Ozzy Osbourne on Whether Rock Is Dead: ‘We’re the History Now’
Don't hold your breath for a new solo album from Ozzy Osbourne, who recently helped put Black Sabbath to bed. At the same time, however, he's not ready to join other classic rockers who've argued that rock is dead.
"I would like to do another record, but it's wasting money," he told Rolling Stone. "Nobody's buying."
That means he'll continue to focus on touring, including a few festival dates beginning on Sept. 30 in Louisville.
"Live, good rock music is not dead, but I think the record industry is really suffering now," Osbourne argued. "There are only about two f---ing record companies left. And when I went to the Grammys a couple of years ago, there'd be artists who'd go from a f---ing laptop straight to the charts and release a record. It's really a sad thing for me. ... It's just changed so much. I said to Sharon, 'It's like when vaudeville ended and f---ing modern music began. We're the history now.'"
He attributed these industry problems to technological advances – many of which, Osbourne freely admitted, have completely passed him by. "Why should people buy records when they can download it?" he asked. "You can get anything now online. And at the same time, I don't know how to turn the f---ing light on the monitor."
Still, you're not getting rid of Ozzy so easily. Though he's no longer performing with Black Sabbath, Osbourne steadfastly refuses to quit.
"They've retired but I haven't," he said. "It's like I'm jumping off one boat onto another. People forget, I was with Sabbath from '68 to '79, but I've been on my own from '79 'til now. I've been on my own thing for a lot longer than when I was with Sabbath. I love what Sabbath did for me and I love what I did for Sabbath, but it's not the be-all, end-all of my own whole career."
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