Paul McCartney is possibly one of the most accessible “living legends” we have left. He just seems like the kind of guy you could have a conversation with about anything. I was reminded of that when I read through his new Rolling Stone cover story. Paul, like Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, still enjoys the everyday hustle of being a jobbing rock star. Paul still loves to be on the road, he still loves to record, and he still loves to talk about music. On one side, he’s got an ego and it’s a well-deserved ego, but on the other side, he’s surprising normal. You can read the full RS piece here, there are SO many great quotes, about John Lennon, Yoko, Kanye West and more. Some highlights:

He wants to be liked: “If you go into music, it’s very rare that you’re trying something that you don’t care if people like it. It surprises me that there are some people who don’t want to be liked – there are certain people, I’m sure, but I think it’s just an image. It’s the line in “Hey Jude” about being cool and making your world a bit colder.

The reality that he’s still touring at the age of 74: “Unimaginable – and unseemly. Mind you, when I was 17, there was a guy in John’s art school who was 24 – who I felt so sorry for. I grieved for him. He was so old. Doris Day, who I know a little bit, once said to me, ‘Age is an illusion.’ I reminded her of it recently – I was wishing her a happy birthday. People say age is a number. It’s a big number the older you get. But if it doesn’t interfere, I’m not bothered. You can ignore it. That’s what I do.”

His relationship with Yoko now: “It’s really good, actually. We were kind of threatened [then]. She was sitting on the amps while we were recording. Most bands couldn’t handle that. We handled it, but not amazingly well, because we were so tight. We weren’t sexist, but girls didn’t come to the studio – they tended to leave us to it. When John got with Yoko, she wasn’t in the control room or to the side. It was in the middle of the four of us….My big awakening was, if John loves this woman, that’s gotta be right. I realized any resistance was something I had to overcome. It was a little hard at first. Gradually, we did. Now it’s like we’re mates. I like Yoko. She’s so Yoko.”

When he sees the Rolling Stones perform now: “It’s a mirage. I see the little band I always knew. You’ve got Mick, Keith and Charlie, who were always there, and Ronnie – he’s earned his Stone-ness. I see a good little rock & roll band – not as good as the Beatles, but good.”

Working with Kanye West: “We had a few afternoons at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The only deal I made with Kanye was that if it doesn’t work, we won’t tell anyone. I didn’t know his system. I’d heard things like, “He’s got a room full of guys working on riffs, and he walks around going, ‘I like that one.’ ” It reminded me of Andy Warhol, these artists who use students to paint their backgrounds and things. It’s a well-used technique. I thought, “I don’t know how I’m going to fit into that, but let’s see. Here goes nothing.”

Whether he thinks Kanye is a genius: “I don’t throw that word around [laughs]. I think he’s a great artist. Take My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I played it when I was cooking, and it was like, “This is good. There’s some really innovative stuff.” When the word came from his people, through my people [laughs], I thought, “Let’s give it a go.”

He listens to hip-hop: “I listen to it for, you could call it, education. I hear a lot of it and go to concerts occasionally. I went to see Jay Z and Kanye when they toured. I’ve seen Drake live. It’s the music of now.

How the music industry works now: “I’ve given up trying to figure it out. You can’t. Like this Pure album – I’ll get rung up: “It’s Number Three.” “Wow, that’s cool, man. What did it sell?” “15,000.” I think inside, “It’s a joke, man – 15,000 a day was not good then.” But that’s the new world in record sales, unless you’re Rihanna or Beyoncé. I’ll put out my next album, but I won’t think I’m gonna sell a lot. I’m putting it out because I have songs that I like. And I will do my best job. The scene has changed, but it doesn’t disturb me, because I had the best of it – selling 100,000 a day on something like “Mull of Kintyre.” I’ve had the joy of that. If I don’t have it now, it’s not just about me. All of my contemporaries, who are still pretty cool, don’t have it, because things have moved on. And you know what? We had it. And it was great.”

[From Rolling Stone]

This was such a good interview, right? I found the end quite sad but philosophical – the music industry has changed so much, but that’s alright, because he got to be successful in a different time. One of the saddest passages in the in piece is when Paul is asked if he feels like he has anyone in the music industry to go to for advice, and he basically says no, because John is dead. John was Paul’s only real contemporary and equal, according to Paul. I really do think that had Lennon lived, they probably would have reunited at some point, probably in the 1990s.

Photos courtesy of WENN.