The Rolling Stones

Saw them at an IMAX theater tonight. Martin Scorsese is one hell of a concert filmmaker. His last concert film, Lightning in a Bottle, was outstanding, definitely worth a rental if you're a fan of the blues (the house band alone features Dr. John & Keb Mo') — and this Stones film is a terrific follow-up. The energy of the Stones, their masculinity/ femininity, Jagger's sharp professionalism, their astounding songwriting abiity (you realize how refreshing it can be when a singer like Jagger is hard to understand so the songs never get memorized, never become rote), their snaking guitar sounds (Keith Richards says of himself and Ronnie Woods: Neither of us are great guitarists but put together we're better than 10 others combined), the experience of Bill Clinton in the IMAX flesh (the concert is at the Beacon theater to benefit a Clinton charity) — it's all wonderful and fascinating. The Stones are not only the self-described "greatest rock and roll band in the world," they're also tremendously challenging to rightwing American culture — and they're consummate artists. Yahoo!