Mick is always protesting his lack of memory about all sorts of things, even to the point of using that as an excuse for not writing his autobiography in the 80's. "What album is it from Bill? He doesn't know, he doesn't know. Beggar's Banquet someone said..."

Is this an act or does he have some sort of freaking cognitive impairment??

I knew the answer to this but I forgot it.

I've often wondered about this (and from other musicians, too). I think most of it's an act; kinda making it look like "hey, ain't I cool? I don't really care." Especially Charlie. "What's the album with the cake on it?" Imagine going to your grave with an incredible body of work and not knowing what's on what album or what it's called.
I'm not saying they have to bask in the glory of it, either.
Remember that bit in the Beatles Anthology extra where they're playing Golden Slumbers and George says, "What album's this off of?" I mean, come on. I just read an interview with Dickie Betts and he couldn't remember what album Mountain Jam was on (and it's 30 minutes long!)

Sometimes they can't even remember what city they're in while on tour.But I suppose that could happen to anyone

Rolling Stones Historian-Scotland
I962-2012

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tomk
I've often wondered about this (and from other musicians, too). I think most of it's an act; kinda making it look like "hey, ain't I cool? I don't really care." Especially Charlie. "What's the album with the cake on it?" Imagine going to your grave with an incredible body of work and not knowing what's on what album or what it's called.
I'm not saying they have to bask in the glory of it, either.
Remember that bit in the Beatles Anthology extra where they're playing Golden Slumbers and George says, "What album's this off of?" I mean, come on. I just read an interview with Dickie Betts and he couldn't remember what album Mountain Jam was on (and it's 30 minutes long!)

I think it's possible they really don't know what song is on what album. Some of the musicians I know don't own a complete set of their own records, and haven't listened to their own records since they approved the final mixes,

Personally, I've always thought it was B.S.

I think he knows and remembers a lot more than he lets on. Just look at some of the recent interviews about the boots, and he remembers specific events and songs. I think he likes to pretend to give a sense that he doesn't really care about the past. But I think he clearly remembers.

......eeeeerrrr what was the question again ???

ROCKMAN

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whitem8
I think he knows and remembers a lot more than he lets on. Just look at some of the recent interviews about the boots, and he remembers specific events and songs. I think he likes to pretend to give a sense that he doesn't really care about the past. But I think he clearly remembers.

this is my guess as well, although I think there might be (as with many things) a kernel of truth. Freudian speculation about memory suppression might lead to one to speculate that Mick finds being Mick to be somewhat traumatic in one way or the other - fame can be difficult as well as pleasant, I would imagine.

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whitem8
I think he knows and remembers a lot more than he lets on. Just look at some of the recent interviews about the boots, and he remembers specific events and songs. I think he likes to pretend to give a sense that he doesn't really care about the past. But I think he clearly remembers.

I agree. I also remember a recent quote from Mick to the effects of 'I remember everything' - which completely contradicted everything he had said before.....it might have been a reaction to Keith's book.
But I can also see how they might get dates, years mixed up simple because they don't chronicle their own lives they way chronicle them. To us, its history, its knowing every detail about your band etc...
But I can't remember exactly what year it was that I met my best friend - i know it was either late 89 or early 90....when its your own life, you remember moments, not dates or specifics.

Probably repression and vanity combined. He hasn't been called Peter Pan for nothing. He flatters himself thinking he is peaking right now, however playing songs more than 40 years old suggests the opposite which triggers the repression mechanism, i e he doesn't "remember".

Pretending

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I am sure he remembers most things but chooses not to discuss them. I think it hurts and offends him deeply that people most value his past efforts and persona rather than his present offerings and self.

I recall he once wrote that the time limitations of the rock and roll genre were problematic for him, because in any other aspect of the arts, he could continue to develop at any age.

My guess it's a little of both...just like most people.

he just tries to put on that "i dont give a shit" attitude which made it funny when they showed all of his masters of the stones stuff sitting there in perfect order in the being mick movie.

one of the best quotes a journalist ever made about mick was" it seems with all his insincerity he's covering up how sincere he really is"

which i could remember who it was to give them credit but that line always seemed true to me.

I think it must be hard to remember everything they've done...their lives aren't like ours, especially from the mid 60's through to the 90's. It was one long slog of recording, touring, recovering...add the women, the drugs, the booze, the travelling, their own personal lives to sort out i.e kids etc. Mix in that all the hanging about while recording. I doubt I could remember what album any particular song was on or where I had toured. It must all mesh in to one long blur for Mick and Keith especially. Whilst Jagger these days is a paragon of virtue regarding diet, and fitness, let's not forget he was bang at it for many years...booze and pills and powders. Keith and Ronnie usually get the headlines in this aspect, butjagger was no schoolboy!



'some things, well, I can't refuse'

I agree, it's probably half-truth, half-acting. In later years, this has changed somewhat with Mick and Keith -- because of Life, the reissues of Exile and Some Girls, the concert movies and the bootleg series. You know, if they agree to do an interview about the 1973 tour, they can no longer just sit there and not care about it.

Personally, I'm a little fed up with that I-can't-care-less attitude, and I appreciate it when artists actually show that they know their own work, that they're in control of their own releases. It's a way of showing respect for, and appreciation of, their own work and even their own fans. E.g. like saying "Yeah, I agree, Jig-Saw Puzzle is a great song, it's one of the best songs we did on Beggars Banquet, we should do it live some day."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-05-08 23:18 by LieB.

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crumbling_mice
I think it must be hard to remember everything they've done...their lives aren't like ours, especially from the mid 60's through to the 90's. It was one long slog of recording, touring, recovering...add the women, the drugs, the booze, the travelling, their own personal lives to sort out i.e kids etc. Mix in that all the hanging about while recording. I doubt I could remember what album any particular song was on or where I had toured. It must all mesh in to one long blur for Mick and Keith especially. Whilst Jagger these days is a paragon of virtue regarding diet, and fitness, let's not forget he was bang at it for many years...booze and pills and powders. Keith and Ronnie usually get the headlines in this aspect, butjagger was no schoolboy!

True. But just by listening to those records, you know how much passion was put into it. Human beings don't create amazing things like that and then carelessly forget about them.

Good point, LieB. When there is something to sell Jagger suddenly remembers!

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Stoneage
Good point, LieB. When there is something to sell Jagger suddenly remembers!

I guess it is an expression everybody uses - if you could care less, if you don't want to talk about, if you are tired of it, if you are bored by the same old same old question - fx. stupid journalist questions.
I myself quite say "I don't know" - not because I don't know, but because of the questions stupidity / cutting of the subject or for whatever reason .

Right, mtaylor. There's another subject: The stupidity of journalists. And of all journalists, those in the "entertainment sector" are probably the most stupid. Ask Mick jagger, he should know!

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lem motlow
he just tries to put on that "i dont give a shit" attitude which made it funny when they showed all of his masters of the stones stuff sitting there in perfect order in the being mick movie.

one of the best quotes a journalist ever made about mick was" it seems with all his insincerity he's covering up how sincere he really is"

which i could remember who it was to give them credit but that line always seemed true to me.

That's a great quote. I believe it.

Sorry what message board is this again?

"I've got nasty habits I take tea at three"

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stupidguy2

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lem motlow
he just tries to put on that "i dont give a shit" attitude which made it funny when they showed all of his masters of the stones stuff sitting there in perfect order in the being mick movie.

one of the best quotes a journalist ever made about mick was" it seems with all his insincerity he's covering up how sincere he really is"

which i could remember who it was to give them credit but that line always seemed true to me.

That's a great quote. I believe it.

Totally true. He tries to portray a 'cool detachedness' when in actual fact he is a bit of a control freak.

There is no way MJ doesn't know every track from every album...probably in the right order too.

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treaclefingers

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stupidguy2

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lem motlow
he just tries to put on that "i dont give a shit" attitude which made it funny when they showed all of his masters of the stones stuff sitting there in perfect order in the being mick movie.

one of the best quotes a journalist ever made about mick was" it seems with all his insincerity he's covering up how sincere he really is"

which i could remember who it was to give them credit but that line always seemed true to me.

That's a great quote. I believe it.

Totally true. He tries to portray a 'cool detachedness' when in actual fact he is a bit of a control freak.

There is no way MJ doesn't know every track from every album...probably in the right order too.

I doubt this highly. You really think Mick could name every song that's on Aftermath in the correct order? While he's probably spent more time listening to it than any Stones fan ever will in their lifetime, I'm quite sure he did all of that listening while he was making the album. He probably hasn't listened to the whole thing, start to finish, since before it was released, 46 years ago.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-05-09 02:06 by tatters.

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tatters

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treaclefingers

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stupidguy2

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lem motlow
he just tries to put on that "i dont give a shit" attitude which made it funny when they showed all of his masters of the stones stuff sitting there in perfect order in the being mick movie.

one of the best quotes a journalist ever made about mick was" it seems with all his insincerity he's covering up how sincere he really is"

which i could remember who it was to give them credit but that line always seemed true to me.

That's a great quote. I believe it.

Totally true. He tries to portray a 'cool detachedness' when in actual fact he is a bit of a control freak.

There is no way MJ doesn't know every track from every album...probably in the right order too.

I doubt this highly. You really think Mick could name every song that's on Aftermath in the correct order? While he's probably spent more time listening to it than any Stones fan ever will in their lifetime, I'm quite sure he did all of that listening while he was making the album. He probably hasn't listened to the whole thing, start to finish, since before it was released, 46 years ago.

We certainly agree on one thing. You doubt this highly...and I can't take that away from you.

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treaclefingers

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stupidguy2

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lem motlow
he just tries to put on that "i dont give a shit" attitude which made it funny when they showed all of his masters of the stones stuff sitting there in perfect order in the being mick movie.

one of the best quotes a journalist ever made about mick was" it seems with all his insincerity he's covering up how sincere he really is"

which i could remember who it was to give them credit but that line always seemed true to me.

That's a great quote. I believe it.

Totally true. He tries to portray a 'cool detachedness' when in actual fact he is a bit of a control freak.

There is no way MJ doesn't know every track from every album...probably in the right order too.

I seriously doubt that.

This is the guy who had to send back a mullti-million dollar advance for his autobiography when he realised that his lack of memory wouldnt do the venture justice.

And that was almost three decades ago.

Bill summed it up well in a BBC interview in 1982 when asked why he ended up as the band's 'archivist' - "I happen to have a very good memory. And Keith has a good memory too, in fact. Mick is hopeless and so's Charlie.....and Woody's only been with us 7 years...he's a new boy, so he doesnt know much!"

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Gazza

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treaclefingers

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stupidguy2

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lem motlow
he just tries to put on that "i dont give a shit" attitude which made it funny when they showed all of his masters of the stones stuff sitting there in perfect order in the being mick movie.

one of the best quotes a journalist ever made about mick was" it seems with all his insincerity he's covering up how sincere he really is"

which i could remember who it was to give them credit but that line always seemed true to me.

That's a great quote. I believe it.

Totally true. He tries to portray a 'cool detachedness' when in actual fact he is a bit of a control freak.

There is no way MJ doesn't know every track from every album...probably in the right order too.

I seriously doubt that.

This is the guy who had to send back a mullti-million dollar advance for his autobiography when he realised that his lack of memory wouldnt do the venture justice.

And that was almost three decades ago.

Bill summed it up well in a BBC interview in 1982 when asked why he ended up as the band's 'archivist' - "I happen to have a very good memory. And Keith has a good memory too, in fact. Mick is hopeless and so's Charlie.....and Woody's only been with us 7 years...he's a new boy, so he doesnt know much!"

I never did 'buy that' it was his memory that was the issue, rather that when it came down to it, he really didn't want to dredge up the past.

He is a pretty private person, as most interviews clearly show. The 'memory' was an excuse, maybe to placate the publishers.

As far as Keith is concerned, it's difficult to tell what he's saying is real and what isn't...he's made up so many stories in the past even he believes it!

A bit of both for Mick, I think. The publishers, as ever, probably wanted a lot of kiss and tell stuff and he was never going to do that. However, I do honestly believe his recall of his history as a musician isnt that good....and I dont really blame him for that, to be honest. He has more important things to be concerned with than nerdy trivia.

I dont think Keith's predeliction for tall tales and rewriting history for the sake of his own myth was anywhere near as severe then as it later became.

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Gazza
A bit of both for Mick, I think. The publishers, as ever, probably wanted a lot of kiss and tell stuff and he was never going to do that. However, I do honestly believe his recall of his history as a musician isnt that good....and I dont really blame him for that, to be honest. He has more important things to be concerned with than nerdy trivia.

I dont think Keith's predeliction for tall tales and rewriting history for the sake of his own myth was anywhere near as severe then as it later became.

Mick remembers everything. Everything he does is calculated. He is a genius. With Keith, nothing is calculated, but he is also a genius.