People used to say, "In rock, artists can go forever. Just look at the Rolling Stones." But the Rolling Stones had a clear prime in the sixties and early seventies. Rolling Stone may have called Steel Wheels one of the best albums of the eighties, but does anyone still play that shit? I can only think of a tiny, tiny number of rock artists who were able to put out albums comparable to their classics ten years into the game. Sonic Youth, Bob Dylan VERY rarely, Lou Reed also RARELY. I hate U2 but there they are, you can't really argue against them. But who else?

Hip hop is younger than rock but already there are more rappers successfully surviving ten years than ever made it in rock. Masta Ace, MF DOOM, The Roots, Jay-Z as long as you count American Gangster (I would,) Madlib, Dr. Dre... Nas's output has been spotty but I'm pretty excited about Life Is Good. People still love Ghostface and De La Soul.

Maybe you think a lot of these guys are dinosaurs, but I'm still excited about what most of them are coming up with. Does the beefing in hip hop keep rappers more competitive and more hungry? Is this just not happening and it's still a young man's game, with Kendrick, K.R.I.T., Exquire et. al. the rappers real heads are looking out for?