Stewart Copeland is a legend for a reason – the dude listens to a lot of different music and expertly plays loads of different styles. From his own solo work to The Police and Oysterhead, Copeland keeps an open mind. And that clearly includes listening to metal.
In a recent video for Wired, Copeland was asked who the best drummers he ever saw live were. Copeland touches on some classic ones like Buddy Rich and Mitch Mitchell before ultimately landing on the late and great Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison. Copeland also jokes about the younger generation vastly outplaying those who came before them, which definitely feels true – nothing like some ten year old kid on YouTube to make you feel like the shittiest guitarist alive these days.
"Well, Buddy Rich. Mitch Mitchell," said Copeland. "There's a lot of drummers that I really like that aren't famous names, they just have a great lope, they just have a great feel to them. Taylor Hawkins just had a great feel to him. Ringo Starr, Charlie Watts – no chops there, but just that groove is way, way cool."
"Now, on the younger end of it, I would say Joey Jordison, sadly departed, with Slipknot. That little bastard had chops! You know, kids these days, they start out where we left off. And it's like the Olympics where every year they can jump a little higher, run a little faster. How's that possible? Has the human species evolved in one year? I dunno! But Joey Jordison, doing things with his feet that I aspire to with my hands."
