artists, saying, “As opposed to a lot of the younger artists who make an album then don’t make another for five or seven years. I don’t understand that. I often think, ‘What do you do in those in-between years?’ You can’t be on tour for five or seven years touring the same record, surely?”
Weller, who fears for the legacy of artists like Amy Winehouse, emphasized the importance of consistently contributing to the music catalog. He noted, “Somebody like Amy Winehouse, who was a brilliant artist, she’s only left two records in the world. I think that’s why it’s important to put out as much as you can. Not just for the sake of it, not [rubbish], obviously.”
While the ‘Changingman’ hitmaker enjoys being appreciated for his music, he made it clear that he is not interested in the trappings of fame. Weller stated, “It’s too fake. If people like me because of my music, then great, fantastic, but that’s it for me. Beyond that, I couldn’t care less about any of that at all.” Weller’s critique highlights a philosophical divide in the approach to artistic output within the music industry, underscoring the importance of consistency and a continuous creative process.
