We checked out the new Stones movie, "Shine a Light," yesterday. I'm thinking the story of the Stones is kind of like a story in one of those nature documentaries where we follow the life of a sea turtle. The mother turtle lays thousands of eggs, and the eggs that don't get eaten by the fish, the ones lucky enough to actually hatch into little baby sea turtles, who somehow escape the birds of prey waiting for them on the beach, those last few stragglers who inexplicably survive to become mature sea turtles, well those lucky, plucky soul survivors are The Stones. Think of all those others who just didn't make it, or flamed out, or faded away, or lost their mojo.
Crusty old beasts up on stage, flailing away as if their lives still depended on it. That's what Martin Scorcese captures (16 cameras, superb sound) in all their glory. These are old road warriors who wear every moment of their existences on their bodies. Keith Richards is otherworldly, almost reptilian, Ron Wood a sort of dessicated scarecrow. Charlie Watts still reminds me of Harpo Marx, sardonic grin, silent, with a powerful drumbeat. And then there's Mick Jagger. He defies time and nature, even as he shows all the lines and scars from a life well-lived (those lines on his face are mainly laugh lines!). Mick is still an extra-ordinary showman. His schtick is still (as once characterized by John Lennon) superb "fag dancing."
If you love the Stones the movie is for you. If not, not. In a big way. It's a concert movie. Almost two hours worth of music. And really I agree with Scorcese the music is the thing. The music, the songs, stand the test of time. Great rock and roll, put over with style, bravado, panache. The Rolling Stones are an essential band in the history of rock and roll. "Let It Bleed," may be the greatest rock and roll album ever recorded (apologies to the Beatles "Revolver," Dylan's "Highway 61," and Jimi Hendrix's "Electric Lady Land") and "Exile on Main Street," "Sticky Fingers," and "Beggars Banquet," are high on the list too.
These guys are old (which is not a sin!), and they don't act their age, (which is inspiring!), they are millionaires (they paid their dues!), they haven't written a great song in at least twenty years (they have an incredible back catalog!), and still, I don't begrudge them a thing (they have always seemed TRUE!). They are amazing. They are alive. And still true to some rock and roll ethic, where the music, the feeling is EVERYTHING.
UPDATE: Just a point of clarity. The Lovely Carla points out to me that of course, the sea turtle eggs are laid on the beach, and then at night, when the tide comes in the little ones that hatch make a charge for the water, that's when they can get picked off by the birds!