It's the clearest version by far*. We can at last hear the piano better, and even the
occasional sax blast. I think it is also ever so slightly slower, which I think adds to
the clarity, and which my instinct tells me is a more genuine-sounding pace.

Awesome indeed 

*...which raises an interesting possibility, since as far as I know no one has taken
credit for this new and improved flac version. Was it sourced from somewhere other
than the vinyl? Could it be that the version on the $1000 dollar vinyl has been
intentionally speeded-up and muddied ? And if that turns out to be true, what will
this strange flaw do to the market value of the $1000 vinyl ?

I mean, I don't put anything past the Cockroaches at this point...

I mean, hey, it seems like they will do anything for a laugh !

*****************************************************************

So, to celebrate the arrival of possibly clearer Cockroaches sound,
I bring to you, for the first time anywhere, definitely clearer Cockroaches vision...
(source: I personally peeled this off the wall of a Natchez boathouse)






And so this seems like a good time to post a translated excerpt from a marketing
analysis published by Spain's Ladosis Cultura Musical:

The Rolling Stones have once again played with their own legend. On April 11,
under their Cockroaches alias, "Rough and Twisted" appeared, a single released on
vinyl in an extremely limited run, distributed without official announcements or
digital platforms. A physical release, opaque and deliberately difficult to track in
the streaming era.

The maneuver, far from being anecdotal, has become the center of a campaign that
combines the classic mystery of rock with contemporary tools: QR codes, cryptic
websites and a fragmented narrative designed to be reconstructed by the fans*
themselves (Note: it became clear that some got the vinyl without any effort,
directly from the Universal label)

It is a hybrid strategy of classic street marketing plus digital ARG (alternate reality
game), with an added Stones touch of provocation combined with their own myth.
At a time when the industry tends toward overexposure, the Stones opt for strategic
concealment, playing with identities, and with irony that borders on the autobiographical.

Survivors of several eras of popular music, the Stones are embracing the joke:
they are still here, resilient, unsettling, and impossible to eradicate.

*_{Me I'm waiting so patiently
With my woman on the floor
We're just trying to do this jigsaw puzzle
Before it rains anymore}

*****************************************************************

Also, from Russia via guruken.ru :

не нравится, что The Rolling Stones выпустят альбом не под своим названием,
а под The Cockroaches. Ну, они живые до сих пор!

Это даже не мистификация, а намек на долголетие группы и название, которое
Rolling Stones использовали в прошлом для секретных концертов. Поклонники,
интересующиеся «загадочной» группой, могут подписаться на рассылку и/или
приобрести футболку с надписью «КТО, ЧЁРТ ВОЗЬМИ, ТАКИЕ COCKROACHES?».

Альбом Rough and Twisted будет доступен только на виниле в формате «белой
этикетки», выпущенный под именем The Cockroaches.


****************************************************************


Yeah the Stones have long been exploring this whole foreign-tongues tower-of-babel theme





Hey Negrita, hey now
Hey conchita, shake it up now
Bate las caderas, do it up now

Park Ave CDs in Orlando FL thanked all their customers who lined up for an
announced raffle of a few "Rough and Twisted" singles with this image:

Meanwhile the world waits. It has been almost 5 days since we last heard from
the President of DISC (Demand Immediate Socialistic Collectibles). His
open letter to The Cockroaches, pleading for more vinyl for the less-fortunate,
has since been met with a mixture of praise and derision, but nobody doubts
the sheer power and impact of the letter. Otherwise, why would The Cockroaches
not have responded yet? Perhaps the rumors are true, that the group's business
advisers are split. Do The Cockroaches back down, and thereby lose face? Or do they
foolishly push forward with their ill-advised and counter-productive publicity campaign?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Also, show the world you care, and order your hat today !  Only 10.07* dollars,
or euros, or pounds, or whatever...





*So, what d'ya think?  Do we get the album on 10.07 July 10?

Personally I put the odds at near-zero.  Probably, like I've said since December,
sometime this autumn

WOO WOO !

OR as someone far wiser than me said just a few pages back...

***************************************************************

In much more pleasant news, Mick just hinted that they've been rehearsing "rough
and twisted"