Sweatin' to the Oldies

How the Rolling Stones’ rebellion created a more unified nation


In the late 1960s, they paraded lewd antics and cultural rebellion under a billowing cloud of drugs and sex, and proclaimed themselves to be “the greatest rock and roll band in the world.” Some 40 years later, playing a tour of sold-out stadium shows, and being chronicled by filmmaker Martin Scorsese, the Rolling Stones seem to be proving that they are in fact, the greatest rock and roll band in the world.

At Oakland’s McAffee Coliseum Monday night, as I sat between a middle-aged man lighting a joint and an 11-year-old girl who knew the lyrics to every song, it seemed that these historical symbols of rebellion were easily uniting us in collective nostalgia.

Skipping from the wings, appearing as skinny kids in hipster pants and sparkly t-shirts, the Rolling Stones took the stage under an explosion of fireworks. This is of course, their “Bigger Bang” tour, and with a stage that extended four stories high and a pair of inflatable lips that emerged during the second half of the show, the Stones are decidedly bigger, and perhaps better, than they ever have been.

What makes the Stones so radical, even today, is their ability to create and deliver rock music that is at once both charming and salacious. Their songs, collectively, are as filled with jazz and blues as they are with funk and psychedelia. Their lyrics seem to satisfy primordial and lecherous urges – lyrics that seemed threatening to the generation of Lawrence Welk and Pat Boone devotees that were the parents of the Stones’ early following.

Yet now fans flock, often as family units, to see the Stones. Young and old seem united by this group that had seemed so lasciviously rebellious in the 60s and 70s. It is a true testament to the music and the theatrically electric performances of the band that they have held up for so long – and it finds me wondering if there is any group I can imagine watching at a packed stadium with my own family in 30 years.

The Strokes? The White Stripes? I undoubtedly won’t be racing to see Dr. Dre or Kanye West in 30 years, but I can also little imagine going to see Nine Inch Nails or even Radiohead.

Before the Stones go off and file for Social Security it seems that they are pulling the most shocking move of their careers – culturally uniting us, letting us rally around cries for “Satisfaction!” and “Brown Sugar!” – and asking us to question what (if any) band might be able to bring so many ages together in the future.

Of course, perhaps I am reading too much into the impact of the Rolling Stones. Perhaps I’m giving them too much credit. It is only rock and roll, after all – but I like it.

Will the real Sacha please stand up?

The many personalities of Sacha Baron-Cohen

While Sacha Baron-Cohen may have yet to become a household name, the creator of “Da Ali G Show,” has gone to great lengths to create an alternate persona whose name IS on the tip of everyone’s tongue. That man: Borat.

Rapidly exhausting the publicity circuit, Baron-Cohen has been making the rounds as Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev – and with a $26.3 million opening of his “Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” Baron-Cohen has done Borat proud.

But where does Borat end and Baron-Cohen begin? The two are often confused, and for good reason.

Baron-Cohen as Borat ceases to be an actor playing a character. He is Borat – in all his bawdy, often outrageous, and subtly naïve brilliance. What Baron-Cohen is doing is almost Vaudevillian in its complete creation of an alternate and unmistakable personality. Just as Lucy Ricardo or Groucho Marx became personalities of their own right, indistinguishable from their creators, Borat seems a throw-back to an earlier style of comedy.

In an age of growing political and racial correctness, Borat exploits our last recesses of national modesty. Under the guise of foreign innocence, Borat often takes the low road, one paved with inappropriate everything (touching, metaphors, nudity), to expose our own American hipocricies –or to insight an uncomfortable laugh.

However, it is often Borat’s more inadvertently intellectual moments that really soar: Referring to the Iraq war as our “War of Terror,” explaining that nobody likes his neighbor while at an Evangelical service, or giving an account of his musical choices to kids on the street in Atlanta.

The film itself has a nice loose story – it’s light, entertaining, and you never know where you’ll end up. But while the film is chock full of chuckles, it is also brimming with uncomfortable situations. Do the jokes go too far? Yes, but they always go too far.

A large part of the joke is that you know you’re going to be taken someplace unexpected, but while you’re in familiar surroundings. Borat turns the tables on us. He’s the foreigner, he’s the odd man out, yet he sets us on edge and makes us nervous – while we’re in our own country.

Baron-Cohen brings us face-to-face with a warped and completely shameless persona, one laced with political and religious fervor, and poised to take us to embarrassing places. And while Baron-Cohen’s hard at work, Borat’s raking in the cash.

A special note:

Just as Baron-Cohen and Borat are not to be confused, Sacha is not to be confused with that other Sasha – Sasha Cohen. Here are some key differences:

Sasha Cohen
Born: Westwood, CA, 1984
Sign: Scorpio
Signature outfit: ubertight skirted leotard
Profession: figure skater
Enjoys: long walks on the beach, Justin Timberlake, kittens


Sacha Baron-Cohen
Born: Surrey, England, 1971
Sign: Libra
Signature outfit: ubertight green bathing suit
Profession: writer/comedian
Enjoys: racial humor, politics, mustaches

Crowe makes 'Good'

A wealthy playboy, a beautiful chateau, a provencal French setting – what more could you ask for? A glass of Merlot perhaps?

At a pre-screening of “A Good Year,” that’s exactly what viewers got. Hosted by Women & Wine in partnership with 20th Century Fox, screening attendees were treated to a glass on the house, perfectly paired with the forthcoming romantic comedy.

Based on the novel by Peter Mayle, “A Good Year” is the story of an enterprising day trader, Max Skinner (Russell Crowe), who unwittingly inherits a chateau and vineyard in France when his uncle Henry passes away.

While Max typically resides and schemes in London, he takes a break from making enemies on the trading floor to pay a visit to his new chateau and see how much money can be made from its sale. Clearly sentimental value can be sold for a couple million.

The only thing standing between Max and his money is Duflow, Uncle Henry’s trusted vine-keeper and maker of the chateau’s terrible wine. Oh, and Uncle Henry’s illegitimate daughter from California, Christie Roberts (Abbie Cornish). Did he forget to mention that?

While Max is trying to figure out how he can squeeze the most out of the chateau while keeping it out of the others’ hands, he inadvertently encounters French vision Fanny Chenal (Marion Cotillard). And by “encounters,” I mean, nearly runs over with his car. Ah, romance.

Directed by Ridley Scott (“Gladiator”), “A Good Year,” is really a very delightful film. The plot is lighthearted, the romance smooth, and the characters quirky. While Max provides the bold flavor of the piece, Duflow’s wife (Isabelle Candelier) gives it a hint of spice as a charming oddball, and Max’s personal assistant, Gemma (Archie Panjabi), is a palate cleanser to Max’s pompous self-involvement.

The only sour note is Abbie Cornish’s portrayal of Max’s American cousin, Christie, as Cornish’s acting chops have yet to ripen (much like Charlize Theron in her early days.)

“A Good Year” succeeds because it stays light. The film never gets bogged down in melodrama and balances Max’s flashbacks to his youth (where his is played by “Finding Neverland” star Freddie Highmore and his uncle played by Albert Finney) very nicely. While we slowly see Max reveal his ruthless knave’s sensitive side, we’re taken on an enjoyable journey that offers an undertone of romance and the unmistakable flavor of nostalgia. I’ll drink to that.