Lou Gramm, lead singer of Foreigner, criticized today’s rock music and said the genre needs a miracle to recover its former strength.
In a recent interview with Classic Album Reviews, Gramm said, “The rock that’s in the charts right now is not of my liking. I don’t even know if I would call it rock. It’s more commercial, middle of the road, and very poppy.”
Gramm said classic Foreigner hits would struggle to get radio play today. “It’ll take almost a miracle to get real rock back on the radio, like it was years ago. I mean, ‘Hot Blooded’ and songs like that would never be played now, ever,” he said.
He hopes the genre can return to what he calls “real rock,” adding, “I’m hoping that it can be steered back to something that will at least accommodate the good rock musicians and songwriters.”
Gramm also spoke about Foreigner’s experience during the punk and new wave movement of the late 1970s. “It was kind of fun to let it all hang out and get into that frame of mind and that frame of playing, too. I don’t think we tried to be a punk band, but we reveled in that influence.”
He said he enjoyed some punk music, despite the genre’s reputation among some rock fans. “There were some great songs out there, even though the genre was not considered to be up to the rest of rock ‘n’ roll styles. Even though it was a little simplistic, I thought it had everything that good rock ‘n’ roll songs contained.”
Gramm said he was not a big fan of the Sex Pistols, but showed his appreciation for the Clash by singing the chorus of “Should I Stay or Should I Go” during the interview.