Posted by Hard Knox and Durty Sox on May 20, 1999 at 23:42:52:
In Reply to: Re: Can Mick and Keith still write great new classics? posted by drugs and your brain on May 20, 1999 at 19:44:24:
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: a depressing observation which I've noticed in some Keith interviews is that many of their most older hit songs were written while they were on drugs. I don't know what the long-term effects of drugs are on your brain or if your brain cells regenerate but that may be a factor in their creative ability, particularly with Keith and his ability to develop new riffs, IMHO.
: Also, in terms of musical style, in their early years they had a fair number of pop rock songs, of which one of my favorites is the light-hearted (as opposed to blues) Rainbow. They don't do pop rock anymore although it's a style they wrote well.
: Regarding animosity on the board, I completely agree, which is why i post less here.
Drug use could be a factor, but regarding patterns that apply to rock musicians in general, if there were some formerly great rock songwriters who stayed clean but still went into a creative decline anyway around a certain age, that would cast some doubt on this theory.
I've thought that another, secondary factor might be that as they grow more knowledgeable musically, some rock musicians (including the Stones) might become self-conscious or even embarrassed about writing "simple" rock tunes, and therefore start taking a different path. By simple, I'm referring to songs that use only 2 or 3 chords, or only simple chords, or have simple structures. Unfortunately, many of the older songs that people love, like Satisfaction, Gimme Shelter, etc. fall into the "simple" category, but I think some of those songs made their point very effectively by taking some basic rhythmic and melodic ideas and then pounding them into your mind and body through forceful repetition.