Old Folks Don't Make Good Rock, Why?

Not to stir the soup. I'm saying there's at least a perception or an expectation that rock artists typically decline, and that there seems to be some truth to it generally, but how much truth is something I'm trying to determine.

 

Almost Cut Your Hair is a great song, he has a number of songs in that class in his recent 3 releases.

 

I hear that, you can probably do that 67% of the time with me too; at least I get confused and contradict myself a lot, so I'm not assuming it's you, either.

 

I don't think there is a single solitary difference between a songwriter in their 30s and one twice as old. I think mental agility brings creativity, and that's something that can happen any time prior to senility.

 

I would love to believe this but I don't think I can go that far (with exceptions of course).

It is more plausible to me that the quality doesn't dip, it's just different, but I think looking broadly there are differences (as I expounded on in the post I quoted to you above).

 

It’s true in jazz...

 

Dylan is actually a better example of what I'm talking about. He had his earlier period of greatness, 10 years passed, he did Blood on the Tracks, another major work, then Time Out of Mind in 97. and he's clearly capable of making another great one in 2020. That you want to factor age into things is just a prejudice you have.

 

Its a nice quote but, for me, it's been a while since Van did anything interesting. Sure his voice is still excellent his musicians are always top notch but he's just a bit dull and he isn't at all innovative now (IMHO).

 

Believe it or not, this whole idea did not originate with me.

 

well you stepped up to sell it.

 

I am not "selling" anything, the thread is pursuing a question, and although the title is sensationalistic "this phenomenon is not what it appears to be" is an acceptable answer. There's a difference between claiming that the premise is mistaken and grousing about it and my "prejudices," by the way. Just make arguments, it won't kill you.

 

I found the title of your thread offensive.

 

For the same reason old folks aren't outstanding athletes.

 

A lot of baby boomer artists who lost the plot in their forties seemed to recover as they hit their fifties (Dylan, Bowie, Springsteen, Morrison, Young, to some extent Brian Wilson) and most of them have proceeded to retain their mojoes (arguably, Neil Young has been on a gentle decline since Sleeps With Angels but the others have stayed consistent). Initially, I put this down to something to do with the effect on the aging process but I’ve come to conclude that the 1980s were just a horrible decade for music.

As noted above, there are a lot of artists these days who are still putting out good music at an age when they’d have been expected to be donning powder blue zoot suits and learning the keytar.

The other thing that helps is that musicians these days can get away with putting out albums at about a quarter the rate of their predecessors. It means there’s less time to dry up.

 

Well it's obviously a bad title since I'm stuck between you and a bunch of people saying "Older people can't do anything well, so what's the question?" Plus a bunch of "I like one of Ray Davies's recent songs" posts. I now see why I don't often start threads.

 

Gross caricature of the thread, actually I appreciate a lot of these comments. Most of them. Almost all.

 

I really think there's something to that, as I said above when the ball dropped on 1990 it was like someone flipped a switch....Dylan, Allman Brothers, Neil Young, Van Morrison (who got through the 80s better than many), even the Grateful Dead were peaking again concert-wise in early 1990...(yes, I know some of those renaissanced in 1989 but it's more tidy to call it 1990)

 

Great rock...the best rock...has already been done.

By the classic artists who performed in the Sixties and Seventies.

So...Rock has been done.

It's over.

NOBODY does good "new" rock anymore.

It's already been done.

 

Occasionally he is which is pretty impressive.

 

I ageee. Nearly two decades into the 21st century it’s about time we consigned ageism to the historical garbage tip along with sexism, racism, homophobia, etc.

 

Unfortunately women, gay people, and minorities all make perfectly good rock...otherwise, look out!

 

Dostoevsky sure did, though

 

So, when does a rock star officially become "old" in the public's perception? Given the lifespan of the average person continues to rise, people into their 50s, 60s, and even 70s are healthier and more active than they were only a few decades ago. Even a few decades ago, I imagine rock stars were "old" in their 30s/40s, whereas today some artists only reach their "prime" in their 30s/40s.

***I'm in my early 30s, so I've come up in a time when rock stars don't retire.

 

I think most rock bands have made all their best music, usually by their mid 30s. There are a few expeditions, but not many. Some can still perform very well in their advancing years but the newer material is rarely as good as what they produced in their prime.

 

.. well, they do.