The Rolling Stones have been around forever. Key members have died young (Brian Jones) and in their old age (Charlie Watts), yet Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood seem indestructible. Jagger, in particular, is an especially spry and healthy octogenarian; he turns 83 next month, and you wouldn’t know it by the way he moves. So I guess it makes sense that as part of the rollout for his band’s new album, he talked to GQ’s wellness vertical. It’s a bit surprising, though, that Geese came up.
The Stones are rolling out Foreign Tongues, their second album with boomer-whisperer rock producer Andrew Watt. Just yesterday, they released a music video for new single “Jealous Lover” starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Charles Melton as well as “Divine Intervention,” a new song with the Cure’s Robert Smith on guitar and Steve Winwood on piano and organ. There’s also an official podcast, a white label single under a thinly veiled pseudonym, and branded Marvel, FIFA, and NASCAR vinyl editions of the new album. The promo blitz is on.
As part of that blitz, Jagger offered GQ his guide to longevity — or at least it was billed that way. Actually, the interview was wide-ranging, and Jagger’s advice about how to stay healthy for all eternity is pretty standard. He works out. He treats tour rehearsals as high intensity training sessions, replicating all the walking, dancing, and singing he’ll be doing onstage every night. He gave up excessive drug and alcohol use at 40: “I mean, you can still do it! But you can’t do it crazy all the time like you used to be able to.” He is not into ice baths or saunas, but the “no extreme temperatures” thing seems to be a matter of personal preference.
Before all the health and fitness talk, interviewer Ben Allen asked Jagger which current musicians he’s inspired by, which led to this response:
I did a track with Burna Boy. That was hilarious. ‘Cause I’m a real afrobeats person. And I’ve always liked Burna Boy. David Bowie was a great example of someone who only wanted to listen to what was going on now. But it’s such a lot of work to do that. It’s so much work. Loads of it is rubbish. So, I don’t ignore what’s going on, but I’m not a slave to what’s going on.
Allen then asked if Jagger’s heard Geese, and it turns out he has:
Geese, everyone’s talking about them. They’re very experimental, Geese, really. I mean, for a rock band. I quite like it. I heard all the talk about it, and as soon as the record, [Getting Killed], came out, I was expecting it to be more indie. I wasn’t expecting it to be quite that out there, but I admire that.
I want Jagger to elaborate on what he means by that. It’s intriguing that “indie” and “out there” are opposing forces to Jagger. He should read my book about how indie rock went pop! Mick, let’s do a We’ve Got A File On You and we can hash out What Indie Means Today. Maybe spend a few minutes making sense of the Chaotic Good ordeal? Also, does he know the first song on Cameron Winter’s solo album is called “The Rolling Stones”? Anyway, Jagger also big-upped Rosalía:
I mean, there’s also a lot of good women singers who have done great recently. Look at Rosalia’s album [Lux]. That was something really conceptual, really interesting. And she really pulled it off, and I really admire her for doing it.
Genuinely, congrats to Geese and Rosalía on obtaining Mick Jagger’s admiration.
The Rolling Stones – Foreign Tongues [Baby Pink 2xLP]
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Foreign Tongues is out 7/10 on Capitol.