.

Mumford & Sons Keyboardist: I Thought Phillip Phillips Was Us!

The Mumfords reflect on the sudden prevalence of acoustic rock

March 15, 2013 7:00 AM ET
Mumford & Sons, issue 1179
Mumford & Sons on the cover of Rolling Stone.
Sam Jones

When Mumford and Sons keyboardist Ben Lovett first heard American Idol winner Phillip Phillips' blatant soundalike hit "Home," he was momentarily confused. Said Lovett, "I was like, 'What's that? Did we do that?'"

On the Cover: Mumford & Sons Rattle and Strum

But other than that, Lovett doesn't mind the sudden, post-Mumfords ubiquity of acoustic rock (see the Lumineers, among others). "The only thing that makes me a bit sad about it is that if people think that it's a good commercial move," he told senior writer Brian Hiatt in interviews for the band's Rolling Stone cover story. "I think that's just stupid. Because it's not about the setup. It's about the songs,  how we're expressing our songs with this kind of accidental selection of instruments. That's not like a formula to go and sell records."

Marcus Mumford added that it's "strange" to hear people talking about an American Idol winner imitating his band: "Because that's kind of what we were reacting against," he said. "When we started it was quite fun doing what we were doing 'cause no one else was doing it. It was like our little secret."

For more from the Mumfords, see the new issue of Rolling Stone, on newsstands and the App Store now.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

prev
Music Main Next

blog comments powered by Disqus
Daily Newsletter

Get the latest RS news in your inbox.

Sign up to receive the Rolling Stone newsletter and special offers from RS and its
marketing partners.

X

We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.

Song Stories

“I Can See for Miles”

The Who | 1967

A foreboding accusation of lies and deception, "I Can See for Miles" was given a psychedelic hard-rock veneer by Pete Townshend's whiplash guitar riffs and Keith Moon's thundering drums. The song helped break the Who as stars in the United States, giving them a Top Ten hit in late 1967. "I swoon when I hear the sound," boasted Townshend in Rolling Stone. "The words, which aging senators have called 'drug oriented,' are about a jealous man with exceptionally good eyesight. Honest."

More Song Stories entries »