Elton John's tip sheet

INGRID SISCHY: So Elton, this is our August music issue--a great place for us to showcase your knack for spotting new talent. Who's got you excited at the moment?

ELTON JOHN: There's this singer from England called Ms. Dynamite. She's got a CD called A Little Deeper [Polydor], and it's fabulous. It's the first genuine British hip-hop on par with anything American. It's the best thing I've heard since Mary J. Blige's No More Drama [MCA].

IS: What about this band moment that's happening right now? It feels as though, certainly from a New York perspective, there's been a new explosion of bands.

EJ: I think bands go in cycles with cities. London's been prolific. Seattle's been prolific. Maybe it's New York's time to be prolific again. My favorite band of the moment is Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, a three-piece band. Along with the Hives, they're probably one of the most fun bands out there. I'm playing the record [B.R.M.C., Virgin] right now, actually. The last track is called "Salvation" and it's amazing. It kind of reminds me of T. Rex--it's psychedelic. There's just something about a three-piece band, something about the space between the musical elements of three musicians that makes it so appealing.

IS: Why do you think bands are multiplying so rapidly at the moment--is it about going back to the romance of a group of friends making music together?

EJ: Maybe it's a backlash against all the crap that's on the radio, all those manufactured boy bands. Maybe it's because people want to play instruments again, and get away from machines. I think the joy of playing live is something you cannot ever beat. And when you're young and you start out on an adventure with three or four other guys, it's fun. The problems come when you become successful and all the personalities start coming in; then it becomes a nightmare. It's great that these new bands are coming up, but they've got to have charisma--they've got to have a great front man, someone with star quality.

IS: Who would you say the greatest front men have been?

EJ: Mick Jagger, without a doubt. Robert Plant. Jimi Hendrix. Bono. Kurt Cobain. Freddie Mercury. Sting. Roger Daltrey. Rod Stewart.

IS: Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane.

EJ: Where are those kind of front men and women today? I mean, where's the new Iggy Pop? You can't take your eyes off someone like that. With many bands nowadays, it's hard to keep your eyes on them. It sounds like I'm down on bands, but I'm not: It's just that when you see a star up there onstage it adds so much. When you see Ryan Adams, he's got charisma, he's exciting. But when I see the videos of these bands with their heads banging away, it's like, "Oh, God." I'd rather have a group like Coldplay, whose music is intelligent.

IS: And Coldplay has a new album coming out later this month called A Rush of Blood to the Head [Capitol].

EJ: Yes. This is going to be their second album. They've been collaborating with [former Beatles producer Sir] George Martin on it, which fills me with anticipation. We'll see where they go from their excellent start. Their first album [Parachutes, Capitol] is a classic and it's always hard to follow up such a great album--the expectations are so high. It was hard for Eminem to follow up The Marshall Mathers LP [Aftermath/Interscope], but he has done it with The Eminem Show [Aftermath/Interscope], and it's a much jauntier album. There are very few masterpieces, but Coldplay are capable of coming up with one. I have a good feeling about it.

IS: Other than Coldplay, what British bands excite you?

EJ: There are a few--Starsailor, Travis, Doves.

IS: And what about Heist? We talked about them a couple of months ago and you played them for me when we were in L.A. recently.

EJ: That one isn't coming out for a while. They're two guys--one's from England and the other is Iranian. The joke is, everybody I've played that record for, whether it's in America, Australia or Europe, has gone nuts for it, and the radio stations in England don't like it. They won't play it. Yet they'll play Britney Spears! The radio in England sucks big-time. Radio 1 [the BBC's popular music network] is so important for young bands but right now they wouldn't know a good piece of music if they heard one.

IS: Elton, pretend you are planning your summer holiday and you're going to see three of the big summer tours. Which would they be? Cher's tour? The Area2 tour with Moby, David Bowie, Busta Rhymes, Carl Cox, John Digweed?

EJ: I would want to go and see David Bowie.

IS: How about the Smokin' Grooves tour with OutKast, the Roots, Lauryn Hill, CeeLo, Jurassic 5, DJ Shadow?

EJ: I'd skip that one.

IS: The Anger Management Tour? It's Eminem, Papa Roach, Ludacris, Xzibit and X-ecutioners.

EJ: That one would be worth going to see just for the title alone! The whole thing sounds like fun.

IS: Ozzfest? Ozzy Osbourne, System of a Down, P.O.D., Rob Zombie...

EJ: Skip.

IS: How about The Enlightenment Tour: Weezer, Dashboard Confessional, Sparta, the Strokes.