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April 08, 2005
The state of rock and roll today and the persistence of older musicians
I was writing an email to a friend and thought I'd post this here as well. Please feel free to participate and post your thoughts in the comments.
It's a strange age we live in where "older" musicians/rockers/bands are still producing music. Traditionally (I'm talking about the last 50 years here), "Rock and/or Roll" has been for the young only, but that's not really true anymore. Some, and I really mean only some, of the older bands that are still around are producing music that is even better than it was at the height of their popularity. Some bands, however, are just milking the nostalgia thing, playing their hit(s), and that's a shame.
There should be no rule that says when you turn 25 or 30 years old you have to stop being an artist and stop producing music. As long as you still have talent, a gift, and passion, please continue. Lots of bands can have their record-company-funded 15 minutes of fame, but it takes talent, skill, passion, and some luck, to release lots of albums over lots of years and still produce relevant, beautiful music that touches people and enriches their lives.
Here is my incomplete list of musicians/bands that have been at it for a while and are just as good, or better, than they were at the height of their popularity: The Church (producing amazing music these days), Aimee Mann (see Tuesday's post), The Flaming Lips, New Order, Rammstein, Nick Cave, and Bjork.
Maybe the following bands: U2, The Damned, and REM.
And an honorable mention to these people for long and fruitful careers: Brian Eno, David Byrne, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Allen Ginsberg (I know he's a poet not a musician, but the same argument still applies in this case).
Who have I forgotten?
Posted on April 8, 2005 11:53 AM | Category: Music
