The Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary Photobook: A Moment for Reflection on Getting Older

Being born in the late 70s and growing up in a home where John Denver's Greatest hits volume 2 was "rock and roll," I was not exposed to the large mouth and swinging hips of Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones.  Deep down though, I can't quite imagine the music and musicians that I was interested in later on in my life, triumphantly announce that they've been together for 50 years.  Actually, I was always confused by the ultimate music question that burned me for many years like "what came first the chicken or the egg?": Which came first? Bob Dylan's song "Like a Rolling Stone" or the band "The Rolling Stones"? 


Rolling Stones: 50


I can't imagine the Smashing Pumpkins celebrating their 50 year anniversary.  Their song "Today" would change to "50 years ago was the greatest time of my life."  What about Michael Bolton shuffling down the halls of an old folks home with a walker singing, "I said I loved you but I died!"  What does it mean to the older generation who grew up the same age as those in the Rolling Stones as they wrinkle, age and go on Britiain's version of Medicare doing ads about corn cream?  Perhaps it will be the same feeling when we have Britney Spears starts doing ads about osteoperosis and keeping up with grandchildren. 


John Denver Greatest Hits Vol. 2



I actually got into the Rollling Stones when I was in China 12 years ago where all the DVDs and CDs cost next to nothing and were found in a dusty market room where newspapers were put over the windows, sold by a guy with really long pinky fingernail.  My friend was into them big time.  He was a local whose English was amazing and created his own English name combining the names of two other great bands.  He knew, living in the middle of China, that the Rolling Stones were a great band and they were "classic," plus he was shocked that I didn't know much about them.  Of course I learned a lot that year, not just about Chinese culture but also about American music and movies.  Yes, I even found John Denver's CDs there too. 



The Concert for New York City


I was really exposed to the Rolling Stones after 9/11.  They were featured prominently on some of the Benefit CDs that came out after the tragic event including songs such as "Miss You" and "Salt of the Earth" which didn't make me go out and buy another CD or MP3 but they were good songs for a good cause. 

We're still waiting for John Denver's photobook about his long career but the Rolling Stones have come out with their own.  This massive volume is for the Rolling Stone fan.  Over 350 pages of photos, history and a dash of decadence.  They will start an exhibit in London coming up next month and the huge photobook is available in July too.  For all those Rolling Stones fans out there it looks like a good buy.  For those born in the 70s, our musicians are getting older by the day, we'll start to see "anniversaries" coming in the not too distant future!

(By the way, all the musical choices mentioned above are not necesarily the music that I chose to listen to growing up.  In other words, I swear I didn't listen to Michael Bolton.  EVER!)