Singer says she’s just telling a story with her aggressive persona

Jul 26, 2010 14:49 GMT  ·  By
“I’m trying to reinvent and bring back rock ‘n’ roll,” Taylor Momsen says in new interview
   “I’m trying to reinvent and bring back rock ‘n’ roll,” Taylor Momsen says in new interview

Ever since she made up her mind she wanted to be taken seriously as a singer / rocker and consequently reinvented her public persona to be the edgier 17-year-old chick we know today, Taylor Momsen has taken a lot of fire in the media. Clearly, she likes to shock. Also clearly, she says in an interview with the Sun-Sentinel, all this, all the aggressiveness she displays is part of the story she’s telling.

Fans must know that Momsen is fronting The Pretty Reckless, a band that has a brand new album coming out next month, “Light Me Up,” for which it’s already getting very positive reviews. Speaking with the aforementioned publication about the material, Taylor insists that she’s not edgy for the sake of giving people something to talk about: her aggressiveness is part of her story, of a persona she’s building to tell that story. The purpose of that is to reinvent rock ‘n’ roll, the singer says.

“It’s the way I live, I grew up looking at rock stars. It’s in my blood,” Momsen says of always trying to surprise people with something. “I think aggression scares people. But if you’re scared, you’re feeling something. Yeah, there’s loud guitars and drums. The reaction, it’s really kind of sad. It’s like we’re living in the ’60s again. Haven’t we already all seen this? This has already happened. Scantily clad clothing? It’s amazing that it’s shocking again, scaring people now, again. […] That’s just tabloids… People ask me about my life and try and create controversy and I’ll say what I say,” the young star says of her much-mediated life.

“I’m trying to reinvent and bring back rock ‘n’ roll,” Taylor says, adding that The Pretty Reckless is the only rock band on Vans Warped Tour. “I listen to the greats. I try to better myself. You sound different every day, and there’s so much trying to adapt. It’s a very punk, get-up-there-and-hope-you-can-hear-yourself kind of tour. If you think playing every day is hard, I don’t know why you’re in a band. I’m not a diva or a prima donna, I’m the opposite,” she further explains.

In the same interview, Momsen also talks about the concept for the band’s recently released video for “Miss Nothing.” Those who saw biblical resemblances in it were right, she says, because she plays the part of Mary Madgalene and she’s just learned that Jesus has died. The scene depicts her Last Supper because she knows she can’t live without Jesus, she further says.

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