The Brussels Affair

If you haven't noticed yet, the hype machine is starting to rev pretty high in anticipation of the Rolling Stones' 50th anniversary, which is next year. Keith, Ron and Charlie are getting together in London at the end of this month "to jam" a little bit as Keith put it- a sure sign that a tour is going to take place, even if no one will confirm it just yet. Next week the re-release of Some Girls comes out in a deluxe addition featuring 12 extra songs, as does a DVD of the 1978 Forth Worth show.

Google just launched their own music service with an MP3 release of the band's Brussels concert from 1973, available for $4.99, the first in a "Rolling Stones Bootleg Series." Surely there's going to be a lot more to come. I like to think I'm immune to this kind of machinery, but I find myself succumbing to it with pleasure- perhaps because the Stones really are the world's greatest rock and roll band.