Mick Jagger says composing music for shortened attention spans isn't new: 'Elvis made a 2-minute no 1 hit in the 50s'

Mick Jagger talks to Hindustan Times about his understanding of modern music and why technology governs our attention spans.

Largely because the music The Rolling Stones make has stayed contemporary and ‘with time’ does it make it hard to believe that they have been doing it for over 60 years. Mick Jagger has been the frontman of the iconic band since the 60s, the era of vinyl. And he is still at it in the era of TikToks and Instagram Reels, even as the rules of making music themselves have undergone a sea of change. In a chat with Hindustan Times, the singer talks about his views on contemporary music and how he consumes modern pop.

Mick Jagger talks to HT about modern music.

Mick Jagger on modern music and social media

Many musicians have said that the advent of social media, particularly short videos, has affected how music is created and composed. Mick Jagger says he and the band, however, face no external pressure to create music for the social media generation. “The funny thing is that the three-minute pop song was imposed by the length of the original gramophone record. And most pop songs now are the same length. Elvis made a record in the 50s that was less than 2 minutes long and was a number one. And no one cared. So I don't think this is particularly new, and I think you can slice up. So if you want a visual with music, 30 seconds is good,” says the singer.

The 82-year-old says that consumption patterns of listeners have changed with technology, and music is just keeping up with the pace. “Some people like to have that object and buy a vinyl, you know, with a cover, and some people like to buy a CD with the cover, but most people, including myself, consume music online. And we're very kind of flippant with it. It's very quick. So, our attention spans are, in many ways, dictated by the efficiency of our technology,” he adds.

‘I'm a big consumer of pop music’

The Rolling Stones recently released their 25th studio album, Foreign Tongues. This makes the band direct ‘rivals’ to most modern musicians. But Mick Jagger calls himself a fan, not a rival to anyone. “I'm a big consumer of popular music,” he admits, adding, “But the way I consume it, I will put on the playlist with the biggest hits from the last two weeks. I'll just play it while I'm working out in the gym, and half of the time I won't know who the artist is because they may not be very well known or they may have only made one or two records. Then if I hear something, I will go, "Who's that?” and then I like it, so that will come up in my next playlist.”

With a twinkle in his eye, the rock legend adds, “I love all the pop girls when they come up with the really good things.”