The Rolling Stones are overrated. Some people in my area might disagree. The nearby city, Toronto, in order to declare that the risk of getting SARS was over, had a festival to declare that illness gone. They got the Rolling Stones to headline. I was not impressed and didn’t go.
The local museum here in Kitchener, had an exhibition that they declared a triumph as they were only one of three cities getting it. It was a Rolling Stones memorabilia show. I am not impressed . I didn’t go to this over hyped event.
The worst part of Rolling Stones propaganda is that they are hyped as the greatest rock and roll band in the world. They have a handful of good songs and a couple handfuls of okay songs. I don’t think they are worthy of this title.
And let’s be crystal clear. The Rolling Stones would never have gotten this tag line if the Beatles hadn’t broken up. No one considers them better than the Beatles.
So allow me to present to you a partial list of bands I consider better than the Rolling Stones.
I don’t even consider the Rolling Stones the second best of their wave of music to come out of Britain in the mid 1960s. I prefer the stylings of the Who. And if they didn’t impress you in the 1960s, they would in the 1970s. The Who was a better rock band.
What came next in rock music was progressive rock. The bands that came to the fore in these times were much better at their instruments than the Rolling Stones ever were. Bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Genesis and Rush are more deserving of “the greatest rock and roll band in the world” title.
Next came arena rock. While it could be argued that a few of them were still progressive, like Queen, Supertramp and Styx, others like Electric Light Orchestra, Journey and Foreigner were straight pop rock.
The eighties showed the Cars, the Police, the Cure, Men Without Hats, U2 and INXS were better bands than the Rolling Stones.
The nineties had funk rock and grunge which had bands better than the Rolling Stones. Among them were the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Faith No More, Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
This millennium saw bands like Coldplay, Bastille and Imagine Dragons be better than the Rolling Stones.
If you’re wondering what the magic formula is for being better than the Rolling Stones it is simple. 1. Be a rock band. 2. Put out a few good songs. 3. Wait for I or someone else to declare you better than the Rolling Stones.
Have you ever noticed that nearly every Rolling Stones cover song is better when done by a new band?
I also am not at all impressed by Rolling Stone magazine, which has a very similar name. What can I say? I like moss.
