The Rolling Stones Headlining Glastonbury 2013

The rumors have been confirmed, as The Rolling Stones will headline the 2013 Glastonbury festival along with Mumford & Sons and the Arctic Monkeys. The festival was not held in 2012 due to the London 2012 Olympics, as well as to let the fields heal. The 2011 festival was headlined by U2, Coldplay and Beyonce.

The Rolling Stones haven't played an outdoor music festival since the infamous Altamont 1969 concert that was fraught with violence when the Hell's Angels were hired as "security", which led to the stabbing death of a fan. After the huge success of a peaceful Woodstock, Altamont signaled the end of the idea of a peaceful free music festival. It shook the Rolling Stones up enough that they stopped appearing at outdoor music festivals, until now.

Some rumors have said this would be their last performance as a group, but I have doubts about that. Come on...its the Rolling Stones. How many times have we heard rumors about a final performance? Get yer ya-ya's out and get ready for what should be a great show. Glastonbury will be one stop on their tour, other dates have yet to be announced. Rumors currently say that the tour could have 18 or more dates in North America, with some in Australia a possibility as well. AEG Live is expected to announce the dates sometime in April.

What songs would you like to see them play in a set list? I hope they break out some that haven't been performed much or at all lately. "Lady Jane", "She's a Rainbow", "Look What The Cat Dragged In", "Saint of Me", "As Tears Go By", "Highwire" and "Till the Next Goodbye" would be on my wishlist. I also hope they continue to play their two new songs from GRRR!, "Doom & Gloom" and "One More Shot". "Doom & Gloom" would easily make my top 10 favorite Stones songs, I love the energy of it.

12-12-12 Concert Rocks the Garden

The 121212 Concert rocked Madison Square Garden last night, as well as maybe 2 billion people watching around the world.

- As expected there was the fusion of The Beatles and Nirvana, when Paul McCartney teamed up with Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear to perform a rocking new song called "Cut Me Some Slack". The song was written in just one day, and it sounded a bit like a cross between The Beatles' "Helter Skelter", which Paul opened with, and Nirvana's "Breed". It was definitely a great moment to watch. And you could hear Dave Grohl comment after while leaving the stage, "that was fucking awesome!" We all agree! McCartney had the set of the night, and is still trending on twitter as I write this. Definitely some unexpected songs thrown in.

- McCartney brought out a bunch of the heroes of Hurricane Sandy and then Alicia Keys performed "Empire State of Mind" with all of them on stage, which was a perfect way to cap off the excellent show. Keys also provided the "lighter moment" of the night during her earlier set, only with cell phones instead of lighters of course. Loved seeing MSG glowing all around her.

- Chris Martin of Coldplay had the joke of the night, saying "I know you wanted One Direction but its way past their bedtime, so that's why you get one quarter of Coldplay." He also brought out Michael Stipe of R.E.M.

- Kanye West wore a leather skirt. Maybe he borrowed it from Kim Kardashian's closet?

- The Rolling Stones had a quick two song set, though they were added at the last minute, and have another show on their tour tonight. Mick Jagger must have made people watching who are 30 years younger feel bad about themselves for not being able to move as good as he can. He certainly showed what the "moves like Jagger" really are.

-New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen of course, with Bon Jovi a couple sets after. Jon joined Springsteen during his set, and Bruce joined Bon Jovi during theirs much to the delight of the crowd. Billy Joel also got one of the biggest reactions of the night.

-Howard Stern fans rejoice, It wouldn't be a New York show without a "Baba Booey!" shout making it through, which happened during Billy Crystal's speech.

-Roger Waters and Eddie Vedder did a fine job performing some Pink Floyd classics. The Who also performed a long set, and sounded much better than they did at the Super Bowl a few years ago.

You can pre-order the live album on iTunes or wait for it to come out on CD everywhere. All proceeds go to the Robin Hood Foundation.

Noomi Rapace & The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones have released their new music video (watch below) for the song "Doom and Gloom" off their career-spanning hits set "GRRR!" which was released last week. The new video stars Noomi Rapace, known to Americans for her roles in the hit films Prometheus and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. She also starred in the Swedish versions of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy as Lisbeth Salander.

Props to The Rolling Stones for still kicking ass after 50 years and releasing a fairly imaginative music video to an energetic new song. The video features a scene with ZOMBIES, which automatically makes it great in my book. The Stones will be playing a few concerts soon in London and the New York area, and rumors are they might play more dates in 2013. One such rumor is that they'll be one of the three headliners for the Glastonbury Festival in 2013, which makes its return after taking a year off. It was last headlined by U2, Beyonce and Coldplay.

They also released their first official app to the iTunes store. Looks like they'll be rocking beyond their 50th year. Mick Jagger still just wants to know, "Baby won't you dance with me?"

Listen to The Rolling Stones' "Doom and Gloom"

Caution: Will make you want moves like Jagger. 'Doom and Gloom', the first new song from The Rolling Stones in seven years, was just released to radio and for purchase on iTunes today. I have a feeling this will easily become a favorite for many Rolling Stones fans, and maybe even convert some new ones. Check it out:

When I first heard the song I thought it could easily stand on similar footing with 'Start Me Up'. That's the song from their catalog it most closely resembles, which is obviously a good thing. Its a loud, energetic song that really does make you want to move and dance as Mick Jagger previously said. They had to put out a rollicking song like this in the wake of Maroon 5's 'Moves Like Jagger', and he'll surely be moving again when they hit the stage later this fall in New York and London.

'Doom and Gloom' probably blasts past most peoples' expectations before hearing it. Amazing that they could release a song like this 50 years in their legendary career. Props to Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Ronnie Wood for continuing to make us feel good.

The Rolling Stones New Single "Doom & Gloom"

'Doom and Gloom', the new single by The Rolling Stones, will be released on Thursday October 11th to radio and for sale on iTunes (and hopefully Amazon). It marks the first new song by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards & Co since their last studio album, A Bigger Bang, was released in 2005. The song will also be one of two new tracks on their upcoming career spanning hits set GRRR! which comes out on November 12th.

Jagger says, "It’s called Doom & Gloom, though it’s a really raunchy rocker you can dance to & not gloomy at all! It was fun and quick to record, & Jeff Bhaskar has done a great mix. Hope you like it." It will be played for the first time on BBC Radio 2 at 8:15 am British time. Should be interesting to hear what they've come up with 50 years into their career.

Richards also said that the band will be playing more shows in London and New York than previously announced. He didn't say when the dates will be, but presumably later this fall or early winter.

Rolling Stones New Songs; 50th Anniversary

Fans have been speculating about what The Rolling Stones have been up to in preparation of celebrating their 50th Anniversary. First it was announced that they will be playing four live shows in November at the O2 Arena in London and at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, two at each venue. They also have a new documentary called "Crossfire Hurricane" spanning their 5 decades that will air November 15th on HBO. Directed by Brett Morgen, all four members (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts & Ronnie Wood) will be talking about their history in the film. Expect some background on their albums, and of course the normal "sex, drugs & rock 'n roll" stories.

ESPN has also licensed 16 Rolling Stones songs to be used on every NFL Monday Night Football telecast during the 2012 season, calling it "Legend to Legend." Expect some classic hits and some deeper tracks that may not be as well known when watching Monday Night Football this year.

It was also announced today that the band will be releasing two new songs recorded in Paris, their first since the last studio album "A Bigger Bang" came out in 2005. The two new tracks, "Gloom and Doom" & "One Last Shot", will be included on a new career spanning 50-song greatest hits album titled "GRRR!" This will take the place of 2002's "Forty Licks", which has been out of print since switching music labels. Fans probably wanted a full new album, but i'm sure any new songs will be well received. For those who already have most of their music and don't need a greatest hits album, you can download just "Gloom & Doom" and "One Last Shot" on Amazon or iTunes.

There will also be an 80-track super deluxe edition with all sorts of goodies for fans including a poster and bonus CD.  A vinyl box set for the die hard fans will be out as well. "GRRR!" will be released on November 13th, 2012 to coincide with the HBO documentary "Crossfire Hurricane" and the four live shows. Quite the autumn for Rolling Stones fans. The creative album cover for "GRRR!" was designed by Walton Ford.