Mick Jagger has clarified what his “mad mogul” lyric on The Rolling Stones‘ new album ‘Foreign Tongues‘ is really about. Find all the details below.
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The band’s 25th album, released last week, sees Jagger examine the state of America today, with track ‘Mr Charm’ specifically calling out Elon Musk by name.
“When I was oh-so-young, I used to want to go to Mars/ And burn the rubber on the road, And drive around in fancy cars,” Jagger sings. “And who would take you into space? Who would you really trust? Is it Boeing, is it NASA, is it mad mogul Mr Musk?”
Jagger’s referring to Musk as a “mad mogul” has been understood by some fans as a slight at the Tesla billionaire. However, the musician has now dispelled that rumour.
Speaking to The New York Times, Jagger complained of reviews that had interpreted the song that way, saying: “They hear one word, and they don’t really listen to the line, ‘Mick Jagger has a go at Elon Musk’, you’re not listening to the line. You’re just listening to Musk. That’s all you’re hearing.”
Jagger then said that people hear the song and assume he “must be having a go at him”, before admitting “I do call him mad”.
He continued: “The funny thing is, when I wrote it, I was thinking because of him they were able to get those astronauts back that were stuck because he provided the transportation because NASA couldn’t provide the transportation.”
He then explained how the line of the song was about him wanting to go to Mars “as a kid” and “who would you trust to get you into space”, clarifying, “It’s really a sidewinding compliment, because he was the one that I remembered was able to do that when the others couldn’t”.
Nevertheless, Jagger does understand that his choice of words wasn’t the most complimentary, adding, “Mogul doesn’t always go down well either”.
The new album features collaborations with Paul McCartney, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Steve Winwood and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, as well as further posthumous appearances from Charlie Watts.
The band have also launched an official podcast series, Speaking In Tongues, to accompany the album. The six-part series is narrated by Norah Jones and features new interviews with Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts.
Meanwhile, Jagger recently told NME that he is a fan of Sam Fender, hailing his album ‘People Watching’ as “excellent”.
He added: “I’ve had my Sam Fender moments lately, because I like a lot of his stuff. That ‘People Watching’ album was stunning. Yeah, I thought that album was excellent, earlier stuff I liked, you know, ‘Seventeen Going Under’, there’s some good stuff on that album.”
He also told us about the “very easy” experience of working with Paul McCartney.
NME gave ‘Foreign Tongues’ three-and-a-half stars, in a review which called the album: “fresh and refined”, adding: “Mick, Keith and Ronnie have hit a surprising purple patch – and if you believe the eternally energetic entertainer’s claim that he’s already writing the follow-up to ‘Foreign Tongues’, there’s plenty more left in the tank.”
