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

[mysterio]

Pearl Jam for sure. I lved that period when they were teaming up with Neil Young. I think he did the guitar on “I
Got Id.”

[Chi-townChief]

Yeah - I kind of got the same thing: my dad is 93 and after seeing him (walks real slow, half blind but still somehow passed his driving test, and still pretty sharp and cheerful as hell) I tell my wife I don’t think I want to go that far but when I’m 90, I may change my tune.