Showbiz411

Yikes! My Rolling Stones are having some trouble today. They released a new single for downloading on iTunes today. And it’s only made it to number 76. When Adele released “Skyfall” last week it also immediately vaulted to number 1. Same for Taylor Swift’s last four disposable concoctions. But the Stones did things a little strangely. They released “Doom and Gloom” for release at 3:15am Eastern Time with very little advance notice. It’s also not what you’d call a consumer friendly song. It’s not a big ballad, it’s not sentimental, it’s not for a 2012 crowd. It’s rough and raunchy. It has the word ‘fracking’ in it. It has no memorable chorus. The confluence of all these things has meant a blunted impact. But the Rolling Stones will always run counter to expectations. That’s what’s so cool about them. And “Doom and Gloom” is a more interesting, sophisticated take than anything on radio right now. Unfortunately, this is not the generation for interesting and sophisticated.

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.