Artists get better with age, e.g., painting. Yet when it comes to pop music, the famous work tends to be written when musicians are in their twenties. So, why aren't Bob Dylan or the Stones banging out amazing tunes now?

Seeing a 2023 Rolling Stones video featuring some sexy Sydney Sweeney dancing on a convertible was…weird, considering Sweeney is young enough to be Mick Jagger’s granddaughter.

Here’s a scrappy 60s rock song about young people telling their elders to fuck off.

Most modern popular music styles, whether it’s rock, pop, rap, etc., is made by young people, for young people. It’s not necessarily well-equipped to speak to the deepest desires and concerns of the elderly.

What do flat earthers think about Antarctica?

If we accept the question’s premise that Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones aren’t banging out amazing tunes anymore (I agree about the Stones, not familiar with recent Dylan music), then perhaps it’s because most popular musicians can’t figure out how to make great new music that reflects the experience of getting old.

Here are 2 young women singing a hedonistic sex song. I don’t know many elderly people who want to get down in da club to EDM-pop with sexy lyrics.

But they were outliers. Most popular music comes from young people who aren’t thinking long term about aging, and they often have trouble adjusting their music and image as they get old.

Ive been pretending to be okay and acting as normal as possible, but Im actually completely heartbroken after a recent breakup. Its painful and really affecting me, to the point where I cant concentrate at work, Ive lost my appetite, I cant sleep, and It feels as if my whole world has been turned upside down. I loved him so much. He said so many cruel things to me and it made me realize he must not have loved me the way I loved him, or he wouldnt have said such horrible things. How do I handle the heartbreak and why cant I accept that he didnt love me and just forget about him?

David Bowie got old enough to contemplate his imminent death and make haunting music about the experience.

Not all popular musicians are like this. The Beatles made an effort to reach out to every age demographic. Off the top of my head, I know of no other band that was equally comfortable making silly children’s songs and imagining what it would be like to get old.