sombr

[ed. Given the commercial success of Goyte's Somebody That I Used to Know, you'd think there'd have been more imitators of the formula. Fun facts:]

When Bruce Springsteen was signed to a Columbia Records in the early 1970s, he was among a small group of artists dubbed the “new Dylan.” Decades later, he joked about this nickname while giving the keynote address at South by Southwest:

I was signed as an acoustic singer/songwriter … by John Hammond at Columbia Records, along with Elliott Murphy, John Prine, [and] Loudin Wainwright III. We were all new Dylans. And the old Dylan was only 30. So, I don’t even know why they needed a fucking new Dylan, all right? But those were the times.

Dubbing all of these artists the “new Dylan” is especially funny when you realize at this point the real Dylan hadn’t even released Blood on the Tracks, what many people argue is his greatest record. Still, part of me understands why people were in search of a new Dylan. And it’s not because some people criticize his early 1970s work as inferior. It’s because most people make it on the pop music scene when they are quite young.

• Before Paul McCartney turned 28, The Beatles had already broken up.

• Before Stevie Wonder turned 27, he had released 18 albums, including the flawless foursome, Talking Book (1972), Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974), and Songs in the Key of Life (1976).

• Before Billie Eilish could legally drink alcohol, she had sold millions of records, topped the Billboard Hot 100, and won both an Oscar and a Grammy.

Even Bob Dylan illustrates this trend. By the time he was 26, he’d already redefined both rock and folk music by “going electric,” along with releasing seven records, at least five of which are considered classics. Though music is a lifelong pursuit, pop stardom is a young person’s game. But something weird has been going on recently. ~ The Return of the "Elderly" Pop Star (CGMH)