Artists get better with age, e.g., painting. Yet when it comes to pop music, the famous work tends to be written when musicians are in their twenties. So, why aren't Bob Dylan or the Stones banging out amazing tunes now?
09.06.2025 03:22
Most modern popular music styles, whether it’s rock, pop, rap, etc., is made by young people, for young people. It’s not necessarily well-equipped to speak to the deepest desires and concerns of the elderly.
Here are 2 young women singing a hedonistic sex song. I don’t know many elderly people who want to get down in da club to EDM-pop with sexy lyrics.
Seeing a 2023 Rolling Stones video featuring some sexy Sydney Sweeney dancing on a convertible was…weird, considering Sweeney is young enough to be Mick Jagger’s granddaughter.
Not all popular musicians are like this. The Beatles made an effort to reach out to every age demographic. Off the top of my head, I know of no other band that was equally comfortable making silly children’s songs and imagining what it would be like to get old.
David Bowie got old enough to contemplate his imminent death and make haunting music about the experience.
Here’s a scrappy 60s rock song about young people telling their elders to fuck off.
How do you stop your balls from sweating?
But they were outliers. Most popular music comes from young people who aren’t thinking long term about aging, and they often have trouble adjusting their music and image as they get old.
If we accept the question’s premise that Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones aren’t banging out amazing tunes anymore (I agree about the Stones, not familiar with recent Dylan music), then perhaps it’s because most popular musicians can’t figure out how to make great new music that reflects the experience of getting old.