N.Y. Rock:On No Substance you seem almost bitter...
Greg:I'm not bitter, but if you are aware of our culture, which I think I am, then you see how it's becoming more and more superficial and I'm addressing that. The media and TV seem to take over peoples' brains. [People] don't want to see what happens in the real world. Their minds get corrupted by fashion. There's nothing wrong with enjoying fashion, if it's just a casual enjoyment, but it isn't just that anymore; it has become compulsive. The increase of cosmetic surgery is a big indicator for me in that respect.
People are too focused on the outside, on looks, and they neglect everything else. If looks are all that matter to you, then you admit that other values, like political awareness and social conscience, carry no meaning for you. You focus too much on things that have no substance. If you base your whole life on looks, then remember that they're not going to last. They're only skin deep and what will happen if your looks fade? More cosmetic surgery, if you can afford it? Erasing everything that's characteristic and replacing it with a plain plastic Barbie smoothness is not beautiful. It's a misconception of beauty. Real beauty, [however], springs from within.
(Here is a part of an interveiw greg did in 1998)
N.Y. Rock:On No Substance you seem almost bitter...
Greg:I'm not bitter, but if you are aware of our culture, which I think I am, then you see how it's becoming more and more superficial and I'm addressing that. The media and TV seem to take over peoples' brains. [People] don't want to see what happens in the real world. Their minds get corrupted by fashion. There's nothing wrong with enjoying fashion, if it's just a casual enjoyment, but it isn't just that anymore; it has become compulsive. The increase of cosmetic surgery is a big indicator for me in that respect.
People are too focused on the outside, on looks, and they neglect everything else. If looks are all that matter to you, then you admit that other values, like political awareness and social conscience, carry no meaning for you. You focus too much on things that have no substance. If you base your whole life on looks, then remember that they're not going to last. They're only skin deep and what will happen if your looks fade? More cosmetic surgery, if you can afford it? Erasing everything that's characteristic and replacing it with a plain plastic Barbie smoothness is not beautiful. It's a misconception of beauty. Real beauty, [however], springs from within.