Too old to rock? (ROCK'N'ROLL IS DEAD)

Chicago Tribune ^ | May 10, 2009 | Mark Caro | Tribune reporter

[Chi-townChief]

Let's first acknowledge that we've moved well beyond the irony of "I hope I die before I get old" and the fact that the Who's Pete Townshend, who wrote the lyric, did get old, though his band's drummer didn't.

Let's also let Mick Jagger off the hook for famously declaring, "I'd rather be dead than singing 'Satisfaction' when I'm 45." With the Rolling Stones singer turning 66 in July, he has had more than 20 years and several world tours to eat those words.

We will, however, give consideration to Robert Plant's explanation earlier this year that he shot down a Led Zeppelin reunion in part for fear of fans' "disappointment" and "the comparisons to something that was basically fired by youth and a different kind of exuberance. ... It's very hard to go back and meet that head on and do it justice."

Or as he told a reporter backstage at the Grammys: "You try to do 'Communication Breakdown' in these pants."

mailto:mcaro@tribune.com

[Chi-townChief]

I guess we all knew this day was coming although, for me, it arrived about 15 years ago.

[Mr Rogers]

For me, it was when the bulge in my jeans became my belly...

[mylife]

Chicago's most-hyped summer concert is the pairing of Elton John, 62, and Billy Joel, 60,

Thanks, I'll be sure to miss that one.

[Chi-townChief]

I’m tempted to go see The Offspring at Northerly Island, though!

[mylife]

Debbie Harry is 64?!!

[HiTech RedNeck]

Jagger looks like a prune now but a friend tells me he’s a fitness nut.

The old rockers will go on to their respective rewards, but new ones are springing up daily. They seem to thrive on tough times.

[mylife]

Taj Mahal looks like the best show to me

[Steely Tom]

Rock and Roll got rich selling kids the illusion that they didn’t have to get old like Mom and Dad if they didn’t want to. It was a huge lie, a lie as big as Blood and Soil or The Dictatorship of the Proletariat. The West’s big innovation was to atomize the lie, so that it made lots of people rich, famous, and powerful, instead of just a tiny, secretive cabal.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Last I saw, almost all forms of marketed music are dying except for Country.

[Gay State Conservative]

Rock and roll is to be played by those in their teens and 20’s.When it played by those in their 40’s (or older) it becomes mind-numbingly boring.

I would pay a dollar today to see the Stones,The Who or any other stars from the 60's or 70's.

[Kent C]

Rock and Roll started dying right after Frampton’s Comes Alive album. It was killed when Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson (thru CBS records) forced MTV to play their stuff (MTV died at that time too, imho).

[Chi-townChief]

She was fairly old when Blondie finally hit.

[Las Vegas Ron]

Rock and Roll got rich selling kids the illusion that they didn’t have to get old like Mom and Dad

Wow, I thought it was because people liked their music and bought their records....go figure

[Chi-townChief]

I think it started dying around the Sgt. Pepper time period when these guys all started thinking they were “artists.” But, for me, the mid-90s was about it so give rock a 40-year run.

[Steely Tom]

Wow, I thought it was because people liked their music and bought their records....go figure

Well, perhaps I'm taking myself a bit too seriously today.

[Izzy Dunne]

Jagger looks like a prune now

Sorry, but Jagger's got nothin' on his bandmate:

[duckman]

I grew up during the 50’s Doowop era. I still enjoy my record collection; but it is pathetic to see some of these Doowop shows on PBS. A lot of the groups can still sing; but bald, fat Doowopers are not my cup of tea and ruin some good memories.IMHO

[DeLaine]

umm. Bad visual

[mamelukesabre]

If you really pay attention to the words, most rock and roll is dumb. But no one really pays attention.

[DeLaine]

Rock is dead

(long live paper and scissors)