Keith Richards Talks Drugs, Trump And Popular Music - Noise11.com
Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones images by Ros O'Gorman, noise11.com, photo

Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones images by Ros O'Gorman, noise11.com, photo

Keith Richards Talks Drugs, Trump And Popular Music

by Music-News.com on September 28, 2015

in News

In an interview with Billboard Keith Richards opens up about drugs, Donald Trump, Mick Jagger, The Grateful Dead, and reveals the only contemporary artists he can tolerate (Taylor Swift is not one of them).

On drugs:

Love my weed. Unashamedly a fan. A piece of good hashish now and again. But otherwise …

You know, the state of good drugs has gone down. In the ’60s and ’70s, you had barbiturates, which were great downers. And Quaaludes. These drugs were fairly simple. You took them, you pissed them out. But these new ones, the Xanax? I’m not there with that. [But] I still take Dilantin.

On Donald Trump:

I do find him refreshing. He’s cut through a lot of crap, and eventually … well, can you imagine President Trump? The worst nightmare. But we can’t say that. Because it could happen. This is one of the wonders of this country. Who would’ve thought Ronald Reagan could be president?

How he feels about The Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead is where everybody got it wrong,’ he scoffs. ‘Just poodling about for hours and hours. Jerry Garcia, boring shit, man. Sorry, Jerry.

Mick Jagger is a…

…control freak. He has admitted it to me.

On contemporary music he can tolerate, “though he makes exceptions for Florence Welch (whose last name escapes him at lunch) and Ed Sheeran (who opened for the Stones in June), he can’t tolerate most contemporary music.

When I try to draw him out on Taylor Swift, he stops himself. ‘Oh, I don’t want to sound like an old man,’ he says, harrumphing loudly before dissolving in laughter.”

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Never miss a story! Get your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to the Noise11 Music Newsletter here

Listen to the Noise11 Music News channel now at iHeartRadio

Follow Noise11.com on Facebook and Twitter

more from music-news.com

Related Posts

The Kennedy Center
Kennedy Center Honors Ratings Slump Sparks White House Spin Battle

The 2025 Kennedy Center Honors has entered the history books for reasons far removed from artistic celebration, with the annual event recording the lowest television ratings since the ceremony began airing nationally. Broadcast on CBS on 23 December 2025, the Donald Trump hosted edition averaged 3.01 million viewers, a figure that represents a sharp year on year decline and has triggered a flurry of explanations from the Kennedy Center's new leadership and the White House.

January 2, 2026
Ben Folds
Artists Abandon Kennedy Center As Trump Name Change Triggers Cultural Boycott

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is facing one of the most serious crises in its history, as a widening group of artists, performers and cultural organisations cancel appearances in protest over Donald Trump's takeover of the board and the decision to attach his name to the institution.

December 31, 2025
Kennedy Center Honors TV Ratings Hit Record Low Under Trump Hosting Debut

The Kennedy Center Honors television broadcast has recorded its lowest audience in the history of the event, with the 2025 ceremony attracting significantly fewer viewers than the already diminished audience of 2024. Early ratings data indicate that the CBS broadcast averaged approximately 2.65 million viewers, a steep fall from the 4.1 million who tuned in last year, representing a decline of more than 35 percent.

December 26, 2025
Jack White at the Forum Melbourne 9 December 2024 photo by David James Swanson
Jack White Criticises Donald Trump Over Comments On Death Of Filmmaker Rob Reiner

Rock musician Jack White has publicly condemned Trump following remarks Trump made about the death of acclaimed filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner. The comments, posted by the convicted felon on his Truth Social platform, linked Reiner's death to his long-standing political opposition to Trump and have drawn widespread criticism.

December 16, 2025
Neil Young photo by Ros O'Gorman
Neil Young Calls Out Trump And Tech Oligarchs In New Video ‘As Time Explodes’

Neil Young has again stepped into the political spotlight, releasing a provocative new video titled As Time Explodes. The two-minute film, shared via his official YouTube channel on Thursday 30 October, takes aim at Donald Trump and the growing influence of tech billionaires.

November 1, 2025
Kenny Loggins has condemned the use of his song in an unauthorised AI-generated Donald Trump video.
Kenny Loggins Calls Out Donald Trump For Using ‘Danger Zone’ In AI Video Mocking Protesters

Kenny Loggins has publicly condemned U.S. President Donald Trump for using his hit song Danger Zone in an unauthorised AI-generated video shared over the weekend on Trump's Truth Social account. The clip, which quickly spread across social media, depicted Trump wearing a crown while piloting a fighter jet labelled “King Trump” as it dropped sludge over protesters gathered in what appeared to be New York's Times Square.

October 21, 2025
Kid Rock performs at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne on 7 December 2013. Photo by Ros O'Gorman
California Governor Gavin Newsom Trolls Kid Rock Again Over Super Bowl and “Horrific Music” Jabs

California Governor Gavin Newsom has once again taken aim at Kid Rock in his ongoing series of Trump-style parody posts, declaring the “American Bad Ass” rocker banned from performing in California for making what Newsom called “horrific music.”

October 2, 2025