308 words on Music
The other day there was a 1971 documentary about a free 1969 gig by The Rolling Stones on telly. Besides the nice and not-so-nice details about organising and staging that concert, it seemed to me that – despite statements to the contrary – Mick Jagger did actually look young back then. In particular he seems to have a love-love relationship with cameras. In a strange coincidence The Joy of Tech are running a cartoon on the young Mick Jagger today, doing a good job at matching his looks – and of course chucking in a good deal of self-promotion.
Watching that documentary also made me realise that The Rolling Stones even manage to 'rock' when playing songs that are most likely considered 'lame' by today's audiences. Given the additional numbness in audiences that the past decades brought, it takes a great deal of 'work' in your head to realise that those songs still 'rock' despite having less beats per minute or decibels than the offerings of contemporary bands.
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesseThe Rolling Stones, Sympathy for the Devil
After that I had to indulge in a Rolling Stones weekend, having to admit to myself that only having two 'best of' CDs is probably less than adequate. Richard recommended Cat Power's cover version of Satisfaction to me, which is very different from the Stones' version – but very nice. Just lyrics-wise those songe are still up-to-date.
Still, I don't feel compelled to visit one of the Stones' concerts these days, fearing that they or the audience might embarrass themselves.Who doesn't remember the scene in Almost Famous where people laugh at the thought of the Stones still playing decades later? People say they concerts are still surprinsingly good, though, so I might be wrong.