Dylan and Longevity

So the other day, I had a last minute invitation to see Dylan from Carlos. It was my third time seeing him and I'm fairly certain it'll be the last. Interestingly enough, the last time I saw him, over 15 years ago, was the first official date between my wife and I. And I use the word official because we'd been hanging out as friends for some time, but had gone past the point where were we fooling anyone anymore. Anyway, the show was ok, I guess. He had a great band and he was alright. He's still somewhat capable, but I felt like he was out of breath a lot of the time. I've said before I don't look for a "perfect" voice, but there was just something off. His energy isn't quite there anymore, maybe. I don't know. Carlos really liked it, so go read his review here.

I'm sure the crowd didn't help my experience any either. One thing I've noticed is the absolute rudest people are old people and old hippies are the worst. At one point I had to tell the two old bags behind me to keep it down, but they weren't the only ones talking. They just happened to be the most obnoxious.

While Dylan played I was struck with the thought of what artist from our generation my daughters might go see when they are older that would be comparable to us seeing Dylan, Elvis Costello or someone else like that. I couldn't really think of anyone that might have that longevity 20 or so years from now. The only one I could think of that might do it was Jack White, mainly because he's already had 3 bands and a solo career and keeps finding ways of reinventing the way he presents his material. Another candidate might be Dan Auerbach, but I see him moving more towards producing down the line. Then there's Alex Turner, who, truthfully is the best writer of the 3, so he has more potential. It all depends on how long Arctic Monkeys stay together and whether he eventually goes solo. It could just be that Arctic Monkeys is the band that my daughters go see when I'm 64. Who the hell knows?

I couldn't really think of anyone from the 90s that would really qualify to that extent. Cobain would have been, maybe, but I don't think Eddie Vedder would be at that level. Certainly not Billy Corgan. Dave Grohl, most likely. Maybe Tori Amos, if she found some new direction at some point? Bjork? How about hip hop artists? How will they age? Will there be an unlikely Tribe Called Quest reunion in 2040? The Fugees? doubtful on both counts. Chances are it'll be a pop artist like Christina Aguilera. or Adele. I don't know. I need a time machine.