Rock and Roll: Music for the neck downwards.

Richards’ quip frames rock and roll as fundamentally physical rather than cerebral: it is music that compels movement, dancing, and bodily response (“the neck downwards”) more than intellectual contemplation. The line also functions as a defense of rock’s directness—its power lies in groove, rhythm, and feel, not in virtuoso complexity or lofty themes. Coming from a guitarist celebrated for riff-driven playing, the remark aligns with his long-standing emphasis on timing, swing, and the communal, kinetic energy of performance. It implicitly contrasts rock with genres stereotyped as “head” music, suggesting rock’s authenticity is measured in how it moves people.