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So who is still getting it done after all these years?


Tone Deaf

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An unfortunate fact of life in the world of rock n roll (at least in my observation) is that as bands/musicians age, they often lose some of the fire that made their songwriting and playing so great. Whether it's age alone, or in some combination with fame, success, wealth, etc. they often lose the hunger that made them great and become a shell of what they used to be.

I think fans are sometimes blind to this and don't really outwardly admit it. So, my question to the group, who has been able to avoid this pitfall? Who has consistently brought the rock across decades? Who has been relevant at one point, only to fade away, and then reappear (reunion) with the same fire they once had (with an emphasis on songwriting)?

 

A few from my own list...

 

  • Johnny Cash never lost it, and in fact, I feel he did his best work late in life.
  • Dinosaur Jr. left the scene for many years and reappeared sounding like they never left.
  • Neil Young continues to reinvent himself in ways that have kept him relevant
  • I've never been a huge Rush fan, and to some extent I think they're part of a genre in which interest has mostly faded, but they've continued to create music that is on par with what they did during their heyday.

 

Who else? And maybe who has not?

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Johnny marr keeps coming up with new relevant interesting projects and whilst they haven't all been to my taste they were all good.

I also agree with those mentioned in the op but other than that i find myself prefering just one or two albums from an artist rather than there whole catalogues.

 

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- Definitely Rush.  It's nice to see them come out with something as strong as Clockwork Angels the same year that they got into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  And I'd argue - along with the guys from Meshuggah, Dream Theater and Mastodon - that prog metal is very much alive and well.

- I'd also add U2 to that list.  They're still touring new CD's with some great songs, they're not working the oldies' circuit and they still like playing together.

 

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Brian May: He put out A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud just a few years ago, 35 years after MgI Emission in the Night-Sky Spectrum  and An Investigation of the Motion of Zodiacal Dust Particles.

/Dunno if he's still playing music:smileyvery-happy:

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Mike Patton.  I was never into FNM or Mr Bungle, but I'm really digging the new Tomahawk record.

Buzz and Dale from the Melvins.  You could make the argument that Melvins output is stagnating, but they still put on steller shows, and at their worst they're much better than pretty much anybody.

They Might Be Giants.  Haven't heard their latest, but Join Us has some great tunes on it.

 

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I agree with many mentioned already.

I'll add Peter Gabriel. He's been writing interesting tunes and constantly innovating for over 40 years. I saw him perform recently, and he still rocks it live and unlike so many singers his age, can still hit those high notes.

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The jury is still out for me on his new album, but David Bowie's last two album (year they were ten years ago, but he was still pretty old then), Reality and Heathen were fantastic.

Bob Dylan keeps doing interesting stuff well into old age.

Leonard Cohen is still are great live performer even in his eighties

I know they're not the most popular on the guitar forums but I still enjoy every new U2 album, I look forward to what they're going to do next..

 

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Iron Maiden

Robert Plant is doing some of the nbest stuff of his career with various people

David Coverdale keep bringing the foundation and makeup mainly but his pipes are doing the job

Lemmy will not stop till he rots in wherever he plans on rotting

Meatloaf as much as he grates can still bring a bottle

and finally the Stones continue to confound whne they take to the stage, you may not like all of their albums but thier back catalogue has at least a gem an album

 

and sadly, although now gone Gary Moore was just getting better and better

 

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Many of us are listing people that haven't lost us as fans, but thinking of it another way - are they still doing things to gain new fans? Are they still culturally relavent? Are they making music that pushes the boundaries even further than they pushed them when they were made famous originally?

 

Jeff Beck is a good answer, because he continues to evolve his own playing, and as before, he has the attention of premier guitarists everywhere. So yes, he's still doing what he's always done.

 

U2 still writes and records successful new pop music. Since they were always a pop band, and they continue to be relavent, I'd say they still have it.

 

Robert Plant still turns heads with his projects - Raising Sand and Band of Joy were both pretty big. I'd say he's a good answer. Different people than Zeppelin fans are listening to him now.

 

I mentioned Pearl Jam, and though they are still one of my favorite bands, they don't churn out the hits like they used to. While they still tour sucessfully, they may fall into the nostalgia act category like almost everyone else mentioned in this thread. They may still be good musicians with careers that are still going and fans following them, but they have lost some of what made them what they are.

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kayd_mon wrote:

 

 

Many of us are listing people that haven't lost us as fans, but thinking of it another way - are they still doing things to gain new fans? Are they still culturally relavent? Are they making music that pushes the boundaries even further than they pushed them when they were made famous originally?

 

That's tough.  What made an act original when they started is that they were different than the other stuff out there.  But you're saying that to keep "getting it done" they need to be different than they themselves were. 

Some artists do that---go from peak to peak, always something new, and don't repeat themselves or follow trends.  The Beatles, David Bowie, Bob Dylan.  But most artists have a musical home, and they may travel a bit, but they always come back to a core sound, and in the process inevitably sound much less fresh than they did when they started. 

 

It's even worse with genre-defining bands---everyone apes their sound, and then the originals start to sound like imitators.

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Well, not necessarily. U2 hasn't changed much, but they still keep gaining new fans with relavent pop music. A lot of the other guys (like Pearl Jam) just don't have the hits, even though their tours are extremely successful. Doing the peak-to-peak thing certainly keeps relevance, but it's not the only way. I think that gaining fans with their new music is what would say they "still have it." Again, that's not to say they have lost their musicianship, performance ability, or original fan base.

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AC/DC, Rush, Journey, Bon Jovi, Kiss... The obvious choices. Saw The Little River Band a couple months back, and he was still singing the tunes without tuning down and cranking away on the songs. Tom Petty, Heart, Cheap Trick, Iron Maiden, Clapton, the remaining members of The Who, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Motley Crue, Tony Iommi, Billy Joel, Jeff Lynne, Daryl Hall, Aerosmith, Bad Company, the remaining members of Queen... I could go on for sure as many of you have.

Kiss was never a question of musicianship, but one of showmanship. I give them props for putting on a heck of a show for over 2 hours at their age. When I last saw them, it was as long as Rush, and they put on a long set.

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Alecto wrote:

 

 

- Definitely Rush.  It's nice to see them come out with something as strong as
Clockwork Angels
the same year that they got into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  And I'd argue - along with the guys from Meshuggah, Dream Theater and Mastodon - that prog metal is very much alive and well.

 

- I'd also add U2 to that list.  They're still touring new CD's with some great songs, they're not working the oldies' circuit and they still like playing together.

 

 

 

C'mon...how can anyone POSSIBLY put U2 here? They've been riding that wave of popularity so long they got from Joshua tree, they are treated like royalty. Yet their last 3 or so albums have been pure stink. Over-rated is an understatement.

 

Moving on...

Megadeth is still crushing it. While 13 was so-so, Endgame was brilliant. Listening to clips from the upcoming Supercollider sound more like Endgame. Me likey.

 

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