Age of The Nerd
You may recognize the name of filmmaker Nick Broomfield as he has helmed some incredibly thought-provoking and provocative documentaries on several icons of pop culture such as Kurt Cobain, Whitney Houston and Tupac Shakur to name a few. Broomfield has now added another name to that list with his latest documentary feature “The Stones and Brian Jones”.
When thinking about The Rolling Stone’s the first names to come to mind are Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, however there is one founding member of the band that was crucial to developing their signature sound and that was Brian Jones. Many causal fans of the band are not familiar with Jones and his impact on the formation of one of the greatest rock n’ roll bands of all time.
Jones was the individual who placed an advertisement in “Jazz Times” looking for fellow musicians to audition for a band back in 1962. Through that ad he was able to bring together Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman forming The Rolling Stones. “The Stones and Brian Jones” directed, produced and co-written by Nick Broomfield shares an in-depth look at the often times tragic life of Brian Jones through previously unreleased archive footage, interview content and narration from Broomfield, himself. Tragically, Jones found himself to be one of the very first member of the infamous “27 Club”, sadly passing away at just 27 years of age in 1969.
Jones’ death took place just a mere month after being kicked out the band due to his erratic behavior and differences of opinion for the musical direction of the band. Broomfield’s film is a fascinating look at a talented life lost too soon. It is perfectly paced and gives a behind-the-scenes look at Jones’ tragically short life, but showcases the impact he made with his music that continues to inspire generations of musicians across all genres . There are times throughout the film where you feel incredibly sorry for Jones, but you can also see where things begin to spiral out of control for both Jones and the rest of the band and that is where things reach their breaking point leading to The Stones and Jones going their separate ways.
We recently had the chance to sit down for an exclusive interview with director Nick Broomfield to discuss the making of “The Stones and Brian Jones”, why he felt this was an important story to tell, and more! You can view our full interview below:
