Rolling Stones ‘Not Allowed to Grow Up,’ Says Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy

Jeff Tweedy of alt-rock darlings Wilco is moving gracefully into middle age -- his band is often dubbed "dad rock," a term he finds dignified -- but when confronted with the proposition of continuing to rock into his golden years, he see two distinct paths his band could take: the Bruce Springsteen route or the Rolling Stones route.

With Wilco gearing up for the release of their ninth album, 'The Whole Love,' which dropped this week, Tweedy got a call from a reporter at Men's Journal magazine. Tweedy used the Q&A sessions as an opportunity to discuss the new album, his trip to rehab, his later obsession with exercise and the future of Wilco -- far, far into the future of Wilco, that is. "A lot of guys tour past middle age -- the Rolling Stones, Dylan, Springsteen, McCartney," the writer points out. "Can you see Wilco doing that?"

"It's probably be a lot easier for us than those guys, you know, there's more somber balladry in the Wilco catalog," Tweedy replies. "Springsteen could probably get away with just sitting on a stool playing some 'Nebraska' tunes. The Stones haven't really been allowed to grow old. Their fans demand that they continue to live up to that spectacle all the time. But they're freaks of nature, you know?"

Tweedy also notes one major difference between Wilco and the aforementioned classic rock icons: "All those people have had such enormous commercial success, much larger than anything Wilco's had... if I picture what playing into my 60s or 70s would be like, it would be more like John Prine or Leonard Cohen."