Rolling Stones

I think I may be the one person from "my" era of growing up that is not a big fan of The Beatles or Rolling Stones. I think I just missed that boat. There were a lot more shiny sparkly musical things happening during my imprintable moments. It's not that I don't like The Stones, it's just that I didn't catch them in the right time of my life.
I have come to appreciate what they and The Beatles and the countless other bands of the mid to late sixties did to change not just the music scene but, the world.
What got me to this was watching Shine A Light the other night. It is a Martin Scorsese film of a benefit concert the Stones did a few years ago.
Those fuckers are old! They look corpse like on the surface but from the inside, they project that wild eyed teenager who sees him/herself as the center of the universe, if only for that one moment. Mick Jagger struts and gyrates and dances around like a teenager with all the confidence of a 60+ year old icon. Keith and Ronnie are a bit sloppy on guitar but, they are animated. Charlie Watts is just solid. They miss Bill Wyman but, after seeing that Keith was probably doing most of the bass parts when they recorded anyway (via Sympathy For the Devil), I came to understand that musically he was expendable. His replacement (I confess to not knowing his name) is almost to "studio musician" like. Evidence that he's a hired hand as he doesn't play the song from "living it" but from just knowing it. It comes across. Though maybe they need that to keep them grounded. Keith and Ronnie play the songs but, they "spread out" all over the place and sometimes, thanks to the recorded quality of the performance, they get a bit annoying. It's like they've been doing the same songs for so many years, they don't need to play all the notes or play them in all the right places. The luxury of being a musical entity for 40+ years.
On a side note, Keith Richards played a couple of his solo songs and should never ever again attempt to make a solo record. Sorry, man. It's crap. Only reason he got away with it at any level was because of who he is and not the songs. I won't go on and on about why I think this way but, he just should say no.
I believe the Stones still have integrity. I think they teetered for a bit in the 80's and early 90's but, in the end, they wouldn't have been as interesting on their own and I think they realized it. This is one of those instances where the whole unit is greater than the sum of it's parts (I think that's how the saying would apply here). If often works that way.
Anyway, this is probably as close to seeing the band as I'll come during my life. There were opportunities over the years but, like I said, I am not a big fan and there were other things distsracting me at the time. No regrets but, I am glad that I came to know and get a handle on the band and it's musical affect over the years.