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Posted by oldfan (24.1.240.33) on December 19, 2000 at 00:06:35:
In Reply to: How did you become a Stones fan? posted by Micaela on December 18, 2000 at 15:07:05:
: I was just thinking about this last night, listening to the Stones as I fell asleep.
I remember the day, probably about three years ago, when I was watching some sort of
cheesy top 100 something-or-other on MTV, and a clip of the Stones playing "The Last
Time" circa 1965 or so came on. I put down the magazine that I was attempting to read
while remaining tuned in to what was going on on the tube (this multitasking doesn't
usually work unless both TV and magazine are equally boring). And I remember thinking,
"Hey! What is this? I LOVE it! And there was little, naive Mick, pre-drugs,
pre-groupies, pre-hedonism, just singing has ass off, and Charlie, beating the bejesus out
of his drums, Brian flirting with girls in the audience, Bill just standing there,
stoneyfaced as always (I don't think I noticed him as much as I did the others). And
KEITH. Oh my god, Keith. He was hacking away at his guitar, producing the greatest tone
I'd ever heard a guitarist engender. They just totally blew me away. Of course, being a
classic rock fan prior to this incident, I knew of the Stones but had never really been
exposed to enough of their music to appreciate them. That day, I went out and bought my
first Stones CD, Hot Rocks, which to this day remains my favorite among many. I don't
think I've quite been the same since. Anyway, I didn't mean to ramble that much, I guess I
just got carried away, sorry. At any rate, I'd love to hear how you guys became fans,
loyal adherents, admirers, and what have you....
: -Micaela
When the Beatles came out, everybody loved them. Because I hate sycophantic worship and because of my contrary nature, I looked elsewhere for musical inspiration. Besides, most early Beatles music was pretty bad though it improved later on. I happened to hear Not Fade Away and then Mona. I didn't know anything about these guys but I heard something that appealed to me on a gut level in a way no Beatles song could. The first album (vinyl-- not CD) I ever bought was The Rolling Stones Now. I really loved Mona, Heart of Stone, Little Red Rooster, and Down Home Girl. When The Last Time and Satisfaction came out, I was hooked. Because information was not as readily available in those days, it took a while to figure out who did what in the group. When I finally sorted things out, I found that the majority of the best Rolling Stones music came during the Brian Jones era (with the exception of Sticky Fingers and a few isolated songs). Although I took a lot of crap from others over my non-traditional choosing of the Rolling Stones, I stuck with them. I'll probably get another load of crap from other posters here with contrary viewpoints, but that's ok. I'm used to it.
Another reason I took an early liking to the Rolling Stones is that they all dresssed
differently-- no matching clothing/uniforms like everyone else at the time. I first saw
them that way on the syndicated Lloyd Thaxton Show. If you never heard of Thaxton, ask
Keno.
P.S. I saw them live in both 1969 and 1981. 1969 was more fun for two reasons. First, they
were still fairly new at that time-- not the caricatures of themselves they later became.
Second, one of the opening acts was the incredible Ike & Tina Turner Revue with Tina
in her absolute prime.