Posted by Steve Cronen Child of the Moon (216.222.109.166) on December 18, 2000 at 21:32:34:
In Reply to: How did you become a Stones fan? posted by Micaela on December 18, 2000 at 15:07:05:
Summer, 1998...
I was in my room one day, ready to put on the CD Instant Replay by the Monkees, which I had just recently gotten. Just then, my dad walked in with a double-CD in his hand. “Here, listen to this,” he said, handing it to me. "It's the next inevitable step after the Beatles."
I looked at the cover, which was adorned in the silhouetted heads of five men. Each head was stacked upon each other, as if they were in a row. On the back cover, it read, “The Rolling Stones: Hot Rocks 1964-1971,” followed by the songs on both discs. At the time, I had very little interest in the Rolling Stones. I mean, “Satisfaction” and “Street Fighting Man” were old favorites of mine, but that was about it. I took the CD’s and waited until my dad was out of the room to put them on.
I put on the first disc and was instantly attacked by a duet of an electric guitar and an organ, which opened “Time Is On My Side.” I was slightly impressed, but I longed to hear Instant Replay’s kick-off song, “Through the Looking Glass,” instead.
The songs went on, but I wasn’t impressed much. I mean, the Stones, to me, were the anti-Beatles. They were (supposedly) scruffy, obnoxious, rude, and had a total disregard for being proper. My question to myself is: Why didn’t you start liking these guys earlier?
Finally, around the song “Paint It, Black,” I dozed off, but only for a few minutes. When I awoke, the song “Under My Thumb” had just ended, and I was greeted by a gracious piano and Mick Jagger softly singing, “She would never say where she came from. Yesterday don’t matter if it’s gone.” It was the song “Ruby Tuesday.” With that, I was hooked. The song was so beautiful, almost better than any ballads the Beatles ever penned in the 1966-1967 era. It was a ballad of taunting regret, which was something I was very familiar with, so it hit home with me. I was enchanted by Brian Jones’s recorder playing (which sounded oddly like a flute). The famous chorus of, “Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday, who could hang a name on you? When you change with every new day, still I’m gonna miss you,” was like music to my ears as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards harmonized wonderfully.
After this, I decided to listen to the whole disc again. This time, I appreciated the songs a little bit more. The second disc followed, and I was enthralled by songs like the haunting “Gimme Shelter” and the raging blues attack of “Midnight Rambler.” That summer, I became a Stones fanatic. Within a month, I could name every Stone and when they joined the group and what they played. I could name over half of their albums, plus several songs on each. “Ruby Tuesday” was still my favorite, but I was also enthralled by songs like the psychedelic “We Love You” and “She’s a Rainbow,” and the creepy “Paint It, Black” and “Mother’s Little Helper.” The first Stones CD’s I bought myself were The Singles Collection boxed set.
(This was written for an english project last year, and it seemed to fit the question.)