I wasn't really into pop/rock in high school. I much preferred folk/roots music to what I heard as bubblegum music. I thought Elvis was a greasy, doughy hick. The Beatles were a teenybopper scream dream.
But Bob Dylan's electrifying turn to rock instrumentation aroused my curiosity. And then, sitting in the parking lot at Orange Coast College waiting for class one day, I heard "Paint It, Black." I rushed out and bought "Aftermath." It was the first rock album I ever bought.
"Paint It, Black" is such a dark, angsty song that I immediately fell in love with the Rolling Stones. It was years before I found out what the song was actually about. As much as I now love the Beatles, (I even learned to appreciate the early Elvis) I have always preferred the Stones' blues-rooted rock to McCartney's music hall pop.
I still love their smart, sarcastic lyrics. And though Jagger is sometimes a parody of himself, Keith and Charlie keep them grounded and rocking hard, even into their 70s!
Not all their songs or even their albums are great, but they have amassed an unmatched catalog of incredible songs over the years. They are still the greatest rock-and-roll band in the world.
P.
No comments:
Post a Comment