Oooh, ooh, he's halfway there

Jim McCabe, rather generously, suggests that Jon Bon Jovi's curiously aggressive interview in today's Guardian might have been a bad homage to Spinal Tap. To us, though, it just looks like a humourless old bore who feels he's above it all:

Your music is often defined as soft rock or rock light. How do you feel about that?

You can call it whatever you want - it's Bon Jovi.

Is that people being snobby?

It's not for me to decide what someone's perception is, darlin', it's theirs.

Do you care what reviewers think?

Is that what this interview is about?

I have a whole load of questions.

Move on.

Really?

Don't get like that.

OK. I didn't mean to upset you.

You're not upsetting me. Don't belittle yourself. If you want to talk about music, let's talk.

Later on, it becomes clear that Jon doesn't think he gets enough respect from the media in Britain:

Is the rock industry sexist?

I don't give it much thought. I can't comment.

You must have female friends who are musicians?

I can't comment on that.

Is rock as a genre in decline?

No.

Did you have too much success too young?

No, we didn't actually. It took us three albums to get any notoriety.

But when you got it, it was pretty massive?

Yes, it was. Slippery When Wet is a phenomenon. The trick was not getting it; it was staying there.

Is it true that you hit a depression and didn't know what to do next?

Sure. There is a reason why it is called the music business. It was a drag to find out it wasn't just about music, it was about running a business, but you either get over that hump or you fall back into a lesser state of success or eventual breaking-up or obscurity or whatever.

How did you stick with it? Was it therapy?

No, no, no, crap, the English media, you guys just love this shit, that's why I'm not a bigger "celebrity". I can't sit here and ...

What do we love? What "shit"? What do you mean?

Forget it - I'm not even going to jab with you. So, it's just what it is.

Do you find British press tricky compared with Americans?

Cheeky. Isn't that the word for it?

You mean asking deliberately annoying questions?

[Laughs] Yeah.

Of course he prefers the American media, with its 'here's a question your PR people asked me to ask'/'when's the album out' agenda; but if Jovi wanted to talk about the music, why was his reaction to the (fair) 'soft rock' question so bristly?