Rockers Turning 50
Every day can bring a new reminder that you're getting older, whether it's a new gray hair, a postcard from the AARP, or the random strain of a muscle you didn't even know you had. But sometimes nothing is as jarring as finding out that a rock star whose cassingle you wore out as a kid is turning 50. So, with our apologies, here are 10 artists who are about to celebrate the big five-o, from metal gods to indie geniuses and beyond.
By Dan Reilly
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Tori Amos (August 22nd)
Struggling to find her identity after the breakup of her synthpop band Y Kant Tori Read, 28-year-old Tori Amos made a splash with her confessional 1992 solo debut, Little Earthquakes. Now she's a mother of a soon-to-be teenager and will see her musical The Light Princess debut at Britain's National Theatre this October.
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James Hetfield (August 3rd) and Lars Ulrich (December 26th)
Metallica has survived the loss of bassist Cliff Burton, the Napster controversy, a lot of group therapy sessions and their disastrous Lou Reed collaboration. With Hetfield and Ulrich pushing 50, the band now has its own festival (Orion) and a 3D concert film, Metallica: Through the Never, and should release a 10th studio album in 2014.
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Les Claypool (September 29th)
The bass master has been leading Primus for nearly 30 years, and the weirdo band is still going strong, having just reissued its second album, 1991's Sailing the Seas of Cheese. When he's not on the road, Les can be found fly-fishing and making wine for his own vineyard, Claypool Cellars.
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Coolio (August 1st)
The L.A. rapper made a splash in 1994 with the fun-loving "Fantastic Voyage" and had the following year's biggest single in "Gangsta's Paradise," selling millions of copies worldwide. Sadly, these days Coolio seems to only make news on reality TV and in courtrooms, most recently facing charges of punching his girlfriend and running her over with his car.
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Scott Ian (December 31st)
Going on three decades of leading Anthrax, Ian may have a touch of gray in his beard now, but he barely looks any older than when the band were thrash pioneers. These days, he's married to Meat Loaf's daughter, Pearl Aday, has an infant, co-owns a bar with Jerry Cantrell and is plotting Anthrax's 11th LP, due out sometime in 2014.
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Johnny Marr (October 31st)
How many bands wouldn't be around today without Johnny Marr's work with the Smiths? Since parting ways with Morrissey in 1987, the guitarist has worked with The The, Modest Mouse, the Cribs and more, and he finally got around to releasing his own solo debut, The Messenger, this year.
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Natalie Merchant (October 26th)
It's been 30 years since Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs released their debut album, Secrets of the I Ching, and nearly 20 since she went solo with Tigerlily. These days, Merchant leads a quiet life, living in upstate New York. Her last LP was 2010's Leave Your Sleep.
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Tom Morello (May 30th, 2014)
Check out photos from Rage Against the Machine's embryonic early-Nineties stage and you'll see that guitarist Tom Morello barely looks any older today. The political rocker is still out there fighting for his causes, leading Occupy Wall Street "guitarmies" and even filling in for Steven Van Zandt during the also-ageless Bruce Springsteen's recent Australian tour.
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Lenny Kravitz (May 26th, 2014)
If it's hard to believe that Lenny is pushing 50, think about this: his daughter, actress Zoe Kravitz, is already 24. Today, the chart-topping singer and guitarist is working on a new album, while taking some time to act in this movie franchise you may have heard of called The Hunger Games.