Strummergas
Regular User
For those of us who are middle age, I think our musical heroes from growing up are just past their prime. When any band is near the beginning of their career and on the upswing that is almost always the best time in their careers (and the best to see them live). Think of any musical act in the history of music...I can't even think of one that released their best work in the 2nd half of their careers.
Reckless abandon and not being beholden to money is what usually creates better art, and once a band has "made it," it's very hard to fake that (and certainly less appealing when wrinkles set in).
I would agree with this to an extent. However, i think a lot of great music has been made by artists that are considered "past their prime" that is largely ignored because the artist doesn't make the same type of music they did when they were younger. For a lot of people, if an artists moves past the sound of their first few releases, they're largely considered over the hill and it's simply not always the case.