The Vaccines' Justin Young Says Rihanna Is Just As Important As Radiohead
Posted by Joseph Lee on 11.13.2012
For different reasons...
The Vaccines' Justin Young told NME that Rihanna's music is just as important as Radiohead's.
He made the statement after he was asked why he felt the need to define The Vaccines as a rock band and dress in denim when they released their second album Come of Age earlier this year.
He said: "I just feel bands can be misunderstood, and I think people can over-intellectualise music. I think an artist like Rihanna is as important as a band like Radiohead. They serve different purposes, neither is more important. As for us, people might think of us an indie band that got big, but I think of us as a small pop band. I think there is a crucial difference in that we make records for ourselves, but we don't make decisions based on that. We're not scared of selling records and like the idea of it. The idea of getting bigger is desirable as long as you're getting better. I wouldn't want to be big and bad, or water anything down."
This contradicts what guitarist Freddie Cowan said earlier this year, when he said she was not a "real" musician.
Cowan said in August: "Rihanna isn't an artist – she has 15 writers, 15 songwriters and 15 producers all fighting for space on her albums and she's the face of it. I have nothing against it, but I don't want to be associated with it."
Young said he was happy with the way the band avoided just adding string sections to the second album to make it sound bigger. He added: "We could've done that, but I actually think we made a more exciting sounding record. We could've moved toward the middle lane, but I think we actually moved further away from it."
The Vaccines will begin a UK tour on November 15 that ends on November 30.
Here are the dates:
Plymouth Pavilions (November 15)
Cardiff University (16)
London Alexandra Palace (17)
Leicester De Montfort Hall (19)
O2 Apollo Manchester (21)
Liverpool Mountford Hall (22)
Doncaster Dome (23)
O2 Academy Glasgow (25, 26)
O2 Academy Newcastle (27)
O2 Academy Birmingham (29)
O2 Academy Bournemouth (30)
