Earlier today, the Rolling Stones shared a new track called “Living in a Ghost Town,” the band’s first new release since their 2016 covers album Blue & Lonesome. The band have also shared a music video for the track, featuring footage of empty streets, subways and city centers from around the world, presumably meant to show the widespread adoption of social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“So, let’s cut a long story short,” said guitarist Keith Richards in a press release. “We cut this track well over a year ago in L.A. for part of a new album, an ongoing thing, and then shit hit the fan Mick and I decided this one really needed to go to work right now and so here you have it, ‘Living in a Ghost Town.’ Stay safe!”
The song isn’t just reminiscent of the realities of quarantine—it’s a product of it. Mick Jagger shared that the band decided to finish “Living in a Ghost Town” while observing shelter-in-place provisions.
‘‘So the Stones were in the studio recording some new material before the lockdown and there was one song we thought would resonate through the times that we’re living in right now,” said Jagger. “We’ve worked on it in isolation.”
There are no clear details about a new album, and plans for an extensive summer tour have since been put on hold.
You can watch the music video for “Living in a Ghost Town” below, and check out a video of the band playing “Beast of Burden” back in 1981, courtesy of the Paste archives.
