With U2 having released their latest album last week, VB and I were talking the other day about how little hype this album has gotten (in comparison to the hype surrounding other bands such as Coldplay or Kings of Leon). While I might put it down to economic times putting a strain on the marketing budget for "the biggest band in the world," VB had a very different take - that old bands are losing their relevance.
Rather than dismiss this idea offhand, I thought about it a bit more, and decided to put down some arguments both for and against those old fellows still traipsing the world on tour, or hitting the recording studio.
Can a band that sung political songs in the 70s or 80s still hold relevance for anyone except the baby boomer and generation xers who grew up listening to them? Can a song such as My Generation by The Who still be relevant to the most important demographic - young people with high disposable income? The answer for the most part is no. But more to the point, did anyone care that The Rolling Stones made a new album only 4 years ago? I was lucky enough to see this epic band only a few years ago, and I would have been bitterly diappointed to see them play anything but the hits from their back catalogue.
I think that a lot of hype is still given to the great rock and rollers of old for their past deeds, with some music critics gushing about anything new they have done without really listening to its musical worth. Considering how much new music there is coming out in this digital age, there is a strong argument for looking for the new talent rather than relying upon the old.
On the flip side there is a reason that these old timers keep going, however. People still want to see them, hell, I still want to see them. And for the truly genius ones amongst them, there is still very good reasons to listen to the new music being made. Bob Dylan has made some of his most critically acclaimed music in recent years, and has been touring almost non stop. Ropert Plant has reinvented himself on his album 'Raising Sand' with Allison Kraus. And, as a result of some accounting misfortunes, Leonard Cohen has just finished a sold out tour of Australia. In Leonard's case, the majority of tickets were bought by the baby boomers, but it suggests that there is still room for these guys in a crowded musical market.
I think the most important thing when thinking about this is to identify the bands that you would truly miss if they were to stop touring and making music. I still was hanging out to hear U2's new music. I couldn't care less if Guns and Roses ever make a new song again. For me, the difference is as simple as that.
As usual send us your thoughts or send us an email at 2bearsrs@gmail.com.
CB
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