Last weekend I saw The Departed. It's an absolutely fantastic movie, probably Martin Scorsese's best since Goodfellas. My only beef with it regards the soundtrack. There is no doubt that Scorsese is a big Rolling Stones fan. He's used their music a lot over the years. But The Departed makes the third time that he has used "Gimme Shelter" in a mob flick (the first two being Goodfellas and Casino). Sure, the opening guitar riff suggests a kind of menace that is perfectly suited for overall atmosphere of the film. But it's been done. Repeatedly. By Scorsese himself. He even admits that he's repeating himself. At a certain point, you've gotta stop going to the same well. Imagine if Quentin Tarantino used "Stuck In The Middle With You" in every movie he ever did. It would kind of ruin the impact of its use in Resevoir Dogs. So I propose that "Gimme Shelter" should be forever off limits to any further use in films, especially films by Martin Scorsese. It's not like Mick and Keith need the royalty checks.
I guess I'm kind of nitpicking, but that's what music geeks are supposed to do. And it did inspire today's monday morning b-side...
The Sisters Of Mercy - "Gimme Shelter" (mp3)
The Sisters released their cover of the Stones classic on their 1983 "Temple Of Love" single. It was the final single on their own Merciful Release label before they signed with Warner Brothers, and its probably the best cover they've ever done. The song is perfectly suited for Andrew Eldritch's booming baritone. It's currently available on the import singles collection Some Girls Wander By Mistake.
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