I really do think that the life of a genius is a sad life, and I really do think that Brian Jones was a genius.
I have always thought that the more complex the mind, the more complex its survival among the most normal minds, even if they are also brilliant.
The contradictions and reactions of genius result in the need to escape from a frequently painful reality, when the inescapable need to overthink, overanalyze, makes the weight of the world unbearable.
That’s when drugs and alcohol become means of liberation that, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, destroy the body, injure the soul, and shut down the brain, while vilely delivering a false sense of satisfaction.
It’s heartbreaking, but we’ve lost a lot of geniuses who fell into the almost inescapable abyss of addiction.
This popart tribute to Brian Jones is called “The Corner-Stone” because without him, the Rolling Stones would never have existed. I won’t say the rest of the band wasn’t great, because it was and still is. But without Jones, there simply would not be this iconic band with ridiculously delicious and eclectic music that took the world by storm.
It is possible to want to figure and also to disappear. It is possible to have an exquisite style while wanting to be invisible. It’s possible to be a celebrity and not really know how to be social. The minds of geniuses always carry with them the disconcerting contradiction of being.