"Sweet Neo Con" has easily gotten more attention than any Rolling Stones song in decades. For example, can you name the new Rolling Stones single on the radio now? In case you care, and like most old Stones fans you don't, the song is called "Rough Justice" and features the usual Richards riffage to Jagger's fuddy-duddy boasts that he is a "rooster" who can take care of any "fox" (think Jay-Z on barbiturates).
It probably helps Mick and Co. that few have actually heard "Sweet Neo Con." This is not an accident. As of this writing, A Bigger Bang, the new Stones disc, has not been leaked to the illegal file-sharing networks, though it is due in stores on September 6. That is quite an accomplishment. In fact, though the song has been covered by hundreds of news outlets, from Newsweek to the Drudge Report, no one mentions hearing the song until an August 16 post on RollingStone.com, in which critic David Fricke describes "Sweet Neo Con" as a "stomp."
How is it that Fox news anchors are speculating that the Rolling Stones should be booted off of an NFL television special (already featuring the more politically active Green Day) for a song no one has heard? The reason, of course, is that the lyrics are out, attacking U.S. policy in Iraq and seeming to take direct aim at the president:
"You call yourself a Christian, I call you a hypocrite / You call yourself a patriot, well I think you're full of shit."
But how do lyrics get out without a song being heard? One answer may be that the lyrics were leaked in that masterful way the Rolling Stones have had for publicity for decades. Not to say the sentiments aren't sincere. But what a perfect moment for a well-timed publicity stunt as the tour opens in Boston August 21 (and hits Vegas November 18 at the MGM). In fact, it is interesting how quickly Mick —not an easy guy to reach for interviews in the best of times—was produced for select media outlets to deny that the song was about President Bush.
Though the conservative media led the anti-Stones charge, on August 15 conservative Matt Lewis wrote a commentary about concern in right-wing circles that not enough outrage had yet been expressed about the unheard Rolling Stones' track. His conclusion: "We have reached the point where we tune out the political message of these ‘Dinosaur' rockers."
That seems overstated. Certainly, Springsteen's decision to promote the Kerry campaign made front-page news around the country, and Neil Young has championed his own brand of quirky activism in his music and personal life. Their impact can be debated but fans don't tune these artists out on politics. Does anyone doubt that if Bob Dylan were to record a song about politics, not a single news personality would rise up to say he should stick to singing about cars and girls?
Being tuned out is the Rolling Stones' fate, not because they are dinosaurs, but because decades ago they stopped making music that demanded to be taken seriously. The Rolling Stones may once have been the World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll band, but that has been the marketing slogan of a mediocre group for far longer. The brutal truth is that the Stones haven't made an unquestionably great album since Some Girls (1978), and they haven't even made a really good one since Tattoo You (1981). Honestly, what is the last "new" song by the Rolling Stones you recall? Anyone?
Alright, how about the stomp "Highwire" ("It's just a business you can pay us in crude"), the anti-Gulf War song from 1991? Yes, even protesting a Bush administration's war with Iraq is something the Stones have done before—not that anyone was paying attention.
Richard Abowitz wept the day the Jagger-Bowie "Dancing in the Streets" video aired. E-mail him at
[email protected].