sufferinsukatash

It's been nearly a year since rock's oldest surviving band recorded their first reggae song (a fact that is more than a little amusing due to the fact that more than ever Mick and Keef are starting to look and seem like something from another world). Jokes about the impossibility of Keith Richards' prolonged existence have been around since Bill Hicks was still alive (Bill who? you are probably wondering--yes that's how old they are, nevermind Keith).

But enough about that. What's even more remarkable is that it's the best song that the band has put out in a long time. Written in standard I-IV-V rock and roll tradition (with the picks clunking against the strings in Bo Diddley fashion) the song is a showcase for classic Stones blues riffs courtesy of Keith and Ronnie. The solos are great and song was built to be played over and over (it better be since writing such a song may seem more than a little insensitive if not just blasé and Hollywood-ish so it better be good).

The lyrics are a little disappointing on this front too. Jagger's voice is great and all and his rhythm is tight and the tune is catchy, but the subject matter hasn't aged well. Things are getting serious and the song seems to be written from the perspective of the entertainment industry on many levels. Lines like

"Glasses were all smashin'
Trumpets were all screamin'
Saxophones were blarin'
Nobody was carin' if it's day or not"

seem a little empty now. Granted, the song addresses the sense of isolation and social collapse many feel (due to social distancing and the holidays essentially being uprooted for a lot of people). So maybe it's just me.


Of course it really is a matter of opinion as to whether this affects the song and its enduring legacy. However, one has to wonder if a Rolling Stones ditty is how we would like to have the biggest pandemic in anyone's lifetime to be catalogued for the history books. So again, maybe I'm being to judgy. Attempts by others to directly address Covid-19 also seemed to fall flat too though. The South Park special for example. Maybe Covid-19 isn't something we are all really able to handle yet, as it has very real potential for things and situations that have really only ever been seen at the the theaters up to this point (for this generation).

So maybe it's better if musicians and actors and whoever carry on as if it weren't happening? Maybe the band should play on as the ship sinks to put it another way. And it is kind of ****ty that it took borderline socio-economic collapse for the Stones to put out a decent song. But I guess they had more than enough of those already though.