On the Rolling Stones, America, sadness, and hope
Their Great Satanic Majesties, the Rolling Stones, released a new album this past summer, Foreign Tongues . I listened to some of it on my home from work last night. First off: Listen to it. That Sir Mick Jagger and Mr. Keith Richards can still write such vibrant and urgent music at an age when most other pop music stars are cashing in checks on nostalgia tours is truly a sign of their genius. They sound as dynamic as they did during their golden years, mining American blues and R&B with reverence and respect and joy. There really is no other band like them. And this might be heresy to say, but here goes: If the Beatles were still together, with John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney still a writing duo, I don't think they'd be writing anything as good as Jagger-Richards. The Stones have settled the long debate over who was better, not just by outliving their rivals, but by still producing work of spirit and vigor more than sixty years after they formed. The last song I listene...
