MTLEY CRE's TOMMY LEE: Making Full-Length Albums 'Makes No Sense On Any Level'

Joe Bosso of MusicRadar.com recently conducted an interview with MTLEY CRE drummer Tommy Lee. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

MusicRadar.com: Recently you said that you didn't feel recording albums was worth it anymore, that making singles was the way to go.

Tommy: "That's right. I'm thinking more EPs, though small bodies of work. You know, slaving for a year in the studio to make a whole album when the public only wants one song, it's just fucking stupid. It makes no sense on any level. That's my opinion for my solo stuff and MTLEY CRE. It doesn't mean my band will necessarily agree with me. But my attitude is, why not make a four-song EP with absolute bangers on them? I think it makes perfect sense. If you look at the charts and the statistics, it'll show you that people don't buy albums anymore, they buy singles. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out."

MusicRadar.com: Have you talked to any of the other members of the CRE about this?

Tommy: "I've mentioned it to Nikki [Sixx, bass]. We haven't come to any kind of decision on what to do, but he knows my feelings and where I stand on the matter. Now, for MTLEY, if we have something different, like the soundtrack to "The Dirt", for example, then that's an exception. If we're scoring the movie and adding songs and things, then a full album has a purpose. Other than that, just to make a record for the sake of making a record, it doesn't make sense anymore. I'd rather release four songs at a time, that'd be great. And more often, too. So much of the time bands take a year or two before they put anything out. It's like, 'Jesus Christ, guys! I thought you all broke up by now.' I'm sick of all that. Let's do two four-song EPs a year. To me, that's a winning proposition. The days of making those big, drawn-out albums are over."

MusicRadar.com: Does the band have any new material written?

Tommy: "Nikki's got some stuff kickin' around, I've got a few things kickin' around. Whether I'm writing solo stuff, electronic stuff or material for MTLEY, I just write to write. I come up with it and put things in different piles. I guess some of the things I have could be for MTLEY CRE."

MusicRadar.com: You mentioned the movie version of "The Dirt". What's the status of the production?

Tommy: "That's a good question. I wish I had more info for you. All I know is that it's moving forward, which is a good sign. That's about all I know. There's a few directors who are being talked to, but nothing's firmed up yet. We'll see what happens."

Read the entire interview from MusicRadar.com.