Quote
Loudei
I am a fan Of Stones music, not a fanatic or a Stone fundamentalist or a protector of the holy grail either.

Cool

-------------------
Keep On Rolling

Quote
Loudei
There is one man in this world that preaches brutal truth and that is Keith Richards. I very much admire him for that. In my heart I know he knows he is not the same musician he once was and probably hurts him too. But this monkey clown act must stop! A little musicianship and respect for the music would be nice... actually it would make my high go even higher, my alcohol buzz would kick in nicer if I would hear more instead of relying on a visual performances that would make my mind masturbate itself with nostalgia.

What a joke... fans in denial ... pathetic

It all comes down to the hear-and-now. If they tour, we KNOW the prices are going to be absolutley reDONKulous. So ask yourself, what are you paying for? We're all different that way because we all get something different out of this band.

For me, I choose to play what I consider GOOD Stones music (basically studio from 68-81 and the live boots from those tours within those years). Undercover to Bigger Bang pretty much do little but collect dust.I don't really care if they release any new music anymore because, well, how good could it possibly be? I'm well over the phase in my life where I'd buy anything that they'd slap their logo on.

There's been better music by artists OTHER THAN The Stones from '83 onwards. WAY better. Especially today's indie bands - where real music is still being made and played.

For me, The Vegas Stones don't have a real connection between that corporate enity vs when they were actually a real rock band (they haven't been since '82 - THIRTY YEARS AGO).

So, Keith can pose, prance, fist-bump, write a trash-Mick piece of garbage, sing atrociously, hold a guitar and play Pirate Sparrow all he wants. I've accepted that he's no longer an artist, no longer a real musician, but someone who's ben lucky that the target of his contempt is the reason why he still has a 'career'.

Here's the kicker though. For me, I can very easily pass up a change to be charged as much as possible to witness this '50 Year' thing - whatever it is, if it even happens, etc, etc.

It's not like there aren't other musical things to enjoy. For me, anyways.

[thepowergoats.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-10 00:16 by jamesfdouglas.

Quote
backstreetboy1
i think keiths playing was great on shine a light.did you watch it with earplugs in.

Agreed. His playing was superb in Shine A Light. The only trouble was the way he kept flicking his plectrum(s) into the audience, then finishing up songs with his fingers, which then diminished the forcefulness of said numbers somewhat.

I watch the DVD with BOSE headphones. So if you listen closely, perhaps you can answer this one: During Faraway Eyes, Keith is leaning his right wrist on the mic while singing harmony and someone from the audience, a woman, yells something up at Keith, who laughs and replies "Shut up! A-Huh huh huh huh!"

Can you hear what it is the audience member is yelling out to Keith? Something about him having faraway eyes, perhaps?

Keith sang the wrong line, sounds like someone called him out on it, so pro as he is, tells them to shut up.

[thepowergoats.com]

Quote
jamesfdouglas
I've accepted that he's no longer an artist, no longer a real musician, but someone who's been lucky that the target of his contempt is the reason why he still has a 'career'.

Exactly

no one can take keiths achievements away from him, would love to see him one last time, but if he cant play why dont the band announce its all over, i would respect them better for it, the end has to happen sometime. theyve given so many people so much over so many years, they have nothing to prove and they owe no one.

Quote
jamesfdouglas

Quote
Loudei
There is one man in this world that preaches brutal truth and that is Keith Richards. I very much admire him for that. In my heart I know he knows he is not the same musician he once was and probably hurts him too. But this monkey clown act must stop! A little musicianship and respect for the music would be nice... actually it would make my high go even higher, my alcohol buzz would kick in nicer if I would hear more instead of relying on a visual performances that would make my mind masturbate itself with nostalgia.

What a joke... fans in denial ... pathetic

It all comes down to the hear-and-now. If they tour, we KNOW the prices are going to be absolutley reDONKulous. So ask yourself, what are you paying for? We're all different that way because we all get something different out of this band.

For me, I choose to play what I consider GOOD Stones music (basically studio from 68-81 and the live boots from those tours within those years). Undercover to Bigger Bang pretty much do little but collect dust.I don't really care if they release any new music anymore because, well, how good could it possibly be? I'm well over the phase in my life where I'd buy anything that they'd slap their logo on.

There's been better music by artists OTHER THAN The Stones from '83 onwards. WAY better. Especially today's indie bands - where real music is still being made and played.

For me, The Vegas Stones don't have a real connection between that corporate enity vs when they were actually a real rock band (they haven't been since '82 - THIRTY YEARS AGO).

So, Keith can pose, prance, fist-bump, write a trash-Mick piece of garbage, sing atrociously, hold a guitar and play Pirate Sparrow all he wants. I've accepted that he's no longer an artist, no longer a real musician, but someone who's ben lucky that the target of his contempt is the reason why he still has a 'career'.

Here's the kicker though. For me, I can very easily pass up a change to be charged as much as possible to witness this '50 Year' thing - whatever it is, if it even happens, etc, etc.

It's not like there aren't other musical things to enjoy. For me, anyways.

So, is it fair to say that you are no longer a fan of the band as it exists today, or since 1981?

Quote
MightyStonesStillRollin50
So, is it fair to say that you are no longer a fan of the band as it exists today, or since 1981?

Good question.
I became a fan around '87 (around 14 years old). I'd gone through the Beatles-obsession period, devouring as much as I could from them that I could afford working fast-food at the time. While my friends were blaring The Cult and Guns and Roses, I was looking back to a previous generation's rock heroes since I felt the late 80's music was bad - even then. The Beatles and Stones thing turned quickly to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and (to some extent) The Who. Classic Rock was my musical diet, growing into things like Neil Young, Dylan, CSNY, The Greatful Dead and The Allman Brothers, etc (never got too exited about The Doors).

1989 was the first time I'd seen The Stones, and it was my first 'big show' that I'd had to spend time in line to get tickets (a whopping $36 at the time - hahahaha!), travel money, the whole bit, all on my own. I started collecting bootleg vinyl and (snicker) casettes, books, anything! My fandom was shot over the moon. By 1994 I was fronting a Stones cover band at the ripe age of 20. I was drinking from the Stones Kool-Aid HARD until 1995.

1995 was the year of The Great Grave Robbery by The Threatles; Anthology. Taking 1980 demos of Lennon and arbitrarily slapping on Paul and George verses, branding it as Beatles - I was grossed out and turned off of Beatles music for a LONG time after that. So what do their 'peers' come out with - an album that looked promising on paper, but for me truly failed to deliver the goods. Stripped was Diet Stones, and the more The Stones promoted themselves as a bass-less four-piece, and the more Voodoo boots that lacked punch and bite that I heard (like alomst-identical-yet-weaker warhorses that only sounded like Steel Wheels - WITHOUT Bill). Jagger seemed to truly go through the motions, passionless, bored and unsmiling. HE was letting me down then - Not Keith!!!
Oh yeah - selling Start Me Up to Windows that year... respect was truly Slipping Away...

Then The Rock and Roll Circus & Jamming w/ Edward came out and I LOVED them!! My imagination started to run wild of possible future archive releases (that we didn't start getting until the last 3 years). My fandom went up a notch, and word of a new studio album in 1997. Unfortunately the first single was Anybody Seen My Baby - which already seemed gloom due to the whole kd lang thing (which was a big deal here in Canada). Another tour, another live-album seeming great-but-lackluster anyways. This was repeated for me too many times. But in '97 Keith began really opening his mouth and hasn't really stopped since. By the end of the whole Bigger Bang thing in 2007, I was in fan-dispair mode. Shine A Light was pretty much it for me. I didn't listen to The STones much until Mick raided the vaults, and I started posting here again. Ironically, it was around that time that something waws going on with new music. "Alternative" in the 90s didn't do much for me (it wasn't a real movement, just a post-80's fad - still run by the big, fat record lables, but in the late '00s, the internet's grip on culture shifts was finally beating the out-of-touch big labels who were losing the game.

Indie artists became the last-standing shread of musical integrity, and for the first time in my life I became INSANELY passionate about music coming out in real-time.

Now I still love lstening to the old stuff - it's amazing music and always will be. But when I look back at all of my first-hand experiences with the band from 1989 onwards, I grew to realize that I never really, truly saw them in their greatness. I'm I envious of those who did? Hell yeah. Do I wish they would put out something amazing - of course! But I know it's not going to happen.

What we have now in 2012 though is just a number. The Stones have been inactive for (yet another) half-decade. How does this add up to 50? because the 4 chairmen are still alive? They CLEARLY can't perform anymore with the shape Keith is in. I'm not happy about that, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but it's the truth. I'm almost afraid to hear them play now. My inner-teen has been crushed enough by their wallet-gouging, greed, and complete lack of any artistic vision that I hear and feel on those scorchingly amazing albums of their FAR past.

I hope that answers your question.

[thepowergoats.com]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-10 02:52 by jamesfdouglas.

You really nailed it there.

Quote
jamesfdouglas

Quote
Loudei
There is one man in this world that preaches brutal truth and that is Keith Richards. I very much admire him for that. In my heart I know he knows he is not the same musician he once was and probably hurts him too. But this monkey clown act must stop! A little musicianship and respect for the music would be nice... actually it would make my high go even higher, my alcohol buzz would kick in nicer if I would hear more instead of relying on a visual performances that would make my mind masturbate itself with nostalgia.

What a joke... fans in denial ... pathetic

It all comes down to the hear-and-now. If they tour, we KNOW the prices are going to be absolutley reDONKulous. So ask yourself, what are you paying for? We're all different that way because we all get something different out of this band.

For me, I choose to play what I consider GOOD Stones music (basically studio from 68-81 and the live boots from those tours within those years). Undercover to Bigger Bang pretty much do little but collect dust.I don't really care if they release any new music anymore because, well, how good could it possibly be? I'm well over the phase in my life where I'd buy anything that they'd slap their logo on.

There's been better music by artists OTHER THAN The Stones from '83 onwards. WAY better. Especially today's indie bands - where real music is still being made and played.

For me, The Vegas Stones don't have a real connection between that corporate enity vs when they were actually a real rock band (they haven't been since '82 - THIRTY YEARS AGO).

So, Keith can pose, prance, fist-bump, write a trash-Mick piece of garbage, sing atrociously, hold a guitar and play Pirate Sparrow all he wants. I've accepted that he's no longer an artist, no longer a real musician, but someone who's ben lucky that the target of his contempt is the reason why he still has a 'career'.

Here's the kicker though. For me, I can very easily pass up a change to be charged as much as possible to witness this '50 Year' thing - whatever it is, if it even happens, etc, etc.

It's not like there aren't other musical things to enjoy. For me, anyways.

Well said James,

Although older I feel the same way. Being older I became a fan of the Stone at 14 in 1981.

I love the Stones and they are still the biggest most influencial band of all time IMO. Yes not in the last 25 years but still you can't blame them for living long lives and being caught up in what they started.

There is great new music if you look for it.

Rock on.

Mark

Quote
jamesfdouglas

Quote
MightyStonesStillRollin50
So, is it fair to say that you are no longer a fan of the band as it exists today, or since 1981?

Good question.
I became a fan around '87 (around 14 years old). I'd gone through the Beatles-obsession period, devouring as much as I could from them that I could afford working fast-food at the time. While my friends were blaring The Cult and Guns and Roses, I was looking back to a previous generation's rock heroes since I felt the late 80's music was bad - even then. The Beatles and Stones thing turned quickly to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and (to some extent) The Who. Classic Rock was my musical diet, growing into things like Neil Young, Dylan, CSNY, The Greatful Dead and The Allman Brothers, etc (never got too exited about The Doors).

1989 was the first time I'd seen The Stones, and it was my first 'big show' that I'd had to spend time in line to get tickets (a whopping $36 at the time - hahahaha!), travel money, the whole bit, all on my own. I started collecting bootleg vinyl and (snicker) casettes, books, anything! My fandom was shot over the moon. By 1994 I was fronting a Stones cover band at the ripe age of 20. I was drinking from the Stones Kool-Aid HARD until 1995.

1995 was the year of The Great Grave Robbery by The Threatles; Anthology. Taking 1980 demos of Lennon and arbitrarily slapping on Paul and George verses, branding it as Beatles - I was grossed out and turned off of Beatles music for a LONG time after that. So what do their 'peers' come out with - an album that looked promising on paper, but for me truly failed to deliver the goods. Stripped was Diet Stones, and the more The Stones promoted themselves as a bass-less four-piece, and the more Voodoo boots that lacked punch and bite that I heard (like alomst-identical-yet-weaker warhorses that only sounded like Steel Wheels - WITHOUT Bill). Jagger seemed to truly go through the motions, passionless, bored and unsmiling. HE was letting me down then - Not Keith!!!
Oh yeah - selling Start Me Up to Windows that year... respect was truly Slipping Away...

Then The Rock and Roll Circus & Jamming w/ Edward came out and I LOVED them!! My imagination started to run wild of possible future archive releases (that we didn't start getting until the last 3 years). My fandom went up a notch, and word of a new studio album in 1997. Unfortunately the first single was Anybody Seen My Baby - which already seemed gloom due to the whole kd lang thing (which was a big deal here in Canada). Another tour, another live-album seeming great-but-lackluster anyways. This was repeated for me too many times. But in '97 Keith began really opening his mouth and hasn't really stopped since. By the end of the whole Bigger Bang thing in 2007, I was in fan-dispair mode. Shine A Light was pretty much it for me. I didn't listen to The STones much until Mick raided the vaults, and I started posting here again. Ironically, it was around that time that something waws going on with new music. "Alternative" in the 90s didn't do much for me (it wasn't a real movement, just a post-80's fad - still run by the big, fat record lables, but in the late '00s, the internet's grip on culture shifts was finally beating the out-of-touch big labels who were losing the game.

Indie artists became the last-standing shread of musical integrity, and for the first time in my life I became INSANELY passionate about music coming out in real-time.

Now I still love lstening to the old stuff - it's amazing music and always will be. But when I look back at all of my first-hand experiences with the band from 1989 onwards, I grew to realize that I never really, truly saw them in their greatness. I'm I envious of those who did? Hell yeah. Do I wish they would put out something amazing - of course! But I know it's not going to happen.

What we have now in 2012 though is just a number. The Stones have been inactive for (yet another) half-decade. How does this add up to 50? because the 4 chairmen are still alive? They CLEARLY can't perform anymore with the shape Keith is in. I'm not happy about that, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but it's the truth. I'm almost afraid to hear them play now. My inner-teen has been crushed enough by their wallet-gouging, greed, and complete lack of any artistic vision that I hear and feel on those scorchingly amazing albums of their FAR past.

I hope that answers your question.

Tom and Keith




More Tom and some nice harmonies from Keith





Hubert and and nice vocal from Keith





My teen years are long gone... Still grooving on The Stones and looking forward to the celebration continuing.

Quote
jamesfdouglas

Quote
MightyStonesStillRollin50
So, is it fair to say that you are no longer a fan of the band as it exists today, or since 1981?

Good question.
I became a fan around '87 (around 14 years old). I'd gone through the Beatles-obsession period, devouring as much as I could from them that I could afford working fast-food at the time. While my friends were blaring The Cult and Guns and Roses, I was looking back to a previous generation's rock heroes since I felt the late 80's music was bad - even then. The Beatles and Stones thing turned quickly to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and (to some extent) The Who. Classic Rock was my musical diet, growing into things like Neil Young, Dylan, CSNY, The Greatful Dead and The Allman Brothers, etc (never got too exited about The Doors).

1989 was the first time I'd seen The Stones, and it was my first 'big show' that I'd had to spend time in line to get tickets (a whopping $36 at the time - hahahaha!), travel money, the whole bit, all on my own. I started collecting bootleg vinyl and (snicker) casettes, books, anything! My fandom was shot over the moon. By 1994 I was fronting a Stones cover band at the ripe age of 20. I was drinking from the Stones Kool-Aid HARD until 1995.

1995 was the year of The Great Grave Robbery by The Threatles; Anthology. Taking 1980 demos of Lennon and arbitrarily slapping on Paul and George verses, branding it as Beatles - I was grossed out and turned off of Beatles music for a LONG time after that. So what do their 'peers' come out with - an album that looked promising on paper, but for me truly failed to deliver the goods. Stripped was Diet Stones, and the more The Stones promoted themselves as a bass-less four-piece, and the more Voodoo boots that lacked punch and bite that I heard (like alomst-identical-yet-weaker warhorses that only sounded like Steel Wheels - WITHOUT Bill). Jagger seemed to truly go through the motions, passionless, bored and unsmiling. HE was letting me down then - Not Keith!!!
Oh yeah - selling Start Me Up to Windows that year... respect was truly Slipping Away...

Then The Rock and Roll Circus & Jamming w/ Edward came out and I LOVED them!! My imagination started to run wild of possible future archive releases (that we didn't start getting until the last 3 years). My fandom went up a notch, and word of a new studio album in 1997. Unfortunately the first single was Anybody Seen My Baby - which already seemed gloom due to the whole kd lang thing (which was a big deal here in Canada). Another tour, another live-album seeming great-but-lackluster anyways. This was repeated for me too many times. But in '97 Keith began really opening his mouth and hasn't really stopped since. By the end of the whole Bigger Bang thing in 2007, I was in fan-dispair mode. Shine A Light was pretty much it for me. I didn't listen to The STones much until Mick raided the vaults, and I started posting here again. Ironically, it was around that time that something waws going on with new music. "Alternative" in the 90s didn't do much for me (it wasn't a real movement, just a post-80's fad - still run by the big, fat record lables, but in the late '00s, the internet's grip on culture shifts was finally beating the out-of-touch big labels who were losing the game.

Indie artists became the last-standing shread of musical integrity, and for the first time in my life I became INSANELY passionate about music coming out in real-time.

Now I still love lstening to the old stuff - it's amazing music and always will be. But when I look back at all of my first-hand experiences with the band from 1989 onwards, I grew to realize that I never really, truly saw them in their greatness. I'm I envious of those who did? Hell yeah. Do I wish they would put out something amazing - of course! But I know it's not going to happen.

What we have now in 2012 though is just a number. The Stones have been inactive for (yet another) half-decade. How does this add up to 50? because the 4 chairmen are still alive? They CLEARLY can't perform anymore with the shape Keith is in. I'm not happy about that, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but it's the truth. I'm almost afraid to hear them play now. My inner-teen has been crushed enough by their wallet-gouging, greed, and complete lack of any artistic vision that I hear and feel on those scorchingly amazing albums of their FAR past.

I hope that answers your question.

James, thank you very much for answering the question in such detail. Very impressive!

It always amazes me how subjective music is. I grew up in the fifties and sixties so I was fortunate to have seen them from the very beginning. I am not a musician, but was around them from the time I was a teenager. My brother was a bass player in a band that rehearsed in our basement. Of course, "Beatlemania" had a huge impact on us as kids. All the British bands did. The Stones were definitely one of our favorites, but there was just so many great bands around at that time to choose from. I saw the Beach Boys live in 1964. Being from the northwest we loved The Sonics and The Wailers - not the Bob Marley version, but the original Wailers from Tacoma, Washington. Of course, we were fans of Hendrix, and Bob Dylan.

By the mid seventies I kind of drifted away from rock 'n roll. I still listened to whatever was popular on the local radio stations but I was no longer paying much attention to what the Stones were doing. Of course they continued to produce the occasional hit so it's not like I had lost total "sight" of them. The years rolled by and then about ten years ago I re-discovered them while flipping channels late one February evening. It was a replay on HBO of their January concert in 2003 at Madison Square Garden. I was blown away! I have been a fan ever since.

As a non musician I am not sure I can tell the difference between "great" playing and "not so great" playing. I watch my DVD's and everything (to my eye) looks and sounds great. I watched Austin last night from ABB. I thought Keith looked and sounded great. I listen to all my DVD's on Bose headphones. I love all their live performances that have been captured on DVD. Outside of the latest Some Girls bonus tracks I rarely listen to the Stones on CD. I prefer their live performances on DVD.

A few years ago I began listening in here and was blown away at how many fans (primarily musicians, I think) were critical of Keith and the Stones themselves. It seems many around here agree with you that the Stones haven't done anything of any real value in a long long time and that Keith has become a really bad guitar player and should hang it up. As a non musician I don't know what to think. Some musicians around here seem to think his playing is OK.

In a way I am glad I am not a musician or have any knowledge of the guitar because it might just ruin the whole experience for me. My guess is, that most concert goers are like me and have little clue when a musician is screwing up or playing bad. To me, it's the overall sound and atmosphere that I enjoy so much about a Stones concert. I also think the personalities of the performers has a lot to do with whether you like a band or not. Despite their many faults I still like Keith, Mick, and Ronnie, and who couldn't love Charlie? I am sure another factor is that I grew up watching these guys from the time I was a teenager. It's a way of holding onto your youth. The fact that the Stones are still alive and at least hinting at working together again gives all us old farts hope, that maybe we can remain relevant for awhile longer. Does that make any sense to you?

Quote
stonesnow

Quote
backstreetboy1
i think keiths playing was great on shine a light.did you watch it with earplugs in.

Agreed. His playing was superb in Shine A Light. The only trouble was the way he kept flicking his plectrum(s) into the audience, then finishing up songs with his fingers, which then diminished the forcefulness of said numbers somewhat.

I watch the DVD with BOSE headphones. So if you listen closely, perhaps you can answer this one: During Faraway Eyes, Keith is leaning his right wrist on the mic while singing harmony and someone from the audience, a woman, yells something up at Keith, who laughs and replies "Shut up! A-Huh huh huh huh!"

Can you hear what it is the audience member is yelling out to Keith? Something about him having faraway eyes, perhaps?

If it was one of the girls down front, it was more likely to be 'who are you' ?

Quote
Loudei
When did the "cool" of his playing go?

That is the question. Maybe when the hair gave up on him. Im actually serious.

Quote
MightyStonesStillRollin50

Quote
jamesfdouglas

Quote
MightyStonesStillRollin50
So, is it fair to say that you are no longer a fan of the band as it exists today, or since 1981?

Good question.
I became a fan around '87 (around 14 years old). I'd gone through the Beatles-obsession period, devouring as much as I could from them that I could afford working fast-food at the time. While my friends were blaring The Cult and Guns and Roses, I was looking back to a previous generation's rock heroes since I felt the late 80's music was bad - even then. The Beatles and Stones thing turned quickly to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and (to some extent) The Who. Classic Rock was my musical diet, growing into things like Neil Young, Dylan, CSNY, The Greatful Dead and The Allman Brothers, etc (never got too exited about The Doors).

1989 was the first time I'd seen The Stones, and it was my first 'big show' that I'd had to spend time in line to get tickets (a whopping $36 at the time - hahahaha!), travel money, the whole bit, all on my own. I started collecting bootleg vinyl and (snicker) casettes, books, anything! My fandom was shot over the moon. By 1994 I was fronting a Stones cover band at the ripe age of 20. I was drinking from the Stones Kool-Aid HARD until 1995.

1995 was the year of The Great Grave Robbery by The Threatles; Anthology. Taking 1980 demos of Lennon and arbitrarily slapping on Paul and George verses, branding it as Beatles - I was grossed out and turned off of Beatles music for a LONG time after that. So what do their 'peers' come out with - an album that looked promising on paper, but for me truly failed to deliver the goods. Stripped was Diet Stones, and the more The Stones promoted themselves as a bass-less four-piece, and the more Voodoo boots that lacked punch and bite that I heard (like alomst-identical-yet-weaker warhorses that only sounded like Steel Wheels - WITHOUT Bill). Jagger seemed to truly go through the motions, passionless, bored and unsmiling. HE was letting me down then - Not Keith!!!
Oh yeah - selling Start Me Up to Windows that year... respect was truly Slipping Away...

Then The Rock and Roll Circus & Jamming w/ Edward came out and I LOVED them!! My imagination started to run wild of possible future archive releases (that we didn't start getting until the last 3 years). My fandom went up a notch, and word of a new studio album in 1997. Unfortunately the first single was Anybody Seen My Baby - which already seemed gloom due to the whole kd lang thing (which was a big deal here in Canada). Another tour, another live-album seeming great-but-lackluster anyways. This was repeated for me too many times. But in '97 Keith began really opening his mouth and hasn't really stopped since. By the end of the whole Bigger Bang thing in 2007, I was in fan-dispair mode. Shine A Light was pretty much it for me. I didn't listen to The STones much until Mick raided the vaults, and I started posting here again. Ironically, it was around that time that something waws going on with new music. "Alternative" in the 90s didn't do much for me (it wasn't a real movement, just a post-80's fad - still run by the big, fat record lables, but in the late '00s, the internet's grip on culture shifts was finally beating the out-of-touch big labels who were losing the game.

Indie artists became the last-standing shread of musical integrity, and for the first time in my life I became INSANELY passionate about music coming out in real-time.

Now I still love lstening to the old stuff - it's amazing music and always will be. But when I look back at all of my first-hand experiences with the band from 1989 onwards, I grew to realize that I never really, truly saw them in their greatness. I'm I envious of those who did? Hell yeah. Do I wish they would put out something amazing - of course! But I know it's not going to happen.

What we have now in 2012 though is just a number. The Stones have been inactive for (yet another) half-decade. How does this add up to 50? because the 4 chairmen are still alive? They CLEARLY can't perform anymore with the shape Keith is in. I'm not happy about that, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but it's the truth. I'm almost afraid to hear them play now. My inner-teen has been crushed enough by their wallet-gouging, greed, and complete lack of any artistic vision that I hear and feel on those scorchingly amazing albums of their FAR past.

I hope that answers your question.

James, thank you very much for answering the question in such detail. Very impressive!

It always amazes me how subjective music is. I grew up in the fifties and sixties so I was fortunate to have seen them from the very beginning. I am not a musician, but was around them from the time I was a teenager. My brother was a bass player in a band that rehearsed in our basement. Of course, "Beatlemania" had a huge impact on us as kids. All the British bands did. The Stones were definitely one of our favorites, but there was just so many great bands around at that time to choose from. I saw the Beach Boys live in 1964. Being from the northwest we loved The Sonics and The Wailers - not the Bob Marley version, but the original Wailers from Tacoma, Washington. Of course, we were fans of Hendrix, and Bob Dylan.

By the mid seventies I kind of drifted away from rock 'n roll. I still listened to whatever was popular on the local radio stations but I was no longer paying much attention to what the Stones were doing. Of course they continued to produce the occasional hit so it's not like I had lost total "sight" of them. The years rolled by and then about ten years ago I re-discovered them while flipping channels late one February evening. It was a replay on HBO of their January concert in 2003 at Madison Square Garden. I was blown away! I have been a fan ever since.

As a non musician I am not sure I can tell the difference between "great" playing and "not so great" playing. I watch my DVD's and everything (to my eye) looks and sounds great. I watched Austin last night from ABB. I thought Keith looked and sounded great. I listen to all my DVD's on Bose headphones. I love all their live performances that have been captured on DVD. Outside of the latest Some Girls bonus tracks I rarely listen to the Stones on CD. I prefer their live performances on DVD.

A few years ago I began listening in here and was blown away at how many fans (primarily musicians, I think) were critical of Keith and the Stones themselves. It seems many around here agree with you that the Stones haven't done anything of any real value in a long long time and that Keith has become a really bad guitar player and should hang it up. As a non musician I don't know what to think. Some musicians around here seem to think his playing is OK.

In a way I am glad I am not a musician or have any knowledge of the guitar because it might just ruin the whole experience for me. My guess is, that most concert goers are like me and have little clue when a musician is screwing up or playing bad. To me, it's the overall sound and atmosphere that I enjoy so much about a Stones concert. I also think the personalities of the performers has a lot to do with whether you like a band or not. Despite their many faults I still like Keith, Mick, and Ronnie, and who couldn't love Charlie? I am sure another factor is that I grew up watching these guys from the time I was a teenager. It's a way of holding onto your youth. The fact that the Stones are still alive and at least hinting at working together again gives all us old farts hope, that maybe we can remain relevant for awhile longer. Does that make any sense to you?

It does to me.