I was listening to an interview with the lead singer of Green Day on NPR last week and it got me to thinking about music groups that do and don’t remain relevant.

Green Day seems like a good band to me, they just came around slightly past the time I was listening to that type of music. I will say the group keeps producing varied and interesting work. An album has even been made into a Broadway-style show.

Some musicians constantly refresh and reinvent themselves. Johnny Cash did interesting work pretty much up until the day he died. Bob Dylan can still surprise. Tom Waits definitely avoids artistic ruts. 

But most acts enjoy a window of opportunity. These are groups that belong in a particular time period. Many of the 1980s arena rock groups don’t time travel all that well. Journey comes to mind. Listening to their music is like being trapped in a 1980s time capsule as it plummets into the sea, the darkness and pressure slowly building until oblivion blessedly ends the torment. I’m not a huge Journey fan.

There are some groups that I wished remained in tact, remained creating. The Clash top my list. From what I’ve read, the group was actually talking about getting back together just before Joe Strummer died. 

But most groups do fine stuck in their time. I have no burning desire to hear what Wham! might have to say about our contemporary times.

And then there are groups that should never have left one place or time. Cheap Trick should have never had left Budokan. The screaming Japanese fans make that album. 

Writers, of course, face the same dilemma. But that’s a discussion for a different day.