The Rolling Stones -- Capturing the Wild Thing

Yesterday I went to see SHINE A LIGHT, the Martin Scorsese documentary about the Stones. I loved it! Sure Keith Richards looks like a Shar Pei puppy these days, but with eyeliner and an irresistible sly, sideways twinkle in his eye. I’d love to know where he gets those sequined, dangly doo-rags he wears—now there’s a fashion statement! And Mick Jagger is a mouth on a stick, he’s so skinny. But both guys have plenty of muscles and charm and their music still grabs you in the gut and brings you to your feet.

It must have been like herding cats for Martin Scorsese, trying desperately to get his arms around the shape of the film, when he couldn’t even get a set list until the first number started! This is a group of guys who have done what they wanted for decades and they are not dancing to someone else’s tune now. Scorsese is a pro, though, and I’ve loved every one of his music docs. This time out, he captures the essence, the sound bites, the piss and vinegar of the band and whirls it by us like life from a merry-go-round.

The segments with the incomparable BUDDY GUY and steamy Christina Aguilera were HOTT, HOTT, HOTT, in very different ways. Buddy Guy’s guitar wails; his voice speaks of a thousand Jack Black and Lucky Strike nights. He and Mick together blend the best of black and white rock, blues, and soul. Aguilera has it all—looks, powerful voice and personal charisma, and able to play off Jagger belt for belt. These were brilliant ensembles.

I kept asking myself, what IS it that keeps these guys on top? How and why have they lasted so long and still draw sell-out crowds? It’s Mick’s energy partly—he’s like a rocket about to take off, fully loaded with fuel injection. The guitar wizards know how to make their instruments scream and sob, some of the best in the business. Most of the songs are powerful, hard pounding—the essential rock sound. But it’s much more than that. It’s ALL of that. It’s that these old rockers retell an era of music and living that resounds for many of us. They make us feel alive, sexy, ready to take on the world, the establishment, the Man. There were hopes and dreams for a better world back then, belief that you could capture the wild thing. The Stones reconnect us with all that--

All I can say, is “Gimme the Stones when I’m thirsty, gimme buddy Guy when I wanna get high…” – Yeah, baby! May old rockers never die!

-- Rosemary Carstens