Quote:
Originally Posted by mvee
Your point is well made. A bands shelf life is relevant to how long they can sustain whatever crazy lifestyle they are living and whatever drug is fueling said lifestyle. That lifestyle directly impacts the quality of the songs they are writing. Exile on Main Street would be a great example of genius coming through through the drug induced vision of people at their creative peek. Which exactly why the Stones, Dylan and all the other suck today. They can't take drugs like that anymore. It take allot of energy to conjure that shit up and covert it into something good. I can totally appreciate a band for whatever great works they put out but that doesn't mean I won't ever forget that Van Halen thought Sammy Hager was better choice as a singer than David Lee Roth and put out a bunch of crappy songs.
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I think drugs and booze and the lifestyle has something to do with it, but I think a lot of it is just simple artistic shelf life. Most great artist, be they painters, writers, musicians or whoever have a limited number of great works in them. The drugs and booze might have helped them bring that out, but I think a lot of people like that are kind of like an explosion. They blow up, are hot as fire then burn out. It is very rare that any artist does great things again and again over decades.
That said I think the Dylan has recently put out some amazing records. His newest stuff is raw and emotional and I think it comes from him opening up with getting older and understanding that he is not perfect.