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Virgil

Doom and Gloom

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Virgil
, 10-21-2012 at 01:13 AM (5130 Views)
Hey I just noticed in the new format, one can embed videos. Let me be the first blogger to do so.

As you may have heard, The Rolling Stones are in their 50th anniversary as a band and are going to have a mini celebration tour. So far two sites with two dates each are scheduled: The O2 Arena in London at the end of November (25th and 29th) and the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ in December (12th and 15th). As some may know, I am a huge Rolling Stones fan, and December 15th is my birthday and Newark, NJ is just across the river from me and only a twenty minute drive. This is probably their last tour and I thought perhaps I just might try to get tickets for my birthday.

And to kickoff this little tour, they have put out another greatest hits collection with three options. A three CD with 50 tracks for $27, a three CD Deluxe Edition with 50 tracks and a hardcover book for $47, and a four CD Super Deluxe Edition with 80 tracks, two books, an unreleased 7” vinyl BBC Sessions EP for $146. Here: http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...sl_73ewguo87_p. The Stones have been known for really great album titles and album art, but I must say, this greatest hits does not live up that legacy. It’s called Grrr. Yes, that’s it, Grrr, three “r”s. LOL. And on the album is just a gorilla with the Stones tongue logo superimposed on the gorilla’s mouth. You can see it on that Amazon site. That’s horrible. Who the hell thought of that?

All three editions have two new songs. So what’s a Stones fan, who has every original album, a couple of greatest hits albums (because there are always rare cuts that you can’t get otherwise) to do? Obviously I want the two new songs and it’s not clear that I can buy them separately. It’s great if you don’t have Stones albums. I find it hard to justify buying another greatest hits album just for two measly songs. It’s as if they haven’t made enough money off of Stones’ fans over the years. Give me a break.

Now I also checked out the prices of these events. I figured I would probably have to pay around $200 dollars a ticket given what major concerts go for, and I would have to buy a second for my wife. I assume it would be steep. Well, I told myself, it’s my birthday and more importantly it would be the last time I would see the Stones. They can’t be going on for much longer. Just look at their faces. They’re at the edge of death…lol.

So I assumed a steep price, but I actually gasped when found the prices. Here. http://concerttour.org/rolling-stones-tour. Tickets at the London dates ranged from $360 to $2000 and at Newark from $200 (blocked view) to over $5000. It looked like reasonable seats were at a minimum $300 to 400 each. Give me a break.

This reminds me of the only time I saw the Stones live back in 1982 I think it was. Now I was 21 years old, going to college and, though working part time jobs, certainly not exactly capable of paying high prices for concert tickets. They did something novel back then. Because scalpers were hogging up all the purchases, they instituted a lottery where people mailed in a postcard and if you were selected you were given the opportunity to buy a couple of tickets. So on a whim I mailed in a postcard and to my shock—and this is the only time I’ve ever won a lottery—I was selected for two seats. And get this, the seats I won to purchase were up front about 16 rows from the stage, and the price was nothing outrageous; I can no longer remember but $40/ticket sticks in my mind. That was the highlight of my rock concert life. They were great, and nothing has ever matched up to it.

So can they still be that great at 70 years old and older? I don’t know, but I can’t bring myself to pay that much to find out. Seems like they are milking for every dollar they can get.

Now one of their new singles has come out on Youtube, “Doom and Gloom.” Here.



Not a bad song, though I think it misses being great. If I had to grade it I would give it a B, and maybe with time I could see it growing on me to a B+. The riff is very good, and Jagger’s voice is solid, and he hasn’t always been so in his old age. Keith and Ronnie really hit it well on guitars. Charlie on Drums is great. The lyrics are good in spots and hackneyed in other spots, especially the chorus parts. “Hurt/dirt,” seeing her face in the night, wanting to dance—that’s not original at all and it doesn’t seem to fit with the verses which are pretty original. Seems like they just tagged a hackneyed thought to some nice lyrics. Otherwise I think this song could have been special.

What do you think?

One more thing. The song brings out a bunch of Liberal issues. I don't listen to the Stones because I agree with them politically. But I have to laugh at one verse in there.

Lost all the treasure in an overseas war
It just goes to show you don't get what you paid for
Bowing to the rich and you're worrying about the poor
Put the feet up on the couch and lock all the doors

Bowing to the rich? With the way they're milking every nickel, hypocrisy just wreaks.

Updated 10-21-2012 at 01:28 AM by Virgil

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  1. Virgil's Avatar
    Did the video embed? It seems to be there when I use Internet Explorer as my browser but not when i use Firefox.
  2. Hawkman's Avatar
    G,day Virg

    Yeah, the vid embedded fine. Just watched it on my iPad, no problem.

    You know, I kind of feel embarrassed for all those geriatric rockers staggering out on stage with their Zimmer- frames and incontinance underwear. I kind of just wish I could go on remembering them as the were in their prime. I mean look at Paul McCartney at the Olympics gig. Ok, the guy can still play and even write a bit, but boy has his voice gone. He couldn't hit the note if his life depended on it, and the less said about Cliff, the better!

    I confess, I'm not big on concerts anyway. I nearly always prefer a studio version of a track. When I saw UFO in concert at Portsmouth guildhall back in about 1980 there was a power failure somewhere backstage and it took 'em 15 minutes to get back playing again! Lol.

    As for the new release, well I doubt if they'll play it that well live anyway. I quite enjoyed it, and I liked the animation, but protest songs ain't what they used to be, especially when performed by multi millionaires

    I kind of feel the whole rebel thing is a bit tongue in cheek now. I still think 'Paint it black' is special though

    Save your dosh and buy the video when it comes out.

    Live and be well - H
  3. qimissung's Avatar
    Well, you know I'm a Dem, Virgil. That verse is funny. Sometimes I say I hate rich people, so what am I gonna do when I win the lottery, lol?

    That is incredibly disappointing and outrageous that they would charge so much for their tickets. Creativity is not a given, and it's got to be a little harder for artists when that goes-as opposed to say an accountant who's just glad to retire-but unless you feel you have something left to say, why bother? Now if they'd charged a regular amount, what better way of saying to their fans "We want to celebrate one last time with you..."

    And then go gently...into the night.
  4. qimissung's Avatar
    Aargh. It would not let me edit my post. It said it was not linked to a specific blog. Anyway, I was able to see the video. I liked the song. I don't analyze much-does it touch the feeling place inside me? If so, the generally I like whatever it is.
  5. Virgil's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Hawkman
    G,day Virg

    Yeah, the vid embedded fine. Just watched it on my iPad, no problem.

    You know, I kind of feel embarrassed for all those geriatric rockers staggering out on stage with their Zimmer- frames and incontinance underwear. I kind of just wish I could go on remembering them as the were in their prime. I mean look at Paul McCartney at the Olympics gig. Ok, the guy can still play and even write a bit, but boy has his voice gone. He couldn't hit the note if his life depended on it, and the less said about Cliff, the better!

    I confess, I'm not big on concerts anyway. I nearly always prefer a studio version of a track. When I saw UFO in concert at Portsmouth guildhall back in about 1980 there was a power failure somewhere backstage and it took 'em 15 minutes to get back playing again! Lol.

    As for the new release, well I doubt if they'll play it that well live anyway. I quite enjoyed it, and I liked the animation, but protest songs ain't what they used to be, especially when performed by multi millionaires

    I kind of feel the whole rebel thing is a bit tongue in cheek now. I still think 'Paint it black' is special though

    Save your dosh and buy the video when it comes out.

    Live and be well - H
    Hawk, unlike a classical or jazz concert, the music at a rock concert is not a replica of the pristine sound off the albums. First off the musicians are not that high caliber as classically trained. Second the sound is so electronically altered that it's hard to reproduce, especially on those stages and halls.

    I too don't care for rock concerts. Actually now that I think of it, other than that great Stones concert I was at, I can't say i really ever walked away the better from concerts. But maybe I'm only emphasizing the negatives in retrospect.

    Thanks for your thoughts.
    Updated 10-21-2012 at 10:54 PM by Virgil
  6. Virgil's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by qimissung
    Aargh. It would not let me edit my post. It said it was not linked to a specific blog. Anyway, I was able to see the video. I liked the song. I don't analyze much-does it touch the feeling place inside me? If so, the generally I like whatever it is.
    Thanks Qimi.
  7. Virgil's Avatar
    UPDATE

    One of the guys I car pool to work with has a friend who is a concert going addict. My car pooler told me he got Stones tickets for Newark. He paid $836 each. And get this: he bought four tickets!!!! The Stones charge it because people will pay it. Supply and demand. The insanity.

    Now here's an article in Rolling Stone Magazine interviewing the Stones: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...union-20121024. Here's an interesting paragraph:

    The band shrugs off grumbling about the $800-plus it's charging for the best tickets. "As Keith said, 'Sounds about right,'" says Wood. "I'd pay it! We already spent, like, a million on rehearsing, and we're not even halfway through. And the stage is going to cost millions and millions."
    The nerve. As if $800 a ticket is nothing.

    But here's something that makes getting tickets oh so tempting:
    The Stones expect former guitarist Mick Taylor (who quit in 1974) and founding bassist Bill Wyman (gone since '93) to come on board for the four shows, but only as guests on a few songs. Richards emphasizes that longtime touring bassist Darryl Jones isn't going anywhere. "Darryl doesn't get enough recognition," says Richards. "He and Bill can talk about songs they want to step in and out of." For the final show in Newark (to be broadcast live on pay-per-view), more guests are likely to pop by – Ron Wood drops names like Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck as possibilities.
    I would love to see Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman join the band again. Mick Taylor is one of rock's greatest guitarist and hardly anyone knows it.

    Hope they really do make an new album. The more I listen to "Doom and Gloom" the more I like it. If you don't look at the lyrics, the hackneyed part kind of just goes by unnoticed. It's just my writer's eye that notices it in that video with the lyrics. You know, most of the time it's best not to know rock song lyrics, especially if you have a critical eye to words.

    Oh and there's an update. You can buy the song for 99 cents on Amazon. Here:
    http://www.amazon.com/Doom-And-Gloom...33864&sr=301-1

    I'm sure itunes has the same deal.

    I've been rocking to it for the past hour!