brian jones - really?

Something i've always struggled to understand about this guy was that everybody said, oh, he was the most concerned about the Stones being a real blues band. Elmore James, slide guitar, etc. And I've seen interviews where Jones says stuff like this i.e. 'we were the most authentic blues band in Soho.' And on the other hand, he was clearly responsible for the poppy AND the avant-garde end of their early/middle phases. As others have said, once he goes, all that stuff goes and the Stones become more of a bar-rock blues machine.

yeah that is a weird dichotomy

Jones' peak in the band coincided with the Beatles' own studio experiments, which also kinda ceased after 1968. I wonder if The Band, Clapton, John Wesley Harding, etc. redeemed the quest for authenticity.

^ Was gonna say, Brian Jones’ trajectory mirrored George Harrison’s, they both more or less gave up guitar in 1967 for exotica, but later came back to it after they’d heard The Band and CCR

The History of Rock Music in 500 Songs podcast recently had an episode which had a fair bit about Jones and some awful shit he did.

https://500songs.com/podcast/episode-129-i-cant-get-no-satisfaction-by-the-rolling-stones/

There's a transcript on the page, it's the last four or five paragraphs which are relevant here.

holy shit

ugh wow, i'd always heard oblique references and rumors... but wow. even if that's not 100% accurate that is still horrifying.

A Nico biography from several years ago had similar stories.

jesus that's horrific

The only competition in the Elegant Dirtbag department was Alain Delon.

yeah, that's fucking terrible. and it makes you think about what they didn't know about, or didn't act on.

it is consistent among the women who ever had any interaction with him … there are zero stories about him being anything less than awful as his drug use increased. he was unpleasant early on, but as time wore on (forgive the glib cliche) the sadistic violence became a feature, not a bug.

keith and mick arent making up stories about brian to make themselves feel better about kicking him out of the band. it’s not jealous propaganda because he was more talented & or theyre annoyed that he’s the rolling stone that everyone thinks they like the best because he was “interesting”.
they saw what everyone close to him saw.

In that Rolling Stone I excerpted, Jagger makes it clear he didn't much like him.

Makes sense Genesis P-Orridge would relate to him.

The History of Rock Music in 500 Songs podcast recently had an episode which had a fair bit about Jones and some awful shit he did.

https://500songs.com/podcast/episode-129-i-cant-get-no-satisfaction-by-the-rolling-stones🕸/

There's a transcript on the page, it's the last four or five paragraphs which are relevant here.

I listened to the one on The Yardbirds' "For Your Love" and learned some things I'd never heard before. Subscribed.

urgh that Brian Jones story... I never liked him in general, I always found him lame and creepy, and regarding their music, I much prefer the Beggars/Exile years to the early years (although I enjoy some tracks).
But thanks for the podcast : it seems great indeed !

Glad you all like 500 Songs, thought Andrew was ILM-adjacent, even if I've never seen him on here he seems to be in the same circles on Twitter.

You can thank him to recorder on Rub yTuesday!

also
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Along_the_Watchtower#The_Jimi_Hendrix_Experience_version";

He is popping up mischevioiusly everywhere playing odd instruments!

Saw this (theatre) this afternoon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MtS2t1KQ7c

Some good footage of '64-65 hysteria (e.g., a riot at an Australian airport), but don't know that I learned a whole lot I didn't more or less already know. Only the second or third Nick Broomfield film I've seen (saw his Sarah Palin film for sure; maybe one other?). His manner is so annoying--thankfully not much of him here, although he starts with an odd introduction to the film, some of which is repeated in the film proper.

igh i think i’ll pass
i cannot stand Broomfield

I hear you. (I think he does too--probably no more than five minutes of him in voiceover.)

even if he was never on camera, at this point even his mere existence annoys the shit out of me

The amount of time given to Bill Wyman will be a big problem for some people (10-15 minutes). He plays some old stuff of his computer, points out (with delight and amazement) Jones's contribution. As someone who, as much as humanly possible, tuned out on the Rolling Stones 35 years ago, I was kind of shocked by something that wouldn't surprise anyone who continued to pay attention: this old grey-haired man is Bill Wyman? The version of him that I carry in my head goes back to 1975.

Here's Bill from a couple of days ago, signing for fans at a modest table-for-one in a specialty foods grocery store (the baked goods counter seems to be behind him):

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz09YvRqYIk/?img_index=1

Love it though, he really doesn't miss the life the Stones are leading now.

A Wyman clip from the film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjE4DgFVwQU

I'm pretty sure I've seen that guy playing euchre at the community center in town.

It's funny how his desk looks exactly like my parents' desk, from the printer he's using to the small department store picture frames to the small office supply holder with the standard orange-handle scissors. (FWIW, my parents hate rock music and never took part in that side of the culture.)

Looks like a nice friendly old paedophile.