SLIPKNOT's COREY TAYLOR: 'I'm Just As Stupid As Everybody Else'

SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR singer Corey Taylor released his third book, “You’re Making Me Hate You: A Cantankerous Look At The Common Misconception That Humans Have Any Common Sense Left”, on Tuesday (July 7) via Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group. The book acts as a commentary on society and pop culture and has been described as “Taylor‘s take on Peter Griffin‘s ‘You Know What Really Grinds My Gears’.”

Taylor is promoting the book with a combination of bookstore events and a solo tour which are one-of-a-kind shows featuring readings from the book, acoustic performance, and audience discussion.

Video footage of Taylor‘s July 9 question-and-answer session about “You’re Making Me Hate You” at Book Revue in Huntington, New York can be seen below (courtesy of Artisan News). A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On what inspired him to write “You’re Making Me Hate You”:

“I have the pleasure, and the displeasure sometimes, of traveling the world, obviously, with SLIPKNOT, with STONE SOUR. I get to go to go to a lot of different countries, play for a lot of different people, and I realize that stupidity doesn’t know any boundaries. It’s pretty much a global conspiracy to drive me [nuts]. So I just kind started keeping mental ticks in my head, just trying to figure out… just like, ‘Okay, that drives me nuts.’ ‘Oh, that really drives me nuts.’ And it just kind of started shaping in my head. And I actually had the idea for this right around the time I did [2011’s] ‘Seven Deadly Sins’, but I figured with my first book, I didn’t wanna just come out of the gate with, ‘I hate everything,’ I wanted to warm you to the fact that I hate everything. So I kind of kept it on the backburner, and, thankfully, because the world never lets me down, so much other weird stuff happened between having the idea and actually putting pen to paper. I mean, Justin Bieber alone could have his own damn chapter. So… that guy. Are you kidding me with that guy?! So, yeah, I’ve had the idea for a long time, but, at the same time, I didn’t want the book to come off as preachy, as self-righteous. I’m just as stupid as everybody else. And that’s the whole reason I have the chapter where I basically eviscerate myself for your pleasure. I’m so riddled with idiocy sometimes that it’s painful to deal with. So, yeah, it was just, like, ‘Look, I’m just as bad, so let’s laugh about it together, but also, let’s figure it out.’ So that was it.”

On whether he is honestly worried about getting sued over some of the things he says in his new book:

“Yeah. I mean, you kind of have to be. I mean, the shit that I say in the book… When you’ve got a family and you have responsibilities, you have to worry about whether or not you pissed off some butthurt rock star who can’t take a joke. But, at the same time, nothing that I said I couldn’t prove with a pen and paper. It’s just, like, ‘Here. I’ll do the math. There you go: you suck.’ But at the same time, I am an asshole. I embrace my inner asshole. I know that things come out of my mouth that I can’t get back and I just let ’em flow. It’s like chasing butterflies through a park. Good luck. So, if I’m not willing to back it up, I shouldn’t say it, and I’m absolutely ready to back up everything that I’ve said. So, if that makes me an asshole, so be it. If people wanna try and sue me, go ahead. I’ll take your ass to court too. I’ll countersue. ‘Did you call me an asshole?’ You know… So, screw ’em.”

During an appearance on the Nerdist podcast, Taylor stated about “You’re Making Me Hate You”: “It’s fucking brutal. It’s just me basically trashing everyone.”

Taylor said that his original title — which the publisher refused to allow him to use — was “You’re Making Me Hate You (Or How Justin Bieber Sucked A Million Dicks To Make His Money)”.

Taylor‘s last book, “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Heaven”, was published in the summer of 2013 and landed at No. 23 on the New York Times “Hardcover Non-Fiction” best sellers list.

His first book, 2011’s “Seven Deadly Sins: Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good”, also made the list at No. 26.

Taylor will hit the the road later this month with SLIPKNOT, who are touring in support of the band’s latest album, “.5: The Gray Chapter”.