Posted by Steve Cronen Child of the Moon (216.222.109.166) on December 18, 2000 at 21:32:34:
In Reply to: How did you become a Stones fan? posted by Micaela on December 18, 2000 at 15:07:05:
Summer, 1998...
I was in my room one day, ready to put on the CD Instant Replay by the Monkees, which I had just recently gotten. Just then, my dad walked in with a double-CD in his hand. �Here, listen to this,� he said, handing it to me. "It's the next inevitable step after the Beatles."
I looked at the cover, which was adorned in the silhouetted heads of five men. Each head was stacked upon each other, as if they were in a row. On the back cover, it read, �The Rolling Stones: Hot Rocks 1964-1971,� followed by the songs on both discs. At the time, I had very little interest in the Rolling Stones. I mean, �Satisfaction� and �Street Fighting Man� were old favorites of mine, but that was about it. I took the CD�s and waited until my dad was out of the room to put them on.
I put on the first disc and was instantly attacked by a duet of an electric guitar and an organ, which opened �Time Is On My Side.� I was slightly impressed, but I longed to hear Instant Replay�s kick-off song, �Through the Looking Glass,� instead.
The songs went on, but I wasn�t impressed much. I mean, the Stones, to me, were the anti-Beatles. They were (supposedly) scruffy, obnoxious, rude, and had a total disregard for being proper. My question to myself is: Why didn�t you start liking these guys earlier?
Finally, around the song �Paint It, Black,� I dozed off, but only for a few minutes. When I awoke, the song �Under My Thumb� had just ended, and I was greeted by a gracious piano and Mick Jagger softly singing, �She would never say where she came from. Yesterday don�t matter if it�s gone.� It was the song �Ruby Tuesday.� With that, I was hooked. The song was so beautiful, almost better than any ballads the Beatles ever penned in the 1966-1967 era. It was a ballad of taunting regret, which was something I was very familiar with, so it hit home with me. I was enchanted by Brian Jones�s recorder playing (which sounded oddly like a flute). The famous chorus of, �Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday, who could hang a name on you? When you change with every new day, still I�m gonna miss you,� was like music to my ears as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards harmonized wonderfully.
After this, I decided to listen to the whole disc again. This time, I appreciated the songs a little bit more. The second disc followed, and I was enthralled by songs like the haunting �Gimme Shelter� and the raging blues attack of �Midnight Rambler.� That summer, I became a Stones fanatic. Within a month, I could name every Stone and when they joined the group and what they played. I could name over half of their albums, plus several songs on each. �Ruby Tuesday� was still my favorite, but I was also enthralled by songs like the psychedelic �We Love You� and �She�s a Rainbow,� and the creepy �Paint It, Black� and �Mother�s Little Helper.� The first Stones CD�s I bought myself were The Singles Collection boxed set.
(This was written for an english project last year, and it seemed to fit the question.)