Bob Dylan finally makes sense....

Jsonic makes a good point. For whatever reasons, many musicians and their work are looked upon as something sacred. Wasn't one of the original intents of the music to make money? Yeah I know, artists don't care about money. BS!! The title of the third Mothers of Invention album says it all.

Regarding the tour circuit I agree. Keith, Mick, Roger, Pete, et.al., do the Metamucil commercials, dye your hair, go for the Botox shots, but stay home. I know you sell a lot of tickets but PT Barnum had it right.

So at what point is an artist deemed irrelevant, and when should they stop doing what they love?

Because an artist is no longer handsome, or writing songs about teenage lust, underage drinking, or fighting with their mom and dad, they should just die! Maybe Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Nick Drake et al had the right idea albeit unconcious.

It verges on the hieghts of stupidity to expect someone like Bob Dylan, Pete Townsend, B.B. King, or Carole King to quit because someone who has never done anything relevant decided that they are no longer relevant.

If Bob Dylan loves to play concerts and fans continue to show their love for his concerts by buying tickets, good for Bobbie! When people dumber than the geniuses here decide Bob et al are no longer relevant they will discontinue the purchase of tickets and these gross offenders will stay in the old folks home where they belong. Until then, fans like me can continue to enjoy the shows and the new music.

FWIW my wife and I are going to see Gordon Lightfoot in the UP in a couple of weeks. No he can't hit the high notes he used to hit with ease, but we still enjoy the show, and he does too.

Easy Nrchy. If you're directing your vitriole at me, you need to read a bit more carefully. I never said stop doing it and/or questioned the relevancy. BTW, personal attacks are unnecessary.

Try decaf at the Gordon Lightfoot concert. Maybe he can hit the high notes but you can't hear them. :-)))

Tell 'em Nrchy -- Once a fan, always a fan. And the reason the old songs/artists are revered like Gods? Because many of them had and still have more writing AND performing talent than most of the overproduced musicians today (although there are many great ones). I'll listen to Dylan and the Stones live anyday over just about anyone beacause they are still great.

Audiofeil I'm not sure what you might have said, but I think it's more critics that deem the aging musician irrelevant. I was thinking of many who have condemned artists for supposedly not putting out material as good as their 'last LP.'

I'm not sure that there is a critic anywhere that has ever really added anything to the musical landscape! BUT maybe some of the earlier comments got me thinking along those lines...

Should any one of us be turned away from our jobs because we are aging, or not as handsome/pretty as we were in our prime, whenever that was... I'm still waiting. How did I get to be over the hill without ever making it to the top???