Classic Rock Music Monday

The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist. 

Today, we'll start the week with the Rolling Stones with their classic "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow".  This was composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

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Mick Jagger To Get Stent

Mick Jagger, frontman for the rock group the Rolling Geezers, oops, I mean Rolling Stones, made international news when word came out that the group's North American tour has been postponed until after Jagger recovers from a procedure to put in a heart stent.

According to the Japan Times:

LONDON - Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger will undergo heart surgery this week following the postponement of the band’s North American tour for medical reasons, according to a published report. 

The U.S. website Drudge Report, citing unidentified sources, said Jagger, 75, would undergo surgery this week in New York to replace a heart valve. New York Post’s Page Six website, citing unidentified sources, said the surgery would involve placing a stent in the singer’s heart. 

Representatives for Jagger in the United States did not return requests for comment. A spokesman for the British band in London declined to comment on the Drudge Report article. 

Stents are typically used to prop open arteries that have been cleared of a blockage.

Jagger's recovery, provided that his procedure only involves placing a stent, shouldn't take too long. I had two stents put into a heart artery last summer and it took me about two months to feel back to normal. The procedure itself was surprisingly painless.

To read more, go here. 

2017 Box Sets Reissues Set Record

Music lovers will have a good holiday season this year as a number of artists will be issuing box sets.

According to Forbes.com:

The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan lead this year’s record crop of musical box sets. The multimillion-reissue bandwagon exceeds last year’s peak, with a lot of classic albums returning in anniversary and deluxe editions – by U2, the Eagles, Prince, Radiohead and The Smiths, among others. 

New and announced titles, including vinyl reissues, are currently running at more than 630 for mainstream artists so far in 2017, an increase from the approximate 520 number at the same point in the year from the same record companies in 2016. The number surged in the last few weeks before Black Friday, Cyber Monday and now the first weekend of December – the weekend seen by eBay as the peak time for physical sales of vinyl, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray, even old videotapes and cassettes. 

The artists have all put out collections, which will do much to prop up the physical CD and vinyl market. Figures from record-industry groups and eBay last month pointed towards a continuing revival in demand. This is in the face of headlines about the rise of digital downloads and streams, demise of old-fashioned discs and the closure of record stores.

To read more, go here. 

Stoned (2005)

Stoned (2005) chronicles the last three months of the life of Rolling Stones founding member Brian Jones. There are also flashbacks showing the founding of the group and Jones's shenanigans (including impregnating a 14-year-old girl).

The movie stars Leo Gregory as Brian Jones, Paddy Considine as Frank Thorogood, and David Morrissey as Stones manager Tom Keylock. Stoned was directed by
Stephen Woolley.

Thorogood was a builder hired to remodel Jones's estate and is confronted by the decadent lifestyle of Jones. He is surprised at first but is drawn into it and tries to participate, but never quite fits in. He was also hired to keep watch on Jones as Jones drifted away from the band he founded.

During the three-month span working at Jones's estate, Jones played mind games on Thorogood which eventually causes Thorogood to snap and drown Jones in his swimming pool on July 3, 1969, not too long after Jones is ousted from the Rolling Stones due to his erratic behavior and drug use.



Left, the real Brian Jones.

Allegedly, Thorogood confessed to murdering Jones in 1993 on his deathbed.

The movie captures the decadent lifestyle of Jones and the Rolling Stones. Leo Gregory is believable as Jones. It is not a movie about the Rolling Stones, but they are essential to the story.

MPAA rating is Rated R for drug use, sexuality, nudity and language. The version I have is the "unrated" version.

There are some factual errors and there's some editing and sound effects flaws. It is an interesting movie and it draws in the viewer.

My grade: A-.