Taking a page from the books of Radiohead and Metallica, The Rolling Stones have been digging through their own archives in hopes to keep fans entertained in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s right. On May 3, the iconic British rock n’ roll band kicked off a brand new, weekly YouTube series called Extra Licks.
What does it entail, some might ask? Well, every Sunday, at 3 p.m. (ET) — for six consecutive weeks — the Miss You rockers will share previously unreleased concert footage from their nearly six-decade spanning career.
The first week of Extra Licks offered fans a look at one hours worth of unused footage from the 2017 Netflix documentary Olé Olé Olé: A Trip Across Latin America.
Branded Olé Olé Olé!, the bonus sees the four-piece perform classic hits such as Paint it Black, Honky Tonk Women, Sympathy for the Devil, Midnight Rambler and Miss You as well as a few others.
The performances were recorded across Buenos Aires, Argentina, São Paulo, Brazil, and Lima, Peru, during the band’s critically acclaimed Latin America Ole! tour in 2016.
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Extra Licks came in conjunction with the news that the Stones would be returning to SiriusXM with an entire channel dedicated to them: “Rolling Stones Radio.”
It followed only two weeks after the band its first single in eight years, Living in a Ghost Town.
The “haunting”, four-minute ballad came at an extremely pertinent time as the lyrics seem to reflect on the pandemic.
“Life was so beautiful / Then we all got locked down / Feel like a ghost / Living in a ghost town,” sings frontman Mick Jagger in the first verse.
“Let’s cut a long story short,” said guitarist Keith Richards of the song. “We cut this track well over a year ago in L.A. for part of a new album and then s–t hit the fan, so Mick and I decided that this one really needed to go to work right now.”
As of this writing, it’s unclear when the Stones plan to release the followup to their 2016, all-covers studio album Blue & Lonesome, however, Richards, 76, suggested that it is “an ongoing” project.
The second installment of Extra Licks will return on May 10 at 3 p.m.
Additionally, Rolling Stones Radio can be listened to via SiriusXM — which is currently available for free until May 30.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.
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