SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor, who is often referred to as the “Great Big Mouth” due to his outspoken political views, was asked in a new interview with Full Metal Jackie‘s nationally syndicated radio show what surprises him most about being seen by some as an arbiter of rationality and reason. He responded: “The thing that surprises me the most is that most people can’t get there themselves. There’s definitely a vacuum in this country — and around the world — of common sense. And I think it really kind of comes from this need to embrace almost a social chaos. People have trained themselves to only really be comfortable if there’s drama going on, which is just so toxic. We’re spreading this toxicity to people that can only really be cured once people go, ‘Man, I don’t need this in my life.’ So, to me, that’s really the thing that blows my mind — that people seek that out half the time. They go looking for it or they sit back and they turn it into a punchline until it really affects their life. And then they go, ‘Oh, there’s nothing funny about it.’
“Nine times out of 10, I get really mad when I’m right, to be honest,” he continued. “Especially when it comes to social media and social situations, the way that people are starting to go and turn, nobody can really make a move these days without someone getting pissed off. And it’s just ridiculous.
“I really wish that people would think before they tweet or think before they post or think before they react or say something ridiculous in the comments,” Taylor added. “I mean, just think. Just stop for a second and use your damn brain. And if you don’t have one? Don’t post. It’s just that simple.”
Corey told the 94.3 KILO radio station in a 2017 interview that he is not worried about possible fallout from his comments. “That’s part of being an American,” he explained. “I mean, nothing drives me more crazy than when somebody says to celebrities or whatever, ‘Why don’t you just stick to acting?’ And I’m, like, ‘What? Leave politics to you? Why don’t you stick to writing bad reviews in your mom’s basement? Just shut your mouth. I’m just as American as you are, I have every right to say what I want, and you can shove that kind of attitude straight up your ass.”
Roughly one-third of Taylor‘s last book, 2017’s “America 51”, was dedicated to his derision for then-U.S. president Donald Trump.
This past March, Taylor told Matt Pinfield of 95.5 KLOS‘s “New & Approved” series that “the ‘outrage’ age” would be the inspiration for his upcoming fifth book. “I was reading about how Gen Z is trying to cancel Eminem because of one line that was in a Rihanna song that he did with her,” he said. “And I’m just, like, is that where we are right now? I mean, at this point, you’re talking about the Salem witch trials. You’re talking about America in the ’20s where the KKK was a political force. You’re talking about complete condemnation without context or any rationalization for an action like that. And to me, that’s [what’s] most dangerous — when the mob decides that you’re gone. That is Caesar at the Colosseum, for god’s sakes. That’s when it’s dangerous. The level of censorship that we’re starting to see… And I’m not saying that certain things haven’t been said that easily offend people. However, the flipside of that is that you can’t even make a joke anymore — even in the cleanest of situations. [People] completely turn on you. And there’s not one hint of satire, there’s no hint of irony — it’s just all-out rage, and it’s all through this [shows his smartphone]. And that’s when it’s really greedy, that’s when it’s really dirty. It can’t be that way. If we can’t have a conversation, how the hell are we gonna communicate. And if we can’t understand the difference between metaphor and complete reality, then we’re in real trouble. And that’s where I’m leaning with the book.”
Taylor‘s debut solo album, “CMFT”, was released in October.
