The stones deserve a thread for this.

[TitoFan]

Wow major props for this. Jagger and the Stones are indeed to be admired. Still going strong into the Golden Age. Hope they all live a lot longer...... but one can imagine Jagger or one of the others dying the way they'd probably prefer to die...... while in concert and in the middle of guitar solo or something like that. Don't know whether there's an entry in Guinness on the longest running rock band..... but if there is the Stones have to be the runaway winners of that one.

[p4pking]

Chuck Berry was still active until he died at 90, must pre date the Stones by 10 years or so as well. He probably wasnt worth seeing aside from the nostalgia trip, but thats been true of the stones for many years as well. They have basically been a mediocre cover band of themselves for decades. BB king is another one, toured from the early 1940s until 2015.

Not to be a downer or anything I mean good for anyone still doing what they love into the twilight years, but if they arent actually any good at it any more, I think its just as commendable to walk away before that happens.

[Master]

Frank Sinatra was the same, way past his best and not singing great. Better to have called it a day.

[TitoFan]

Chuck Berry was still active until he died at 90, must pre date the Stones by 10 years or so as well. He probably wasnt worth seeing aside from the nostalgia trip, but thats been true of the stones for many years as well. They have basically been a mediocre cover band of themselves for decades. BB king is another one, toured from the early 1940s until 2015.

Not to be a downer or anything I mean good for anyone still doing what they love into the twilight years, but if they arent actually any good at it any more, I think its just as commendable to walk away before that happens.

Yeah I know what you mean. It's like professional athletes, in a way. Well.... not really 'cause athletes, especially in team sports, can actually hurt the team by staying on too long. In music I wonder if the singing is the first thing to go. However it's admirable if someone like Jagger can still have even part of the energy he used to have, given his age and his health issues. I must be incredibly hard to let go.

[p4pking]

I guess, Depends on the musician, once you're truly old everything goes after all. Its a lot more like a sport if you are talking about some virtuoso instrumentalist, because that kind of dexterity and timing is a young persons game. Major difference is a musician can adapt their approach and keep learning different things and still be great to hear. An athlete can know everything their is about their sport but once they just cant do certain things anymore none of that matters as they are physically competing against guys who can.

[Spicoli]

There's something to be said about staying young in mind and soul maybe. Interesting it seems music has to be one of the most secure professions as your masses of fans age with you. I mean who doesn't reflect and replay the music they grew up with at least every so often, and with instant media, movies and so many platforms for exposure it's always growing. Hollywood it's a bit different. With a legacy band just roll out the box albums greatest hits, eat your apple sauce and put your teeth in, dim the stage lights and pound out sets.

[Spicoli]

Just saw they're playing downtown on the 14th, didn't even know they had a new tour. Did the first one ever end. Can't get my inner geezer or the $400 around a show so we'll just play some Exile on Main St and avoid the traffic.

[Gandalf]

I have always somewhat struggled with The Rolling Stones. Their prime albums are always rated highly but I struggle to enjoy more than a track or two. I find the writing clunky and Jagger has an awful singing voice. It's a voice that can never really age as it never really had a place to begin with. Beggars Banquet is a case in point. I love the opening track, but then it is lost for me. Exile on Main Street is better, but still so much stolid filler. Same with Sticky Fingers. There is no real magic there for me. Over the years they have built up an impressive hits list, but that is it for me. I don't feel their music.

I actually quite like it when an artist grows older and is still producing great work. That work often has greater poignancy and has become the voice of experience and life stories. This is where I find myself listening to McCartney's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard much more than early Beatles stuff. Or even Bowie's Blackstar more than The Man who Sold the World. It sounds richer, the voice is older, but the writing melodic and strong. It is an excellent piece of work.

I actually wish McCartney would drop some of the hits from his shows as everybody has heard them before many times. The new stuff has been great for years now, though the new album really was hit and miss for me. Some filler in there which still makes it better than prime Rolling Stones.

[walrus]

Chuck Berry was still active until he died at 90, must pre date the Stones by 10 years or so as well. He probably wasnt worth seeing aside from the nostalgia trip, but thats been true of the stones for many years as well. They have basically been a mediocre cover band of themselves for decades. BB king is another one, toured from the early 1940s until 2015.

Not to be a downer or anything I mean good for anyone still doing what they love into the twilight years, but if they arent actually any good at it any more, I think its just as commendable to walk away before that happens.

Chuck Berry puncher Keith Richards in the face