Graphic by Rob Lucchesi
Have you or a loved one sensed a disturbance in the force recently? Has your dad or elder male relative been acting strangely, chipper even? Have you seen an influx of tattered band tees? You may be entitled to financial compensation-- or at the very least a tour presale code.
The Rolling Stones announced their latest studio album, Hackney Diamonds, the first in almost two decades. The Stones derived their new title from east London slang, referring to broken window glass outside a robbery. This record marks the return of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards as songwriters since the release of their last full length original work, 2005's A Bigger Bang, and their first new recording since their 2016 cover album, Blue & Lonesome.
Ahead of their October release, the Stones released their first new single and Hackney Diamonds opening track, "Angry" with an accompanying music video featuring Euphoria star, Sydney Sweeney. The album itself will run a standard 12 tracks and will feature some of the biggest names in music past and present, including Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder and former Stones bassist Bill Wyman, with a number of guests still yet to be released.
Hackney Diamonds also features the last recordings of late Stones drummer Charlie Watts. Watts passed in the summer of 2021 and is severely missed by his friends and bandmates, "Ever since Charlie’s gone its different – he’s number four, he’s missing,” Keith Richards told The Guardian in a recent interview. “Of course he’s missed, incredibly. But thanks to Charlie Watts we have Steve Jordan – his recommendation, that if anything should happen to him, he’s your man.” Steve Jordan joined the Stones ahead of their 60th Anniversary Tour in 2022 and will be featured on nine tracks on the new album.
But that's all blah-dee-blah suit-and-tie reporting, we know why you're really here. Let's get editorial with it. Dude, it's the f*cking Stones putting out a new album. Anyone south of the Mason-Dixie Line is getting excited and all you yankees should be getting excited too. If there's anything I've learned during my time in the Northeast, it's that the yankees want to be rednecks more than anything. I've heard more Zach Bryan and Noah Kahan in New Jersey of all places than I ever heard back home, and I know some country ass S.O.B's.
But it's not those guys that are excited about Hackney Diamonds, which is the really ironic part of all this. There's no modern country without the Stones, man. There's not a lot of most modern guitar music without the Stones. There are few bands with the cultural impact that the Stones have. I mean, I couldn't tell how many times my dad's told me the story about him and my uncle standing in line all day at the record store for their copy of Tattoo You (which now sits proudly on the Stones shelf in our joint record collection).
And let's talk about Tattoo You, I mean, come on! Completely made up of songs that didn't make the cut for previous albums, becoming arguably one of their best and most iconic records. An album so good, they managed to sell "Waiting On A Friend" as a B-Side track! They're one of if not the greatest bands of all time in my opinion and I'm certain I'm not alone in that. My old man took my sister to see them at Bank of America Stadium during their 2022 tour and even my webcore-Machine-Girl-hyperpop sister gets it.
The long and the short of it is, man, this album is a big deal. It's a precedent being reset. Lots of bands and artists we consider to be "the best of the best" have put out albums in recent years to varying success but usually met with very few good things said about them outside of "lookit, new music from ______," and usually followed closely by a retirement tour (I'm looking at y'all, KISS, Bon Jovi). But the Stones have an opportunity to once again show us how it's done and re-cement the honky tonk sound in the ears of the young listener.
Hackney Diamonds out October 20, 2023.
Rob Lucchesi