Beatles vs. Stones: A personal revelation

"Are you a Beatles or Stones person?" For most of my life the answer would have been a no-brainer. I grew up on the Beatles. I can't remember a time without the boys from Liverpool. When I was a teenager I could have rattled off the running order of the songs on every Beatles album, UK and US. I'm a Beatles guy, right?

I was driving home from work today and the iPod shuffled onto "Honky Tonk Women" and it hit me. I'm a Stones guy for one single reason: Have you ever wanted to be John, Paul, George, or Ringo? In my 30+ years of being a Beatles fan, I haven't.

I'm not one who likes to dance, wear tight pants, or revel in the spotlight. But when "HTW" started playing one thought popped into my head: "I want to be like them" (or at least Mick, Keith, and Charlie; no comment re: Brian, Ronnie, or Bill). Not necessarily that I want to "be" them (i.e., live their lives), but just for a moment I thought "how cool would it be to be on stage, strapped to a Telecaster, slinging those riffs?" The Stones feel good in a way the Beatles don't.