I need long-career artists who haven't lost their touch.

January 26, 2005 2:04 AM

I might have scammed my way onto local radio with the promise of a show dedicated to musical acts whose careers have been of a decent length, but who haven't lost their touch (e.g. Nick Cave will be in, Morrissey won't) - or those acts who've noticeably improved with time (I think Beethoven's the best example, but classical music won't be getting a run). Any ideas to fill three four-hour shows?
posted by bunglin jones to Media & Arts (76 answers total)

David Byrne. Some people think he's gone soft, but I'm of the opinion that some of his recent work ranks up there with the best of Talking Heads.
posted by painquale at 2:13 AM on January 26, 2005

Ha! I came into this thread to say "DAVID BYRNE" but it appears I've been beaten to it. Tom Waits has gone quite mad but still produces gold, in my opinion.
posted by handee at 2:54 AM on January 26, 2005

Elvis Costello? He's been good at re-inventing himself over the years, and always remained interesting.
posted by punilux at 3:02 AM on January 26, 2005

Tim Finn and Neil Finn?
Sonic Youth?
Please god not U2 or REM (as much as it pains me to say it). While U2 has made a half assed attempt at staying good, it seems that REM has gone straight down the shitter.
posted by damnitkage at 3:13 AM on January 26, 2005

I'd like to recommend Einsturzende Neubauten, for one. A lot of people overlook them as simply being industrial and inaccessible--and, therefore, not radio-friendly--but they have some truly amazing songs that could easily fit in on the radio if given half a chance. Unfortunately, a lot of people won't listen to music in another language and many of their best songs are in German. Oh well.

See Also: Laurie Anderson, Kate Bush, and Annie Lennox.
posted by abiku at 3:16 AM on January 26, 2005

The Fall.
Leonard Cohen.
Sun Ra.
Nina Simone.
posted by dydecker at 3:30 AM on January 26, 2005

brainsync, I was going to say Byrne and Einsturzende Neubauten... get the latest album with "living on other planets is... difficult" and you fulfill the English quota too. ;)
posted by dabitch at 3:36 AM on January 26, 2005

Leonard Cohen

I don't know if Leonard is such a good choice. He went a long time without making any music, and when he returned it was very much inferior to his old stuff. He put out a song called Boogie Street, for God's sake.
posted by painquale at 3:39 AM on January 26, 2005

Richard Thompson
posted by john-paul at 3:51 AM on January 26, 2005

First of all, to be fair, Moz, while certainly not at the heights of the Smiths days, has certainly regained a good deal of said touch.

Also, Joe Strummers late solo work may be of interest to you, along with the aforementioned David Byrne, & Tom Waits.

Beck, Blur, the various David Lowery bands (Camper Van Beethoven/Cracker), and Elliott Smith...

THe Flaming Lips are a BLATANT case of #2, what with their SoftBulletin/Yoshimi era rebirth.

Frank Blacks recent solo work has been phenomenal as well. (Particularly Show Me Your Tears), though he has at times faltered). On a similar note, Mike Watt has, since the Minutemen days, gone on to front FireHose before up and transforming himself into a punk rock elder statesman with his solo work.

Fugazi & Guided by Voices never really lost their touches, and in Fugazis case, they've kept getting better. Their most recent album (The Argument) May be the best of their career.

Mission of Burma returned after nearly 25 years of non-existence and did so in phenomenal fashion. In a similar period, the Residents have never gone away, and have kept on being... well, the Residents. And their recent material (particularly Demons Dance Alone), may be the most accessible stuff they've ever done.

Sonic Youth had a few missteps along the way, but they seem to have, with Murray St. and Sonic Nurse, entered a new golden age or something, as they've really hit their stride again of late.
posted by TTIKTDA at 4:02 AM on January 26, 2005

Oh, also Bowie. Can't forget Bowie.
posted by TTIKTDA at 4:04 AM on January 26, 2005

Lisa Loeb and Matthew Sweet (with the exception of his first album) have consistently put out solid albums true to their "original" sound. Lisa has only been around 10-12 years or so but Sweet has been around since the 80s.

(I must confess I am biased towards Lisa. She is the single cutest/sweetest human alive today. Swoon.)
posted by pookzilla at 4:11 AM on January 26, 2005

Oh, and don't forget Half Man Half Biscuit.
posted by handee at 4:15 AM on January 26, 2005

Stiff Little Fingers.
posted by Pericles at 4:15 AM on January 26, 2005

Leo Kottke.
Ray Brown.
Randy Newman.
Charlie Parker.
Art Blakey.
Warren Zevon.
The Who.
Todd Rundgren.
And what the others said except Sun Ra, Nina Simone and Leonard Cohen, IMHO.
posted by nj_subgenius at 4:18 AM on January 26, 2005

Radiohead
Stereolab
Kraftwerk
Pink Floyd?
posted by Espoo2 at 4:28 AM on January 26, 2005

Type O Negative.
posted by ruddhist at 4:38 AM on January 26, 2005

Keith Rowe
posted by corpse at 4:44 AM on January 26, 2005

Neil Young
King Crimson (Robert Fripp)
Peter Hammill
Santana
Brother Ray Charles
Quincy Jones
Bob Dylan
Les Paul (well just for hanging in there)
Pat Martino (sort, of...had to re-learn guitar after illness)
Tom Jones
Johnny Cash
Loretta Lynn
Merle Haggard
Steve Earle
Jonathan Richman
Pete Seeger
Arlo Guthrie
Pete Seeger
posted by Duck_Lips at 4:57 AM on January 26, 2005

oops I said Pete Seeger twice, cause at 80 something years, and decent influential music since the '30's he deserves it. Well, with that thought, let's add Eubie Blake, who played credibly until he died at 100.
posted by Duck_Lips at 5:07 AM on January 26, 2005

Morrissey hasn't lost his touch
posted by lotsofno at 5:09 AM on January 26, 2005

Bill Frisell
posted by davebush at 5:15 AM on January 26, 2005

WIRE
Killing Joke
posted by black8 at 5:22 AM on January 26, 2005

Van Morrison

And, I know the suggestion will be contentious, but Prince definitely has not lost his touch.
posted by tidecat at 5:26 AM on January 26, 2005

definitely Elvis Costello and Annie Lennox, and throw in Paul Weller, Ian McCulloch, and Erasure (they've kept their style but continue to find good, solid things to do with it), and maybe the Cure.
posted by amberglow at 5:34 AM on January 26, 2005

Tom Waits.
posted by transient at 5:40 AM on January 26, 2005

They Might Be Giants. They're still making good music 20 years later. They're also one of the best examples of an artist embracing and making use of the web to promote their stuff and find new fans.
posted by AgentRocket at 5:49 AM on January 26, 2005

Talk Talk (very noticeably improved with time)
Loudon Wainwright
posted by crumbly at 6:04 AM on January 26, 2005

Curtis Mayfield.

In other areas, Tangerine Dream, Kitaro, Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre.

Kraftwerk put out an album recently, about a 20 year hiatus for them.

If you're looking at a 20 year span, speaking of which, Tears For Fears have been relatively consistent. The Rolling Stones were fairly okay up until the early 80's. Paul McCartney also had consistency (for him) for a good 20 year period. Golden Earring have been around for I think 40 years, although they only had two hits that I know of.

BB King.
posted by ashbury at 6:54 AM on January 26, 2005

David Grisman.
posted by greasy_skillet at 7:09 AM on January 26, 2005

Cool idead. Make sure to throw in some:

Scarface,
DJ Premier,
Kool Keith,
Richard D. James (aphextwin)...
posted by 31d1 at 7:17 AM on January 26, 2005

John Prine
Brian Eno (especially if you include collaborations and work as a producer)
Nine Inch Nails (is a 16-year run long enough?)
Bill Monroe
Definitely Ray Charles. Oh yes.

I'd argue King Crimson have finally lost their touch, but they sure would make a good show -- lots of stylistic evolution.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:29 AM on January 26, 2005

Bowie? He hasn't written a decent song since 1985. Or 1981, strictly speaking.
posted by dydecker at 7:34 AM on January 26, 2005

Tori Amos
Ray Charles
Tom Waits
De la Soul
Please don't say Sting or Aerosmith!
Is the new Indigo Girls stuff any good? I stopped listening.
posted by equipoise at 7:41 AM on January 26, 2005

John Zorn.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 7:48 AM on January 26, 2005

Yo La Tengo.
posted by fuzz at 7:53 AM on January 26, 2005

(Holy crap. With a few exceptions, this is like a list of artists that I tell the smartlists in iTunes to never, ever play.)
posted by Mo Nickels at 7:54 AM on January 26, 2005

Lots of people I would have proposed have already been mentioned: King Crimson (I actually think they're finally *regaining* their touch after the disastrous Construkction of Light), Tom Waits, Richard Thompson, Eno.

But also: Fred Frith (questionable rock content, though), David Thomas (& Two Pale Boys/Pere Ubu/etc), Daevid Allen (Gong (the new Gong album with members of Acid Mothers Temple is great)/New York Gong/University of Errors), Robert Wyatt (arguable), John Fahey.
posted by kenko at 8:02 AM on January 26, 2005

rod stewart seems to be still around (ok, i have no idea whether it's any good, but i was wondering what kind of artists wouldn't be listed here, and he certainly wasn't). on a vaguely similar vein, tom jones did some pop collaborations a few years back that gave him a new lease of life.

more along the lines of others here, jorma kaukonen had an acoustic album out a while back that i really liked, so he's still kicking around.
posted by andrew cooke at 8:02 AM on January 26, 2005

Dunno if 10 years is long enough, but Low still has it going on.
posted by cmonkey at 8:05 AM on January 26, 2005

d'oh - what about miles davis?!
posted by andrew cooke at 8:07 AM on January 26, 2005

KMFDM?
posted by baphomet at 8:08 AM on January 26, 2005

Bill Laswell
Henry Threadgill
Scientist
Prince Paul
Swans

(What are the criteria here--people that we enjoy personally who have managed to have longish careers? No offense intended, but it seems like, for most of the listed artists, the critical consensus is that they've gotten worse over time.)
posted by box at 8:14 AM on January 26, 2005

XTC; while the last decade has seen a huge dropoff in the amount of material produced, and a slight dropoff in the overall quality, the best songs of the recent material are still pretty damn good.

I really think Squeeze put in about ten good years of service.

Of course, I also think that once you factor out overexposure, Aerosmith has put out some good rock 'n' roll for several decades too (I really liked "Pink" and "Jaded"), so maybe you'll disagree. Sorry, equipoise!

Have you also considered a companion show for the inverse idea: artists who had one or two great albums (or songs) and then disappeared? If you went with semi-obscure acts (rather than the Dick Bartley one-hit-wonder playlist), it might go over well....
posted by kimota at 8:22 AM on January 26, 2005

They Might Be Giants.
posted by ColdChef at 8:25 AM on January 26, 2005

Merzbow? "Rocking" since 79, and has happily embraced new technology...
posted by PantsOfSCIENCE at 9:03 AM on January 26, 2005

Some really interesting answers to a really interesting question here.
I'd like to add:

- Shonen Knife -- after a slide downward with "Let's Knife," they really turned up the punk-pop weirdness on their next few (overlooked) albums
- Ween - holy shit, they've been around for more than 15 years! And still great!
- Josh White, Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Dock Boggs -- all of whom made excellent stuff in the '20s/'30s, vanished for a while, and were "rediscovered" by the 1960s folk revival, and their music was as good as ever, if not better
- Ralph Stanley
- Billy Joe Shaver
- Guy Clark (recent stuff is terrific)
- Illinois Jacquet
- Duke Ellington (obviously)
- Louis Armstrong
- Emmylou Harris!

(PantsOfSCIENCE: bless their noisy hearts, but four hours of Merzbow might do some serious damage to bunglin jones's listeners. Awesome suggestion, tho'.)
posted by Dr. Wu at 9:16 AM on January 26, 2005

Oh! No way would I wish four hours of Merzbow, even on my worst enemy. Strike mine from the list.
posted by PantsOfSCIENCE at 9:22 AM on January 26, 2005

Hey, man, in a perfect world, we'd all listen to Merzbow for four hours a day, every day, and we'd LOVE it.
posted by Dr. Wu at 9:25 AM on January 26, 2005

Brian Wilson, just for releasing SMiLE '04.
posted by ludwig_van at 9:28 AM on January 26, 2005

I'd put Ray Charles in my top 10 all time artists, and was a huge influence on at least a couple of the rest, but I don't understand anyone thinking he didn't lose his touch or got better. Almost everything did after leaving Atlantic and Ahmet Ertegun in '62 paled in comparison. In his later years he just coasted on his reputation. He was still great (and great enough for me to see him perform many times), just not ungodly great.

Otherwise I agree with everyone who said Johnny Cash. He kept growing as an artist and challenging himself until his final days.

And on preview I'd add Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, and Alberta Hunter, to Dr. Wu's list of blues artists who reemerged at least as good as before.
posted by TimeFactor at 9:31 AM on January 26, 2005

And Steely Dan, the source of my MeFi moniker. (How could I forget?) Their two recent albums, Two against Nature and Everything Must Go, sound like they were made immediately after Gaucho, not two decades later.
posted by Dr. Wu at 9:38 AM on January 26, 2005

On the Merzbow tip: Nurse With Wound.
Uh, Jandek? If you think he ever had a touch.
The Sun City Girls
Derek Bailey
posted by kenko at 10:07 AM on January 26, 2005

Since it's obvious that no other Canadians have popped their heads in yet, I'll throw in the Rheostatics, est. 1987 (although 2001's Night of the Shooting Stars was mediocre, and I haven't heard 2067 yet); the Tragically Hip, est. 1988 (who, if you omit their first self-titled album, have alternated phenomenal albums with merely good ones since their inception), and Sloan, est. 1991 (a lot of the reviews I've read for their last two albums basically say, "Don't get us wrong, we like this album, we just wish these guys would get more adventurous rather than putting out yet another album of catchy, finely tuned power-pop.")
posted by Johnny Assay at 10:07 AM on January 26, 2005

John Cale.
The difference between Nico's first and second albums is striking, for the second point.
posted by kenko at 10:11 AM on January 26, 2005

The Fall
John Fahey
posted by DelusionsofGrandeur at 10:16 AM on January 26, 2005

The Ex. They've been around since '79 and their music gets better and better.
posted by jtron at 10:38 AM on January 26, 2005

Good god people, Willie Nelson doesn't rate with you? How about Billy Childish? Doesn't he have something like 2 million albums in his discography? I'm sure there have to be some reggae artists that would fit the bill. Alpha Blondy, perchance? Ray Davies even?
posted by NoMich at 11:38 AM on January 26, 2005

I was thinking about David Sylvian this morning...his career has spanned an amazing variety of styles, from glam to new wave to avant-garde easy listening without missing a beat.

Also along the lines of Einsturzende Neubaten, I would suggest Coil, who also ventured into an incredible range of styles (though less accessible to the average listener) until Jhonn's untimely passing in November.
posted by malocchio at 12:09 PM on January 26, 2005

Nikki Sudden
The Go-Betweens (took a long break and came back)
Gary Numan
Ravi Shankar
Momus
Peter Murphy
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 12:11 PM on January 26, 2005

OK, many have named Van Morrison, Byrne, Bowie and Costello. I'll add some long-time blues people:

Taj Mahal
Charlie Musselwhite
Clarence Gatemouth Brown
John Hammond
Pinetop Perkins (still on tour at 91)
Honeyboy Edwards (pushing 90, still an occasional gig)

...and for a party band that can still take down the house, I would add the Neville Brothers. (And has Ry Cooder been up to anything new, he had staying power over many years. )
posted by madamjujujive at 1:09 PM on January 26, 2005

William Shatner
posted by found missing at 1:22 PM on January 26, 2005

i am slightly embarassed to suggest siouxsie and the banshees. never incredible musicians (though i've heard many people argue to the death over budgie's skills as a percussionist and i know many people find martin mcCarrick to be very skilled), they consistently put out good records (from the late 70's to the mid-90's), which changed over the years to suit changing tastes, new band members and the inevitable failure of sioux's voice. plus, they pulled the plug when easy-listening-for-recovering-goths became the next logical step.

and boy howdy, is NoMich right about willie nelson.
posted by crush-onastick at 1:46 PM on January 26, 2005

I wasn't sure what the definition of "careers ... of a decent length" was, but it appears that others have suggested some people I would have, had I assumed that a mere decade of work was long enough. Heh.

Definitely Tori Amos and Radiohead. I also very much agree with the suggestion of David Sylvian. Perhaps also Jeff Buckley and Ani DiFranco? But definitely not Bowie, regardless of what the press tries to tell you. (I am a Bowie fan, though.)

Also, just to be contrary, I don't think that Morrissey has "lost his touch" -- while I've never been a mega fan of his, his latest release is arguably some of his best solo work.

Finally, to follow-up on crush-onastick's suggestion, Siouxsie would be a good addition, as would their side project (which is still very much active), The Creatures. In fact, I tend to like the music they put out as The Creatures more, but YMMV.
posted by abiku at 2:27 PM on January 26, 2005

Oh yeah, and now would probably be an opportune time to mention Loretta Lynn, considering her latest release produced by Mr. White Stripes himself. I'm not much of a country music fan, but that woman is a goddess and deserves all the attention she can (but often doesn't) get.
posted by abiku at 2:30 PM on January 26, 2005

tori amos...has...improved...over time?

Did you guys even LISTEN to Strange Little Girls? Good god, with the exception of about 2 tracks that whole fucking thing made me never want to listen to her again.

And then Scarlet's Walk is the lamest concept album to happen in forever and a day. It doesn't even come close to comparing with Boys For Pele.
posted by u.n. owen at 3:15 PM on January 26, 2005

Fugazi
Sonic Youth
Beck
Miles Davis
De La Soul
Aerosmith
Dave Grohl
posted by trbrts at 3:22 PM on January 26, 2005

u.n. owen - Let us never speak of Strange Little Girls again. I give her credit for trying something different, but, with the exception of the title track, I absolutely hated that release. If you can forget that, yes, I think she has improved over time or, at the very least, "not lost her touch." You may not have liked Scarlet's Walk, but even among my non-Tori-fan friends, you're in the minority. Then again, people either like her or they don't; there's doesn't seem to be a lot of middle ground when it comes to her.

I will stop commenting, now.
posted by abiku at 3:28 PM on January 26, 2005

Thanks all. You're all mint... now to get into the music library and hunt some of these things down (and as someone whose entire LIFE was the Smiths and Morrissey - I am certain that he has lost his touch - mostly because he stopped singing about how everyone feels (*teenage sigh*) and now only sings about how effette pop stars feel)
posted by bunglin jones at 4:49 PM on January 26, 2005

Well, they've already been mentioned, but if you wanted to go for improved over the years then it would have to be Tom Waits, Radiohead and Johnny Cash (plus alot of others that arent springing to mind at the moment).
However, some of the artists listed above are classic examples of 'losing it' with time. Far too many of them in fact.
What sort of audience are you looking at? I think that may be helpful. I mean, are you after reasonably mainstream stuff or clever alt. stuff, for example?
posted by qwerty155 at 5:06 PM on January 26, 2005

It's not a mainstream audience by any stretch. I don't know how I'd classify it, though. Maybe if I say that Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson and Nina Simone are all certain starters, that might help. Does that mean it's an audience of ageing hipsters?
All these suggestions are useful, though, as it might be ncie, too, for the punters to ring up and debate the playlist.
posted by bunglin jones at 5:27 PM on January 26, 2005

Whoever said Rod Stewart: OMG, no. His new stuff is like, horrible versions of jazz standards, called "The Great American Songbook." Nothing says "I'm not relevant anymore" like singing songs that were old when you were relevant.
posted by SoftRain at 5:49 PM on January 26, 2005

Black Uhuru? (Including Michael Rose/Mykal Roze/however he's spelling it now)
Horace Andy, who's probably more familiar for singing for Massive Attack, but put out some apparently quite good reggae in the '70s
Miles Davis from about '55 or so to the late '70s
Herbie Hancock
Iron Maiden
Bad Religion
posted by arto at 11:03 PM on January 26, 2005

Iggy Pop.

Beat `em up, his 2001 release was about as pure and unflinching to the core of what his appeal is as the whole shebang can get. Skull Ring, his last record, was more calculated to be accessible, but even then he's taking chances and succeeding brilliantly.
posted by dong_resin at 12:24 AM on January 27, 2005

whoever said rod stewart also said he hadn't heard the new stuff ;o)
i'm not so sure herbie hancock has kept the same standard over the years (i'm also not sure that disqualifies him from this list, though).
posted by andrew cooke at 5:17 AM on January 27, 2005

My favorite songwriter, John Hiatt.
posted by barjo at 5:52 AM on January 27, 2005