Watts All The Fuss About Keith?

Charlie Watts

Copyright©2010TWMcDermott


Keith is busy being Keith with a new book. It's all about him and, wow, are we surprised. He's a guy who brought self-indulgence to such a high (or low) level that we all assumed he'd never be able to put the "auto" in biography. Why bother to type it all out, when the whole shebang was already written in the fault-lines of his once-handsome face?

Disclosure: I was an early and ardent Stones' fan. I can still see the beleaguered look on my father's face when I played 12 X 5's Around & Around over & over on his new Lafayette stereo in our living room. Dear Millennials*, in those ancient days, families had only one phone, one TV and, if you were lucky, one "Hi-Fi;" until the Beatles and especially the Stones & Yardbirds  came along. Then Santa gave us our own stereos; guess he had teenage kids too

Standing in the center

But, we are not here to praise possible seizures, we are here to praise the Stones' best and most satisfyingly stylish musician, Charlie Watts.

When our parents claimed that they would never let their daughters marry a Rolling Stone, boys became inspired. But that was about Mick, Keith, and Brian. Bill Wyman was not a threat and Charlie? Well, Charlie seemed nearly as old as some of our parents, not Ginger Baker-old, but still.

Then, some of us began to notice that Charlie had his own very distinctive style. It was more formal than that of most of his contemporary musicians. He was well-beyond the prevailing Mod-Rocker style wars. He wore suits, which looked comfortable on him, while Brian mostly wore bright red cords with a black turtleneck. Girls adored Brian; women loved Charlie and probably still do. 

At left, looking cool

We're not saying that Mick & Keith didn't have a sense of style. They did. It was just that Charlie's style was so, well, square, that it was cunningly original. It took us a while to get that.

As for playing, Charlie had been a somewhat successful jazz musician, while the boys were struggling with their "spots" in art school on their way to possible advert careers, where they might have written blues-based jingles for Alka-Seltser or Ex-Lax (Just Can't Get No....)

Quintessential CW

While Mick was trying to sound like a white American boy trying to sound like a black American man, Charlie was simply being Charlie, keeping the time and the beat steadily, molding the boys's rough enthusiasm into something approaching art in those early records. By Aftermath it was all over, except for the shooting gallery. The rest became and remains just pretense.


My lifelong friend Mulligan has an amazing faculty for remembering certain of my own relationships/conquests of which I have no recollection. I suspect that is because they never occurred. Mulligan might have idolized Keith in that respect; except that at least some of what Keith remembers may have actually happened. 


Charlie's drum work and style were a happening, and they still are. He is a true RareBurgher.

Ed Note: Middle LP, above, the archival copy of 12 X 5, which helped me to garner my own stereo. And, here's a vintage look at CW and his Stones, wearing a tie behind his drums, over Mick's left shoulder. Be patient through a 15 sec. ad.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1rnp2_rolling-stones-around-and-around-19_music

* For more on this, please see our Millennial Idiots' Guide To Boomer Parents on thirdgarage:
http://thirdgarage.blogspot.com/2010/11/millennial-idiots-guide-to-boomer.html

Too Good To Be Crew?

Nov10 J.Crew

1) We received our review copy of the new new new J.Crew catalogue and thought it would be a good idea to review it before it becomes old, old, old, which only takes about a week. Is there a J.Crew National Forest somewhere?


Tape Measure: 136 pages. Women's pages = 95, including Front and Back Covers. For Men: 39 pages/no covers. Ouch. 2 pages for Kids. Nearly 70% of pages for women! No wonder they call their CrewChief Mr. DressHer.

Men's Stuff: Not many "gotta-haves" here. Merino wool sweaters, but they're nothing new in the RareBurgher closet; you already have two crew-necks, one v, and a vest or cardigan. If not, how did you or your loving-one get on this mailing list? Get thee to a merino.

©2010RareBurghers/Model Nathalie

Frank Muytjens, Men's CrewChief, has included Saint James watch caps on a "Top Shelf" page, where they promote classics from other makers.  But, RareBurghers was way out front with our recommendation on these, earning us a private invite to to the Saint James HQ in Normandy from their Head Cap, Yannick Duval (see Three Winter Tales, 3/12/10). Nathalie is wearing a red one, right, and Nathan wears the navy, #2 below.

The corduroy workwear jacket is fine, but not particularly original. Besides we bought a better black one for $50 at the midtown Madison Ave shop (they frequently overstock seasonal items).

As with the women's clothing, these prices are beginning to approach the J.Cruel stage for many loyal customers, including us. Apparently, some of the clothing is not only waterproof, it's trying to be recession-proof as well. Maybe for some, but not for us.

The Crewth As We See It: We may have face up to the fact that these people have been so good for so long that maybe it's getting to be too much about them, and less about us. Jenna Lysons has great taste, but do we need to know her every thought and see her everywhere? And there was Frank M himself profiled in The New York Times "T" Magazine's Fall issue, then The Mickey's profile in The New Yorker recently. No matter how famous he gets, he will always be at least the third most notable Mickey in the world.

MyOldBlueSuit©2010RareBurghers

We say, enough already. Customers want J.Crew to be about them; and, they want updated classic style that's affordable. If we want to spend gazzilions to look like we're living in a Ralph Lauren ad, we'd just cough up for Ralph prices and the silly polo-pony badge (Not us!).

Every day, thousands of people create new style blogs (see: http://www.polyvore.com/ ), most of them women. Are they a real threat to J.Crew's future dominance? Probably not, except that someone might find a way to organize them into a dynamic central marketplace.

We really like these guys and what they've done. But, can J.Crew's success last forever? That may be too good to be Crew.

2) RareTips: Here is a brand needing no review, because it is consistently great at what it tries to be and do. It tries to reflect the active, outdoors style of its founder, employees and customers. It took an LLBean-like idea and gave it a California attitude. It began making climbing pitons as Great Pacific Ironworks, then vaulted into an iconic position for skateboarders, commuters, and, yes, a million or so upper-middle-class label conscious folks too. Patagonia.

©2010RareBurghers/ModelNathan

A couple of winters ago, while walking across Soho one day as the wind and sleet kicked me in the teeth, I hung a sharp right south on Wooster St. and headed for the Patagonia store. I purchased this Micro D-Luxe fleece scarf, shown at left on Nathan and above on Nathalie. Later, I bought a black one for my wife, the DG; I steal it on the days she steals my brown one.

It's the same brown as the day I bought it, despite a few launderings. It saved me that day and became an instant-vintage item. What is that exactly? It's something that, once you have it, you think you've always had it. You look forward to its season just so you can use it or wear it. It becomes a natural part of your style, instantly, and it stays that way, even when it becomes tattered from wear.

They don't make brown any more, but black and light grey are fine. Get both: $30 each. One? Grey, please.

Yvon Chouinard & Dog

3) Patagonia's founder, Yvon Chouinard,  never let Patagonia be mainly about himself, while continuing to steer one of the most admired businesses/brands in the world. In fact, many of you will not even recognize his name. If you'd like to know more, read Jeremy Bernstein's archive profile of him in The New Yorker, or JB's book, Mountain Passages, University of Nebraska Press.

When we build our RareBurghers' Hall of Fame, Mr. Chouinard will be a charter member.

4) Depending on when you read this post, you might see that Brooks Brothers has  (have?) wisely begun to advertise on RareBurghers. Hopefully, they will continue to do so after reading our future review of their business and style. Hint: unlikely.

©2010TWMcDermott/RareBurghers

Walking Around

MIC Court#1

                          

Saint James/Blue Shutters

Sidewalk#1/Soho

                                                    

Sidewalk#2/Rye

Rowayton$$$$

©2010TWMcDermott/RareBurghers

Little Cranberry$