Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Rock, Roll & Wrinkles

Aired September 04, 2002 - 10:47   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Last night in history, Steeped (ph) Boston, a band I think as old as the city itself, thousands of history fans worship relics of another British invasion. One of rock 'n' roll's legendary groups, the Rolling Stones, kicked off its latest North American tour to celebrate the band's 40th birthday. Sure, they don't walk as fast as they once did, but can they still walk the house?
That's a question we'll be asking. Famed frontman Mick Jagger, he strutted, he swaggered, he pouted, he preened through the two-hour jam. With Boston's 16,000-seat Fleet Center, the Stones will also mix in plenty of sprawling stadium venues in their 40-show tour. The Rolling Stones may get the top billing of the Baby Boomer bands, but they have plenty of competition on the aging rocker circuit.

The Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and a host of others have launched come backs of their own.

Joining us to discuss that is David Itzkoff from "Spin" magazine.

David, thanks for being with us.

DAVID ITZKOFF, "SPIN" MAGAZINE: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

COOPER: David, are you like 12 years old? How old are you?

ITZKOFF: I'm old enough to remember "The Rolling Stones" when they came through in 1989. I saw them on Steel Wheel, so I'm 26.

COOPER: As I recall, I think I was in high school at the time or college. That was supposed to be their final tour. What happened? These guys seem to like every year go on tour and it's their last big tour. What's going on?

ITZKOFF: They're very clever about it, because they'll never officially say this is the farewell tour. They'll always sort of hint at it, and i think people will go and buy tickets with the expectation that if I don't see them now. I will never get the chance again. And then every two to three years, they find an excuse to bring back the surviving members and hit the road yet again.

Even if they don't have new material to support it.

COOPER: That brings up a question. If they don't have no new material, is there a point where it just gets embarrassing? Can they still rock the house? Are they still a good band to see? ITZKOFF: I think they have transcended the point of embarrassment a long time ago. But there is still a viable market of people who want to see Mick Jagger come out and do "Jumping Jack Flash" and do "Satisfaction." And I think those people are perfectly satisfied to seeing those same songs over and over again.

COOPER: We mentioned Bruce Springsteen in this category, but I think that may be a little bit unfair, because he seems to be in a different category. We're going to show a little bit of a clip from his hit song "Rising" right now.

Let's talk about Bruce Springsteen. He doesn't fit in this mold, does he?

ITZKOFF: No, and I don't even think that -- you can't really this a comeback, because in a sense, he never really went away. He's the kind of artists who really likes to take his time in putting out new material. And you know, he can go, as he did in this instance, a good five or six years without releasing an album, so that certainly there is a lot of anticipation when he comes out with a new record. But it is always of such good quality, and in fact, the album, "The Rising" may be his best album I would say in 15 years.

COOPER: Stylistically, he seems to evolve with his age. You know, he is not -- I mean, it seems like the Stones are doing the same thing they have been doing all along, where Springsteen is kind of evolving.

ITZKOFF: Right. There is definitely a continuity I think that you can see in his work, and he is really sort of making the music that somebody of his age and somebody of his stature should be making, instead of retreading the same sort of, you know, three cords he has always been playing, in the case of the Stones.

I think that certainly the album he has made now is in direct response to the events of September 11th. And in many ways, he is probably the only American artist who could have really made that record.

COOPER: Paul McCartney is making something of a comeback. He also was very prominent after 9-11 in some of the concerts. Is his tour doing well economically?

ITZKOFF: Well, he is actually -- he made as much money -- one of the top grossing artists of the 2001 season. He definitely has contributed to the rising price in tickets. I think the highest seat -- the most expensive seat in his tour was somewhere between 125 and $140.

COOPER: That's amazing.

ITZKOFF: Yes, people will pay it see that, because he is Paul McCartney, and also, it is sort of tragic, but he got a lot of sympathy in the sense that after the passing of George Harrison, Paul McCartney is only surviving Beatle who isn't Ringo, so people will pay to see that. COOPER: I haven't been to a concert in God knows how long.

ITZKOFF: It is probably the same as you remember it.

COOPER: Frankly, I don't remember much of the one I went to. Is it only the aging rockers who can pull in that -- or who can charge that kind of money for a ticket?

ITZKOFF: I think that it's fair to say that. If you are a band who is playing to a younger demographic with, you know, dispensable income, but who can only afford it pay maybe $40 or $50 a ticket, those are -- that's what the younger bands, I think, will be able to charge for their top seats, whereas these are artists playing to an aging Boomer crowd who can definitely -- you know, they can afford to pay upwards of $100 a ticket, and they are willing to do it. I think there is definitely -- you know, there is a disparity there.

COOPER: David, thanks a lot for coming in. I'm probably the only anchor that reads "Spin" magazine here on CNN. But we appreciate you coming in and talking with us.

ITZKOFF: Thanks for having me.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com