The Stones Project

This is epic. This is the coolest piece I've done. This is the coolest framing job of my work. This is why I do these.

This is why the fellow had me do these:

As a kid I always loved the Stones … tried to learn everything I could about them: first it was Mick, then I started learning about Keith, then Ronnie … in the three of them, I see the flash, the grit, the fun … but the beat holds it all together.  

I read this passage and it stuck with me: "There's an old saying among those who have know the Stones a long time. It's that Mick wants to be Keith, and they all want to be Charlie. Why Charlie? Because he's genuinely hip, he's got innate good taste, and understands restraint. Charlie kept his family together, and he never got off on the star trip that the rest of them did. He's just Charlie Watts and when the job's over,  he goes home and feeds his horses."

Who knows if it's true, but it's a great reminder when I'm sitting in my office all day not to get caught up in the perks of being a corporate exec … do the job and go home spend time with my wife, call my mother more often, enjoy the sunshine and my garden. Work comes around again tomorrow … until it doesn't.

Practical Matters

Awhile ago I asked the question "What Will Matter". That was a more philosophical thought. If you had an idea for that, please do still leave a comment there. I'm really interested in what you think.

Today, though, I was faced with the year end/start reality of required upkeep, both business and personal. Practical matters matter, but only when they do, usually after dutiful procrastination. Paperwork to file, records to update, pool pumps to clean. Fun fun fun.

Seriously though, like maintaining our physical health, those responsibilities can be looked at as satisfying to accomplish. Without them, the big things would fall apart, like one's house. No shortcuts.

So, like the saying goes, don't sweat the small stuff; it's all small stuff. But get it done!

Peace.

Keith Richards 01/14/09

Covered Art

This copy of "Beggars Banquet" has the rather silly, watered-down replacement cover that the record label forced. The original cover, also used for the CD, shows a dirty bathroom wall above a toilet. Much more meaningful context for the album name, with even some good messages of peace and love. Certainly more relevant to the counterculture of '68.

RSVP on the lower left of this cover does prompt response. I expect it did enrage those who knew of the artistic censorship, and maybe even did elicit response. There've been many examples through the history of the record album of controversial covers, some of which were changed to satisfy the uptight. What stories do you know about?

My favorite Black Crowes album, "Amorica", was altered after its initial release. My friend Robert Benson, who's got this cool post today about the cover of "Exile on Main Street", has chronicled Gigwise's top controversial, weird, worst, and best album covers.

What's your favorite album cover with its own story? The Beatles' "Butcher Cover" perhaps?

Peace.

Keith Richards 10/30/08