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Weekend LISTening: Baby Boom Boom

Phil Collins (left), Van Morrison (top right), Paul Simon (bottom right)
Courtesy of the artists
Phil Collins (left), Van Morrison (top right), Paul Simon (bottom right)

This week, Phil Collins released a memoir called Not Dead Yet. As if to prove the title's truth, he also announced new tour dates. Collins isn't dead yet, nor are many of his pioneering contemporaries — in fact, boomer musicians seem to be having a bit of a pop-culture moment.

The fall of 2016 has seen a renewed interest in some of rock radio's pioneers. And the thrilling part? That interest isn't because they're legends whose work elicits a nostalgic fondness no matter what — it's because what they're putting out is undeniably good. Heaven knows that sometimes our heroes disappoint us with contemporary comebacks that are stale at best and unlistenable at worst. Not so right now.

Take Leonard Cohen, who's purring his way through alternative radio with the stirring title track from his tremendous new release, You Want It Darker. Or Sting's "I Can't Stop Thinking About You," which carries a whiff of Synchronicity-era Police but still smells fresh. Take any of the examples in the playlist below, and you'll find proof that, right now, many of the boomer generation's musical heroes are — well, booming.

Copyright 2016 XPN

Talia Schlanger hosts World Cafe, which is distributed by NPR and produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. She got her start in broadcasting at the CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster. She hosted CBC Radio 2 Weekend Mornings on radio and was the on-camera host for two seasons of the television series CBC Music: Backstage, as well as several prime-time music TV specials for CBC, including the Quietest Concert Ever: On Fundy's Ocean Floor. Schlanger also guest hosted various flagship shows on CBC Radio One, including As It Happens, Day 6 and Because News. Schlanger also won a Canadian Screen Award as a producer for CBC Music Presents: The Beetle Roadtrip Sessions, a cross-country rock 'n' roll road trip.