‘I Give Her Tons Of Credit For Being The Person That She Is’

Alex Lifeson, the legendary former RUSH guitarist and current member of ENVY OF NONE, has spent decades shaping the world of progressive rock with his intricate playing and musical innovation. But in a recent interview with AllMusic, Lifeson revealed an unexpected appreciation for a very different kind of artist—Taylor Swift.

“I’m not familiar with her music — I know a few songs,” Lifeson said. “I know a Taylor Swift song as soon as it comes on, which is great. But she’s a player, and she’s a writer, and the way she took care of her crew, like, what was it, $90 million in bonuses or something for her crew? [The reported amount was $197 million]. A long tour – it was a couple of years. But she thinks like we always thought.

“And again, I’m not a fan of that kind of music – I think it’s well done, and I give her credit for it. But I give her tons of credit for being the person that she is, and handling herself the way she does, and the enormous influence that she has. Very, very positive influence she has on her so loyal audience. It’s incredible. I have total respect for her.”

Lifeson does, however, enjoy at least one current musical artist, and that happens to be a band that released an album titled Rush!“

“I heard a band last week, called MÅNESKIN,” Lifeson added. “They’re an Italian band. Amazing. They sounded really, really good. I’m not saying there’s no good music around, there is. I’m just not interested in searching for it anymore. Those days are over for me, where I’d go to the record store and buy an album and take it home and go through that whole process.”

“I do what I do. I’d much rather listen to music I create these days,” he continued. “And I do a lot of that, from my own personal use. I have reams of stuff that I record that I play in the background, if we’re having a dinner party or something like that. And it’s under the radar, nobody knows who it is or what it is. It’s just really nice music in the background. Modern music, pop music, all that stuff, I can’t stand it, really – to be honest with you. It’s just about dancing and jumping around. And I really don’t have a lot of respect for it.”

Lifeson‘s ENVY OF NONE are back with news of their much anticipated second album, Stygian Wavz, set for release on Kscope on March 28.