My Setlist #1: The Rolling Stones

The first time I saw the Rolling Stones was 1978. Then again in 1981, 1989, 2001, 2002, and 2005. I might be missing a few dates, especially between 1981 and 1989.  I recall loving every show except for 1981, and that was the year I saw them three times, once in the sweltering heat of RFK Stadium in Philly, and just typing that gives me a twitch, still. And this might ruffle more than a few feathers, but I can't think of another band that has poisoned my personal well, as much as the Stones have since 2005. But that's not why I'm here. I have been there and I have done that. Rather than go through the laundry list of reasons why Mick and Keith have been getting deeper and deeper under my skin--the relentless inclusion of one of the worst rock songs by any recording artist in music history--"You Got Me Rockin'"---in every single got dang set since 1994, for example--I decided to kick off the new series "My Setlist" with one of the reasons--the setlist.

Before you hit "send" on your hate e-mail, let me first say that, YES, there was a time when the boys used to mix it up. In 2001 and 2002, the Stones were doing three shows a city--a club date, an arena date and a stadium date, and if you were lucky enough to catch any club dates, you would have heard such deep cuts as "Hand Of Fate," "She Smiled Sweetly," "Heart Of Stone," "Dance Pt. 1," "Worried About You" and "(You've Got To Walk And) Don't Look Back," for starters. But since then, both their age and ticket prices have skyrocketed, while the setlists have become less daring and more Vegas-friendly.

My original idea for "My Setlist" was to create a fantasy concert of songs never played live by a particular artist, but thought better of that when my 100 minute Todd Rundgren set was all ballads. So instead, I thought a touch of reality would work better, so I created my fantasy Stones set, one that I will never see, but one that would appeal to both long time fans and first timers...maybe. NO "Jumpin' Jack Flash." NO "It's Only Rock N Roll." NO "Brown Sugar." And for the love of Mike, NO "You Got Me Rockin'."

Here it is. Feel free to submit your own. This set runs about 1:47 on iTunes, so try to keep the running time close to reality.

SETLIST:
Get Off Of My Cloud
Live With Me
Tell Me
Bitch
Back Street Girl
Casino Boogie
Surprise, Surprise
Prodigal Son
Ride On, Baby
Child Of The Moon
All About You
Happy
Luxury
I Am Waiting
Talkin' 'Bout You
I Just Want To See His Face
100 Years Ago
Sweet Black Angel
Hold On To Your Hat
Wild Horses
Don't Lie To Me
Crazy Mama
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)
Dead Flowers
Street Fighting Man
Tumbling Dice
You Can't Always Get What You Want