Comments on: Keith Richards quits drinking…

By: Scott Alexander Young

Scott Alexander Young — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:58:52 +0000

And I’m not a spy, but I’ve played one on the telly. The days are long gone when I held a degree in street pharmacology, but sneakingly I have to admire Keef for sticking in there as long as he did. Maybe he looked to the example of his old faxing partner Hunter Thompson. Apparently not long before he died, Thompson was told he could live longer and healthier if he kicked the booze and moved to a warmer climate. But he chose instead to shoot a hole through his forehead while his infant grandson played in the room next door. Shame. Maybe by reforming even this late in the game, the Human Riff will end up the old bluesman sitting on a porch playing bottleneck guitar that he’s always seem destined to be, instead of yet another cautionary tale. Well, I hope so.

By: Steve McNally

Steve McNally — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:02:17 +0000

This is probably not great news: Keith’s body has become accustomed to functioning at a pretty high level with high-levels of booze coursing through his system; taking that away at this point can have deleterious effects.

I am not a doctor (though I’ve played one on IRC), but that seems like a Board-certified justification …

By: groucho

groucho — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:27:28 +0000

I have a theory about this. I heard through the grapevine from some roadies that Keith was snorting a lot of coke when he played here a few years ago. Anybody who’s done coke while drinking heavily knows that the speed-like high of good coke will sharpen you up, so you don’t talk (or play guitar) as sloppy as if you were just drunk.

I heard that after Keith fell out of the tree, he was put on some serious medication that made him quit snorting coke. Shortly after that there was a report of Keith falling off a stage in Denmark (or somewhere close to there), and not playing as well as usual.

Then later that year, the Shine A Light film was shot. Keith’s playing in that is noticeably more ragged than it usually is – Ronnie is actually playing a lot of Keith’s chunky rhythm parts, and Keith is noodling over it with leads. Its usually the other way round. The chunky rhythm parts are generally a lot harder to play.

Remember, this all just my theory, and some of its just based on heresay, but I’m a huge Stones fan and pay close attention to Keith in particular. I’ll be raising my glass of JD to Keith tonight when I plug in.

By: Scott Alexander Young

Scott Alexander Young — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:54:30 +0000

Hey, if I went around being jealous of everyone the same age as me I’d never have time to get anything done. But that’s to be obtuse. I understand the point you’re making. Still, it’s a little facile to assume that just because Johnny Depp is a highly successful actor and I’m only an intermittently employed one, that ‘puppyish hero-worshipper’ doesn’t sum him up pretty neatly. And can he do the “In a world” voice as well as I? I think not.

By: Daniel Tunnard

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:16:09 +0000

Puppyish hero-worshipper indeed! You’re just jealous because he’s the same age as you…

By: stevelaudig

stevelaudig — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:33:17 +0000

Liquor stocks tank.

By: F. Paul Wilson

F. Paul Wilson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:02:35 +0000

Oh, say it isn’t so!

By: globalmitch

globalmitch — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:58:09 +0000

Heh, love it. Fumbling around for some ‘aspirin’ were we old chum