some may be making wild guesses (based on as usual what they want to
happen, not what makes sense, or what has been revealed in interviews
lyrics etc)

three times BV has confirmed tours, three times i went public saying
it was not gonna happen, and three times i was right

number of times i said "no way" and the tour actually happened: zero.

the worst i've done is say that the first show of this tour would be
postponed, and it went ahead, but it was a very close call, because
of keith being unwell

so i've got a track record. doesnt mean i'm right this time, i make mistakes,
but i'm not making wild guesses. i'm carefully weighing every lyric, every
offhand comment and piece of art/advertising

so we'll see what happens, and dont forget to remind me how wrong i
was if they do shows next year, because i wont forget if they dont

anyway, i have one related question. i've given my opinion on it already,
and nobody has yet responded (with anything other than the usual lame
jokes)

why does Mick twice clearly sing "you think the party's over but its
only just begun" only to finish the song most recently and emphatically
four times with "the party's over!"?

r-w, most of what you just wrote i agree with, and have previously
stated, that Mick is almost always doing cultural commentary...

but please note that i never said they didnt WANT to tour in 2025, just
that they wouldnt be touring due to circumstances beyond their control...

so let's review: "angry" is about repressed anger/denial, "get close" is about
romantic self-delusion, "depending on you" is about passivity and weakness,
"whole wide world" is about false hopes, "mess it up" is about the
stones saying nothing straightforward on this album because otherwise
they would have got cancelled, "live by the sword" is about the mighty
(like Drake) falling victim to the same tactics theyve been using on others...

finally this album is fun for me. Here's the best reveal yet:

"sweet sounds" is about a guy's last moments on earth, he's dying
after having been hit by an artillery shell. The key line is "Hear the
sound of the drums, As it echoes through the valley, And it bursts"
That's exactly how the sound of artillery has been written about for
well over a hundred years. But all the lines fit perfectly, as does the
music. The guy closes his eyes, he seems to have died, but his heart
starts up again, as he testifies again briefly to the glory he is passing
into. Then he's all the way dead.

That's why Gaga/Chanel's part comes in late. She's the voice of an
angel joining in from the other side and escorting him to the great beyond

hey holden, don't you spit in my face. Why you angry with me?
I'm not angry with you

anyway, here's the Stones confirming that i'm right about "sweet sounds".
Watch the animation they project while playing the song: lush green
foliage withers and browns and dies...



So yeah, holden, let's hear your brilliant alternative theory on why
the Stones entertain their audience with the sight of plants dying...

So your theory is that a video of healthy lush green foliage slowly and tortuously
browning and withering and dying is somehow a tribute to Charlie Watts ?!

Are you sure you didnt mean Joe Biden ?