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jahisnotdead
We Rolling Stones fans are so incredibly lucky.

They're alive:
Brian Jones, Ian Stewart and Bobby Keys will always be missed, but it's amazing to me that so many former and current Stones are still alive. My second favorite band is the Ramones, and every single original member is now dead. I think of that every single time I think of the Stones, and am so grateful that they're still around. Even if they were living out their lives in (well-deserved) retirement, I'd be so happy simply knowing that they were alive and hopefully well.

They're together:
Look at how many bands couldn't make it work for years, much less decades. Now consider the Rolling Stones, who have managed to stay together for half a century and counting. The personal tensions, drugs, money, ego, and just plain getting sick of people after a while, tears apart so many relationships, big and small. You'd be hard pressed to find another collection of individuals who could stay together after so much time.

They're currently playing at such a high level:
Audiences today might be more critical than music fans of the past, but it just goes to show you how great the Stones are playing. You really have to nitpick in order to find any significant flaws. Their musical ability can stand up to even the harshest of critics and they still put on a solid, passionate, entertaining show, that is professional but never businesslike.

They still love to play music together:
I noted above that the fact that they're currently together at all as one amazing thing that we fans are lucky for. The fact that they're also apparently honestly enjoying playing music is a whole other thing IMHO. Maybe it's all an act, but it sure seems that the Rolling Stones genuinely enjoy playing live with each other and for a crowd. There's no attitude, no sense that they're bored or going through the motions. They seem grateful, happy, and present. They feed off the energy of the crowd, and they seem to want to be there. To me, that's a very special thing.

Stones fans like the Stones and each other:
For the most part, I'd say. Now, we can be rough and tumble at times. Rolling Stones fans are usually friendly but can also be tough customers too. We're not all Angels. But seriously, I recently became interested in KISS, and judging from social media, I can't describe the level of discord among their fans and animosity that many have for the current lineup of the band, including the two remaining founding members. We Stones fans may have little disagreements among ourselves from time to time about Mick Taylor, but I believe no true Stones fan viciously hates Ron Wood and passionately resents Mick, Keith, and Charlie for having Ronnie in the band, as would be if we were parallel to KISS. For a rock music fan to harbor such deep resentment against their favorite band and fellow fans is very sad. I'm grateful that Stones fans don't have to deal with that kind of unnecessary and negative drama.

Half a century of kick ass music:
Looking back on all the songs in the Stones catalog, it's astounding to see so much range and such an elevated level of quality. Blues, ballads, country, funk, disco, reggae, and of course, rock and roll. There are excellent examples of songs in almost every musical genre. I believe that some of their original compositions alone rank them among the finest songwriters in history.

Our favorite rock and roll band just happens to be the World's Greatest:
Sure, this title is entirely subjective, arbitrary, and ultimately meaningless. Even I will recognize the greatness of the Beatles. But... (dramatic pause) if one considers the Beatles a pop music band, and readily acknowledges them as the greatest pop band ever, then the title of world's greatest rock and roll band is still up for dispute, and the Rolling Stones are undeniably in contention for that title. I think any rock fan would acknowledge this, even if they personally championed another band.

Astounding bootleg availability:
Twenty years ago, I used to go to used record shops and buy expensive cassettes of 4th generation bootleg taped Rolling Stones concerts from years ago. The tapes sounded terrible, with background hiss twice as loud as the music. but I'd still buy them whenever I could, listen intently, and try to absorb every note. Nowadays, not only can we get great first generation boots for free online in minutes, not only can we get YouTube videos from a concert almost immediately, now we have the ability to watch a show live via phone broadcast for free! It's absolutely mind blowing to even imagine that this is possible.

Consistent official live releases:
Again, we are so lucky that the Stones are so attentive and consistent about putting out live albums and concert videos tour after tour. I love the "From The Vault" series. While I'd personally love another studio album, the Stones continue to really be on the ball when it comes to distributing recordings of live concerts. Can't wait for the full Sticky Fingers show!

I'm sure I can come up with more reasons, but that's a lot of what has been going through my mind.

Thanks, BV. Having a site like this maintained by such a dedicated fan really benefits all of us other fans. It's just another lucky thing for us to have a great place like iorr.org to go and share our feelings about the Rolling Stones.

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with sssoul
We are blessed indeed - thanks & praises, Rolling Stones!

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TooTough
It´s like being a fan of a football club...the love is forever,
whatever team might play under that flag.

We are blessed to be fans of the Rolling Stones!

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keefriffhards

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TooTough

We are blessed to be fans of the Rolling Stones!

they have given so much happiness to so many people. lets hope they keep the momentum going for a few more years. they are playing as good as i have ever seen them recently.