For your consideration.

https://theweek.com/feature/1004474/wha ... t-to-admit

Painful but true.

Yup.

I couldn't care less what a "professional critic" thinks about anything.

I don't care, but sometimes they can help you look at things in a new light, or appreciate something you may have overlooked.
Or as in this case, they can pretty much confirm my own thoughts, leading me to realize I am correct. And they are obviously brilliant. Like moi.

I pretty much have to agree with the article. It's obvious in my collection. I very rarely buy anything current. There are only a very few exceptions in my opinion. David Crosby is the best example of his current work matching or exceeding his earlier work. James Taylor is another, although his output in these later years have been very sporadic, "Hourglass," "October Road," and "Before This World" are on par or better than some of his earlier work. 2020's "American Standard" was not a typical 'standards album'. While Taylor didn't write any of the tunes, the arrangement of his signature guitar around the compositions were quite original.

That begs the question of what current artist of today starting out has the impact and will have the longevity of some of the rock stars of yester year? I personally can't thing of a single one. Can anybody think of any?

only OnDemand he not really all that new: jason isbell

Sometimes you have to look only at the message, and pretend you don't know who the messenger is.

I do this occasionally and it does open me up to things I would normally dismiss out hand. But that's just me.

In this case, the amazingly insightful observation that rock stars of the past have aged in real time, much like the rest of humanity.

IF ONLY MOST ROCK FANS HAD THE BALLS TO ADMIT THIS

What most Classic Rock critics don't want to admit:

1. It's not just the artists who are getting old, but their fans and critics as well

2. People who don't like only the music you like don't much care about what you think about music. Preaching to the choir is lazy.

3. The 60s and early 70s rock music that made you want to spend your life writing about it is no more and no less important, creative, or popular than the other forms of rock that come along every few years. Sure, the British Invasion was critical to popular music, but so was:
- 50s Rockabilly
- 70s hard rock and AOR (Foreigner, ELO, Journey)
- Punk (Ramones, Pistols, Blondie, Talking Heads)
- Prog (Rush, Pink Floyd, King Crimson)
- the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (Maiden, Leppard, Saxon, Motorhead, Priest)
- Goth (The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, The Smiths, Joy Division)
- College Rock (U2, REM, The B-52s, New Order)
- Glam Metal (Bon Jovi, Skid Row, GnR)
- Grunge (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden)
- Industrial (NIN, Ministry, Rage Against the Machine)
- Brit Rock (Blur, Oasis, Pulp)
- Pop Punk (Blink 182, The Offspring, Rancid, No Doubt, Avril Lavigne)
- Post grunge (Linkin Park, Nickelback, QOTSA)
- Garage Rock Revival (White Stripes, Hives, Vines)

That also doesn't count all the great bands who defied (or continue to defy) easy genre-fication. Or all the modern bands - including rock influenced hip hop artists - who mix and match from all those different sounds to create their own music and connect with their own fans. in a new way

Does getting older change rock bands? If they're successful, almost certainly; the fire, hunger and passion that marks their early records can burn out, absolutely. It's also possible that as the bands get older, they can leave the party / girls / cars / money focus behind and start having interesting stuff to say, for a little while. It can also free bands take more chances creatively, and bring new art to the world.

The truth of history has shown that there's usually only 1 or 2 bands from each wave of rock music who survive the initial 3-5 album window to go on producing new, interesting, popular or challenging music indefinitely. But if those 3-5 albums have enough of a connection to fans over time to continue to bring the artists money and the fans joy in a live setting, who are the critics to judge?

Finally, Rock and Roll is a renewable resource; every band we lose makes room for another band with something interesting to say. If you don't want to listen, that's your choice, but in my opinion, if you aren't paying at least some attention to new bands, you're guilty of the same thing the artists and critics are - letting comfort and nostalgia blind you to the possibilities inherent in the unknown bands just starting out, and the wonder of finding something that's totally new.

Jason

We don't, it hurts too much.

I don't really think his opinion piece warranted this much of a response. It was just a bit of click bait.

"Rock is dead, they say
long live rock" - Pete Townsend

So what do people think of the new McCartney album? I think it's his best one yet.

Rock started to die during the 90's. The fact that Hip Hop was the most popular music among kids was a sign that the ride was over.

Sure, rock and roll is a young man's/woman's game, and it is only the rare artist that continues to record over the course of their lives in any event. Most artists/bands will give you a few albums and then stop recording and move on to do something else/retire and rest of their laurels. When they become superstars, like everyone in the article, their recording careers may actually become life long careers and they'll continue to record or perform, but it is exceedingly rare to see quality stretch beyond 2 or 3 decades. Bowie was an exceptional artist but super rare. I love Prince but his last few albums before he died? Eh. Still, like with David Crosby, James Taylor or even Sting, there's comfort in continuing to hear their voices perform new songs as we all age even if I (and probably they) know the new stuff won't compare to the recordings that made them stars.

This whole thing is bewildering. Close as I can figure the article is meant to be enlightening because the author tries to force the aging “Classic Rock Fan” to confront that something they love is dying and you are basically mentally inept if you don’t start crying right now over this fact.

So let me get this right. This guy is brilliant cause he has seemingly just figured out that people get old and die. What a stunning development, Sherlock. Just means he is like the dullest knife in the drawer.

News flash, when people become feeble in their old age it does not diminish their accomplishments one iota. So I should force lovers of classical music to cop to the inevitable end to the importance of the genre because that was written a long time ago by a bunch of dead guys. Or I could just go to the opening night of the BSO this season.



Yup, music has changed….thank goodness. The first time I saw the Ramones I hated them. “1,2,3,4”…STFU! “Where’s the 10 minute guitar lead with the violin bow?” I thought to myself. By two years later I had seen them fifteen times. Now everyone in the group is dead. How does that make me feel? “Hey, Ho, Let’s Go!

I think it was Joe Strummer who said something like “I knew I could never play the keyboard like Keith Emerson but I can do that” after seeing the Ramones. Some musicians got inspired by the Beatles and others were inspired by the Ramones, and some by Owl City. Who cares? Just try to find something, anything that inspires you to some degree everyday.

My son was probably nine when he sang a song to me about “Fireflies”. I thought it was beautiful and I asked him where he had heard it. He told me about how a young guy made it in his parents basement by himself on a laptop. It’s now over 400 million views on YouTube and six times platinum. So now kids with little to no training can reach the entire globe from their parents basement. But here’s the beauty. So can anyone else.

Jimmy told me in the hospital that day “Ever since the day we bought our first Monkees album I’ve loved all music and wanted to own it all. I don’t get why people argue about how one type is better than another….it’s all great.” The most important thing he ever said to me. And now I have all of it with me and I have seen the light and the brilliant wisdom in his belief.

Here are the last three albums I’ve listened to and not a classic rock artist among them. And they are all fantastic.



And don’t get me started on “Gangnam Style”. See, it doesn’t have to be Rock & Roll to rock your world.

I think you guys are taking this article far to seriously. No one said the author was brilliant other than me, and I thought my post was over-the-top enough that my sarcasm would be obvious. I forget how tone is not easy to convey in the written word.

Are you kidding? It’s all just fun. Yankees/Red Sox argument has been fun for a hundred years.

“After a couple beers you spend twenty minutes talking about the problems with artificial turf, after a couple more you spend the next twenty minutes talking about the benefits of artificial turf. And a few bears after that you are artificial turf!” Thank you Larry Miller.



We’d have nothing to do all day if we couldn’t spout off about our opinions once in a while to blow off steam.