Musicians are twats, pt. 2

This evening I found some new evidence for my Musicians are Twats thesis. Relaxing after dinner, I was flicking through Friday's The Guide. There was a feature on a new documentary about Exile on Main Street, the Rolling Stones album. I honestly don't know how the Rolling Stones get out of bed in the morning - they are truly the living embodiment of becoming a parody of yourself, it's absolutely nauseating... Do they really need the money from a re-released album, (almost certainly shite) documentary and probably another world tour whose audience will be 90% wankers and 10% people who have wanted to see the Stones their whole life, finally scraped together the extortionate ticket price and left feeling embarrassed by a bunch of old blokes who don't know when to give it up? The answer is NO. They don't need it. We get it, you soundtracked the formative years of the people who now write for Q Magazine, Mojo Magazine and Word Magazine. Isn't that enough for you, "Mick 'n' Keef"?

The most offensive thing about the Guide piece was actually a quote from Mick Jones, Stones guitarist in the late 1960s and early 1970s:

""It's got a raw sound quality, and the reason for that is that the basement was very dingy and very damp," says Mick Taylor, Stones lead guitarist for the five years between 1969 and 1974. "The roof leaked and there were power failures. We had to deal with all that, and go with the flow.""

I once had the misfortune of seeing Mick Jones play live, and it really was remarkably boring. He was playing alongside John Mayall (of Bluesbreakers fame) who was literally just a chubby old man in an unpleasant white vest who had his best days behind him.

Anyway, I wish I could eloquently describe what irritates me so much about this nugget from Mick Jones but I don't know if I can. It's partly the mythologising of something so totally banal, and the belief that it's some kind of impressive feat. I can just imagine him leaning back recounting the story - "it was hard, but we went with the flow man." Musicians (and others in the public eye) are asked for their thoughts on everything, no matter how insignificant. I'm not saying that musicians shouldn't have opinions, but the above quote comes from someone who has passed a lifetime being told they are more important than you actually are. Partly it's the idea that because the recording happened in a basement it sounds 'raw.' It's just total garbage. Things sound raw when bands don't have much money, or when the production is meant to sound raw. Not just because you're recording in the basement of a French chateau.

Keep your feet on the floor guys.