The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones: Why It's Not a Fair Fight

The Other Night I was watching TV and on one of the movie channels there suddenly appeared "One Plus One" (1968) by French film-making maverick Jean-Luc Goddard. It's basically a documentary about the recording of the Rolling Stones' brilliant "Sympathy for the Devil," with some other no-longer-fresh, French New Wave interpretations of Black Panther shit that's only relevant to people who smoke retro-Gauloises and think Jessie Jackson MATTERS.

I called to my teen-aged kids "you gotta come watch this! THIS will explain to you why the Rolling Stones KICK ASS!" So we watched it. We watched a documentary, directed by a genius, about the Rolling Stones recording their MASTERPIECE.



It was the most boring snooze-fest I've ever witnessed. I was embarrassed that I'd dragged my kids away from "Red Dead Redemption" for this. The Rolling Stones slept-walked their way through the process, basically confirming my fears that their best work was the result of SHEAR LUCK.

When the movie was over I knew I had to redeem myself in the eyes of my now suspicious kids. I quickly popped in my old VHS copy of "Let it Be" before they could make a get-away. "Okay, okay, forget that. HERE'S a documentary that REALLY kicks ass, about a band we ALL KNOW kicks GALACTIC ASS!" So we watched "Let it Be." And my kids were enthralled. My son Max (who now is called "Graham") said: "Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell this movie was made only 4 1/2 years after 'A Hard Day's Night?!'" I nodded sagely and replied: "yes."



So basically we learned that even in "Let it Be," directed by the talented, though Journeyman artist Michael Lindsay-Hogg, which is Universally acknowledged to show them at their WORST, the Beatles STILL kick the ASS of the Rolling Stones, as evident in "One on One," the documentary directed by RENOWNED GENIUS Jean-Luc Goddard and showing the Stones AT THE PINNACLE of their creative talent.