The Rolling Stones

Who needs the Oscars when you have the Berlin Film Festival? Martin Scorsese and the Rolling Stones are in the German capital tonight to premiere their concert film, Shine a Light, shot at the Beacon Theater in 2006. The 65-year-old director, who does not have a film in this year's Oscar hunt, and the 64-year-old Mick Jagger appeared in high spirits on the red carpet. Scorsese, whose concert film resume includes The Last Waltz (1978) with the Band and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005), told Reuters, "[The music of the Rolling Stones] became the basis for most of the work I've done in my movies going from Mean Streets on to Raging Bull all the way over to Casino and The Departed." To which Jagger joked that Shine a Light may be the only Scorsese film to not feature "Gimme Shelter." Zing!  read more »

Hillary Clinton is heading to New Hampshire, a state she's dutifully avoided for a coupe for years. Tickets for Hillary's March 10 event are a rather modest $100.

She'll draw huge crowds and lots of press, and inevitably, comparisons to Barack Obama. He visited the state a few months ago, and created such a spectacle, that NH Governor John Lynch joked Obama was a bigger draw than the Rolling Stones.

But the comparison's between the two visits are, um, little premature D.C.-based consultant Mark Mellman, who is not associated with any candidate, told me. "I remember Steve Forbes generated huge crowds in Iowa, and he came in fourth," Mellman. "The size of the crowd doesn't mean a whole lot at this stage."

"The question for her is does she connect with that crowd."

"There is not a comparison that should be made, but there is a comparison that will be made," Mellman said.

-- Azi Paybarah

So what if Bill Clinton tied New York traffic in knots just over a month ago with the Clinton Global  read more »

So what if Bill Clinton tied New York traffic in knots just over a month ago with the Clinton Global  read more »

When the late Keith Moon wasn't jokingly parading around in Hitler regalia, he could probably be found trashing one of the many hotels The Who stayed at. This weekend, The Times "Travel" section takes a look at the hard-living Moon--who "once nailed his room furniture to the ceiling"--along with members of Led Zeppelin, The Faces and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

So what are younger rock bands up to these days? Well, they're not exactly riding motorcycles through the Chateau Marmont.

When the Canadian band Metric opened for the Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden earlier this year they stayed not at the Chelsea, but at the Hotel on Rivington, a sleek tower of glass on the Lower East Side, where rooms are $400 a night.

And touring with the Rolling Stones (of all bands) must have led to some wild nights. Or not.

The modern rock star appears to be more docile than his television-hurling predecessors. According to Mr. Mesh, the tour manager, the most asked-for hotel features are high-speed Internet and a workout room. "Fifteen years ago, having a hotel bar was very important," he said. "But it's changed. Fifteen years ago everybody was partying."

And for Southland, a rock band from L.A., partying comes with life on the road. But so does trying to get a bargain.

"Our new move is Priceline.com," said Jed Whedon, the band's singer. "We can stay in four-star hotels and we get really cheap deals."

Things they do look awful cold.  read more »

- Michael Calderone

In response to Ben's current article, a seasoned GOP veteran weighs in to debunk the notion that Steve Minarik could be a latter-day Lee Atwater:

"Atwater was cool, tick/twitch filled and charismatic...Atwater could be over the top, but he had his own kind of manic grace, which Minarik lacks. Atwater knew how to use people and make them feel good about it.  read more »

"I can't picture Minarik playing with B.B. King or with one of the Rolling Stones or dropping his pants for a magazine photo."

Whew!

In 1969, rock journalist Nik Cohn famously wrote that the best thing that could happen to the Rollin  read more »

Madison Square Garden housed a big blast of the 20th century all weekend.  read more »