Unmissable

Rolling Stones - Miss You



"New Rule: Airplane black boxes must now be made out of Keith Richards. The man, who has taken more drugs than Whitney Houston, Rush Limbaugh and Robert Downey, Jr., combined, recently fell out of a tree, and then crashed a jet ski. And yet, somehow, that cigarette never fell out of his mouth. What is this guy still running on? I've got to know. Because I'm beginning to think the future of medicine isn't injecting stem cells, it's injecting heroin."
- Real Time with Bill Maher, 12 May 2006 (Season 7, Episode 9)

"...how come Keith Richards still walks? Explain that Mr. Surgeon General! You never mention Keith do you? Aah, a lttle hole in the theory there! Surgeon General says "Drugs are bad -drugs are evil!...except for that guy, they work real good for him -but the rest of you..."

and

"Keith Richards is shooting heroin into his eyeballs and still touring alright! I'm getting mixed signals! I picture nuclear war and two things surviving; Keith and cockroaches! *does Keith Richards impression* "Where did everybody go-o? I saw a bright light and thought we were ho-ome..."
- Bill Hicks, 'Dangerous' audio 1990

Ah, the Stones, the (barely) living embodiment of rock and roll. It's difficult to argue that there has been a more influential duo in rock history than Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, or that there has been a cooler human being than Keef. Sure, there's Lennon and McCartney, but the Stones have the advantage of longevity, something pondered by Bill Hicks, Bill Maher and almost everyone who's seen the leathery visage of Mr Richards.

Ironically, the song is almost disco-y, reflecting the Stones in 1978 when it was released. Mick does his breathless, whispery-vocal thing, the ever-dependable Charlie Watts remains as reliable as ever pumping out a four-to-the-floor beat, Keith picks out his signature legato augmentations over an acoustic rhythm guitar and Bill Wyman gets all hella funky on the bass. All this while one of the most recognisable backing vocal harmonies hoots out of the speakers. There's also an electric piano and a harmonica in there. Rolling Stone, as enlightening as ever, say "With Charlie Watts channeling a disco groove, 'Miss You' became the band's first Number One hit in five years. "It's not really about a girl," Jagger said. 'The feeling of longing is what the song is.'"

And it's absolutely great, catchy as chlamydia and with more grooves than a well-plowed field. It's not even embarrassingly disco-y, more a channeling of Sly Stone funk into the body of Howling Wolf with almost a pre-emptive nod towards G-funk hip-hop and bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. This is the sound of the Stones doing something different, but still remaining absolutely, unimpeachably, The Stones. It's one of many arrows in an embarrassingly big quiver, one of an oeuvre of true greatness that could have three generations of a family shaking their booties to it. In short, it sounds like something you would actually want to hear on classic radio.

Taxonomy: Disco Inferno, All Hail Keef

Tomorrow: Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Shop Around