Are you going to buy the Rolling Stones SACDs?

Grace Slick once said and I paraphrase here: "There's nothing more pathetic than a 50 year old playing rock and roll on stage." It seems appropriate in a musical era dominated by disposable pop divas like Brittney, Christina and now Pink that The Stones HBO special could find an audience. Mick can no longer sing and his face looks like that of a mummy's after the bandages have been removed. I would buy the new versions of their old stuff because try as I may it's like finding a needle in a haystack to find contemporary music that can hold a classic to these withered hasbeens' early stuff.If most of us on this site are audiophiles that are in constant search of sonic nirvana then buying the best newest versions of old gems seems an easy choice to make.

An endorsement by the masses is hardly a benchmark of quality (see Bush's approval rating). In the case of the Stones not unlike The Grateful Dead there are new generations of fans who didn't grow up seeing these bands at their peak and are thrilled to buy the latterday, geriatric commercial crap these stayed -too long -at-the dance dinosaurs are spewing out in abundance. There was nothing sadder than seeing The Grateful Dead in '91 with Jerry (seemingly on life support) just going through the motions. Not unlike the Stones every studio album from Shakedown Street on was just as irrelevant as the Stones'post Some Girls albums. If you missed the bus, you missed it. Don't get on it 20 years later when its run out of gas.

Hey Pops. I think you misinterpreted my comment. I said that every Stones album since Some Girls was irrelevant. Catering to the masses is what gave us the current disposable rock era we must suffer through now. (Brittney,Matchbox 20, Pink etc.). Ironic that the music industry has downsized 45% in the last few years and although bootlegging and the internet are mostly to blame the overall product mix being mediocre factors in as well. I'd gladly buy the enhanced versions of any classic Stones albums, but I shudder at having to watch their HBO special or go and see The Dead.I've seen The Eagles, Stones, Grateful Dead and The Who(Townshend on acoustic the entire show!?) in the latter stages of their touring career. Having also seen them at times closer to their peak, I can only say that seeing them later in the game only made me miss the music that used to be theirs all the more.I respect subjectivity in the arts and may live in a musical time warp, but it seems like home to me.

Drubin. Going off and dying doesn't ensure that the artist won't still issue an album. Seems like Hendrix came out with way more albums post-humously than he did while breathing. (A good thing.) There are indeed artists who in my opinion retain their magic into their later years. Neil Young and Jorma Kaukonen are two that come to mind. I'm not familiar with Miles Davis'
repertoire, but I catch your sarcasm. There is a certain sense of nobility in dying at your peak. Joplin, Morrison and Hendrix burned brightly albeit too briefly. Eric Clapton and Stevie Winwood have taken the adult contemporary route. Michael Jackson has become a caricature. Where's Stevie Wonder been? I'm constantly looking for new music to listen to. So far The White Stipes is what I've found. Why? Because it sounds old. Expert? Me? Hardly! Thanks Pops for the J. L. Hooker tip. I welcome any suggestions on long in the tooth rockers who still kick ass.