by Maxwell Silver
Commonly referred to as ‘the world’s greatest rock and roll band,’ the members of The Rolling Stones, all now 65 or older, keep chugging along. Over the years, we’ve all heard comments or jokes that the legendary rock elders are washed up, or should retire, but that sentiment is antithetical to long-held mottos of rock culture, like “long live rock and roll” or “rock and roll will never die.” Chuck Berry, the godfather of rock, has continued to perform into his 80’s. Nevertheless, it’s mind numbing to think that the members of the Stones, who celebrated their 50th anniversary as a band earlier this year, are now seniors. The band’s newest greatest hits compilation, GRRR!, features a comprehensive chronology of the band’s music over the past half century. Plus, enter to win a special collector’s item eBook, 50 Years: The Rolling Stones; Views From the Inside; Views From The Outside.
GRRR! is available now in a couple clicks as an MP3 download; a three-disc CD set; a five-CD super deluxe edition (with all kinds of goodies for fans and collectors), the import CD edition (appears to be no vinyl edition right now) – all of these links lead to direct purchases via Amazon, which is having a special sale to honor the band’s 50th year of rock and roll.
While new songs like “Doom and Gloom” cannot possibly compare to the volumes of ground-breaking music the Stones released at the height of their stardom in the 1960’s and 70’s, for old-time legends of rock, the Stones can still bang it out. Oddly, the video for “Doom and Gloom,” the band’s first new single in years, does not feature even one frame of the band, which is a bit odd, especially considering it’s their 50th anniversary year. Rather, the video is a lyrics video for all practical purposes, featuring a series of paint and other artistic representations of the song’s lyrics. There is also a non-video, MP3 stream of the song available below.
“Doom and Gloom” – The Rolling Stones from GRRR!
The Rolling Stones Prepping for Sold-Out Performances in London, Brooklyn and Newark
Next week, the Stones will perform two shows at the O2 Arena in London before coming stateside to perform one show at Brooklyn Barclays Center (Dec. 8th) and the Newark Prudential Center (Dec. 13th & 15th). We wonder what the band will be doing from Dec. 9th through Dec. 12th? All shows, of course, are sold out. Also, the band’s two-and-a-half hour documentary, Crossfire Hurricane, featuring rare footage of the band over the decades, including never before seen interviews with Brian Jones, premiered on HBO last Thursday night, and is also now available on DVD and Blu-ray via Amazon. Here’s the trailer for the film.
Stones’ eBook Contest and Chance to Write for IRC
: Win a collector’s and music lover’s special eBook, 50 Years: The Rolling Stones; Views From the Inside; Views From The Outside, featuring rare photos and interviews, many of which have never been published in the U.S. until now. This contest is also a perfect opportunity for an aspiring writer as well.
To enter the contest, simply pick a song from any post on IRC (or the Top 10 Songs page, from January through October) and write, in the Comments Box at the end of the post, your own mini review (no more than 200 words please) of the song, the album it’s from, and/or the artist in the Comments Box below any post. You do not need to sign up or register to leave a Comment below a post.
After you write and post your mini review in the Comments Box, we’ll review it, publish it, and over the next week to 10 days, review each mini review to pick the winners. You may also write your review on IRC’s Facebook page. In either case, please make sure to reference the song title, album title and the artist you are writing about. You can also copy and paste your review to FB after posting it in the Comments Box. You may wish to also copy and paste into Facebook the URL of the post you’re leaving a comment on.
This is also a great opportunity, and perhaps a unique approach, for aspiring and established writers because the winners of the eBook (plus a secret bonus prize) will also have the opportunity to write a music-related article or post for IRC, giving them exposure to over a half million readers/listeners a month. If you use the Comments Box on IRC, don’t worry, you’re email address is only seen by us. Can’t wait to see what songs you guys pick and write about. Also feel free to Tweet or write on our Wall after if you use the post’s Comments Box to share “here’s my mini review of [song/album/band] on Indie Rock Cafe.”