This weekend, I picked up a copy of Grrr!, the greatest hits album the Rolling Stones put out to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Now, at this point, most people have heard all too much about how awesome the Stones are, and how they're the greatest rock n roll band of all time, and that leads me to ask: have they actually become underrated? For the young music listener, the Stones are the ultimate Band You hear Way too Much About. Your mom had a crush on Mick Jagger in the 70s, Exile On Main St. is humanity's greatest achievement, then you say them play on Monday Night Football, and you just don't get it. Sure, they aren't the worst band you've ever seen, but they don't blow you away, and you wonder what all the hype is about.

I think that happens to a lot of people, because I talk to plenty of music fans my age, and I never hear too much about the Stones. Everybody gets how great the Beatles were, and David Bowie is rightfully lauded for being the chameleonic genius he is, but when you bring up the Stones, people tend to reply with an emphatic "meh." Which is a shame, because if any and is worthy of the hype they get, it's them. In their heyday, they pretty much obliterated the competition. From 1965 to 1967, they released more vital, essential singles than anyone else, and they were just getting started. They would follow that with a streak of utterly immortal albums. Everything they put from 1968 to 1972 is pure gold, and should be treated as such.

So, why are so many young folks underwhelmed by the Stones? Well, their endless farewell tour isn't doing them any favors. Don't get me wrong, it's great for nostalgic fans, but no prospective listener wants to see a bunch of septuagenarians go on a tour sponsored by every major corporate chain in America. It just doesn't speak to them. Plus, the Stones play what we might call a "raw" type of rock n roll, not unlike what Aerosmith did in their heyday. For some reason, my generation tends to be underwhelmed by that. We don't really like seeing bands unabashedly rock out with no sense of irony, which is a shame, because Mick and Keith still do it better than anyone else.

The point is, while the Stones image may have suffered from the endless touring and sponsorship, they're still one of the greatest bands to ever walk the earth, and I hope people my age can realize that. They may not be as earth shatteringly brilliant as they w ere in the 60s and 70s, but they're still pretty damn awesome, and I can only hope that seeing them open Monday Night Football in lieu of Hank Williams, Jr. won't distract people from that.