John Oates is still 'really proud' of Hall & Oates despite ex-bandmate's restraining order

John Oates hasn't lost that lovin' feeling.

The rock icon is embroiled in a legal battle with Hall & Oates bandmate Daryl Hall, after Hall filed a temporary restraining order against him last month, stemming from a contested joint venture between the artists. But Oates hasn't let the skirmish sour his opinion of their music.

"You can't ignore the fact that the Hall & Oates catalog of hits and the 50-year career will always trump almost anything that Daryl does on his own or I do on my own, which is OK because I'm very proud of that music," Oates said, speaking to David Yontef on Wednesday's episode of the podcast "Behind the Velvet Rope."

"I'm really proud of what Daryl and I created together," he continued. "I think we made music that will stand the test of time."

Hall & Oates topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart six times throughout the 1970s and '80s, with songs including "Maneater," "Rich Girl" and "Kiss On My List." But Oates, 75, told Yontef that he doesn't feel "nostalgic" for the duo's heyday.

"I don't like to live in the past," Oates said. "I make the analogy of what it's like when you go to a great museum and you're really excited to go and see all the beautiful paintings or the exhibits or whatever it might be, and then near the end, your feet start to hurt and you say, 'You know what? I can't wait to get out of here.' That's kind of how I feel about it."

Oates said there was "no time for reflection" during the "very intense" period of pop stardom.

"It was a lot of business demands," he recalled. "We had No. 1 record after No. 1 record. We were traveling around the world constantly. Everyone thinks that that was probably the high point of my life, but to be honest with you, it actually wasn't my favorite time. I have moved on. It's just a matter of living in my present."

Hall's lawsuit, filed Nov. 16, centers on Oates' attempt to sell off his share of their joint venture, Whole Oats Enterprises LLP, which would violate the terms of a business agreement the Hall & Oates duo had forged, The Associated Press reported at the time. The move quickly prompted a judge to temporarily block the sale while legal proceedings and a previously initiated arbitration continue.

The joint venture in question includes Hall & Oates trademarks, personal name and likeness rights, record royalty income and website and social media assets, according to a declaration filed by Hall two weeks after his lawsuit against Oates.

Elsewhere during this week's episode of "Behind the Velvet Rope," Oates opened up to Yontef about his recent stint on "The Masked Singer," reinventing "Walking in Memphis" as an "EDM dance song," and his admiration for pop supernova Taylor Swift.

"What she has accomplished musically and commercially is unprecedented," Oates explained. "She just keeps getting better and better, and that’s the mark of a true artist."

Contributing: Erin Jensen and Edward Segarra, USA TODAY; Jonathan Mattise, The Associated Press