It’s The ‘90s--Get With It!

Imagine the stagnation in the film world if half the theaters in those neighborhood 10 - plexes showed only the top two dozen movies from 1975 - 1980 instead of new films.

In effect, that is the situation in pop music today because of the concentration on 10 to 20 - year-old songs. And many of our most respected artists are contributing to this.

These 10 artists should follow the lead of David Bowie, who has vowed to stop performing his old songs after his current tour.

Some veteran artists--especially Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Van Morrison, David Byrne and Tom Waits--are exempt from because they have maintained control of their concert agenda. Fans come to these artists’ shows on the artists’ terms.

Aerosmith

This once hugely popular band is one of the great rock stories of recent years. Counted out in the early ‘80s, torn apart by declining record sales and drug abuse, the quintet--whose late-’70s hits included “Dream On” and “Walk This Way”--got its act together and came back stronger than ever.

Clean, sober and proud, lead singer Steve Tyler said part of his motivation for getting off drugs was to demonstrate the band deserved a place in rock history--that it was more than just an echo of the Rolling Stones, as many critics charged the first time around.

Tyler’s right. The band’s dramatic comeback--and its flurry of appealing new songs, including “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” and “Janie’s Got a Gun”--has given the group a good shot at eventually making the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The old songs were helpful in reintroducing the group to contemporary fans, but the new material works best in concert.

Elvis Costello

This wonderfully gifted songwriter may indeed be the Cole Porter of rock, but how many more times do we need to hear him sing “Alison” or “Watching the Detectives” in concert?

Apparently driven by artistic impulse more than commercial strategy, Costello has moved in sometimes strange but usually productive ways that have kept the focus on his new material. Yet one senses in his shows the surge of excitement in the hall every time he digs out the songs from his late-’70s albums--and he digs them out a lot. Because he doesn’t play stadiums or arenas anyway, he’s in an easier position than most to test his drawing power with his new songs.

Elton John

It must be frustrating for John to hear everyone talk about his ‘70s hits when he turned out some of the most finely crafted and appealing singles of the ‘80s. Compare the selections on John’s ‘70s “greatest hits” album (available on MCA Records) and his ‘80s “greatest hits” album (Geffen Records) and you’ll be surprised how many of the ‘80s hits would make your list of the 10 best songs from the two decades. By also stepping down from arenas to 4,000- to 5,000-seat halls, John could reignite the creative excitement of his early-’70s days. He and lyricist Bernie Taupin have the talent to make the gamble worthwhile.

Paul McCartney

The 1989 tour, which reminded pop audiences around the world of McCartney’s contributions to the Beatles, should stand as his last hurrah for the Beatles era. Visa may not be as quick to sponsor the next tour if he doesn’t do the Beatles hits, but McCartney has much to gain by standing on his own.

As is true of Elton John, the greatness and historical lure of the Beatles songs make it easy for people to underrate McCartney’s recent work. There have been long stretches in McCartney’s solo career in which his new songs were beneath the quality of his ‘60s output, but last year’s “Flowers in the Dirt” album contained some exquisite songs, many in the gentle, disarming style of “Yesterday” and “Penny Lane.”

Tom Petty

Many of Petty’s most enthusiastic fans feel the Los Angeles rocker’s latest album, “Full Moon Fever,” contained some of the best songs of Petty’s career. The package, which received a Grammy nomination for best album of 1989, also sold more than 3 million copies in the U.S. alone.

So, why not take advantage of this current upswing to lead the charge of ‘60s and ‘70s musicians to new creative territory? Petty still has a lot of rock ‘n’ roll left in him and this is an ideal opportunity to draw the line.

Prince

Unlike the others on the list, Prince rose to pop prominence in the ‘80s, which means he shouldn’t have to begin worrying about nostalgia creeping into his concerts for another 10 years or so. But Prince takes such bold artistic leaps with almost every new album that his old material--from “Controversy” to “Purple Rain”--becomes dated very quickly. Prince is perhaps the most daring figure in rock since Bowie, and it would be quite fitting for him to be the one who first picks up the challenge raised by the “Sound + Vision” tour.

The Rolling Stones

Last year’s “Steel Wheels” tour was a triumph for the group that has long been described as “the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band.” And the band can continue to dazzle audiences as long as it continues to play its early material with such determination and drive.

But the Stones are no longer the greatest rock band because there is no sense of immediacy or surprise in the group’s shows. If the group can’t face a return to smaller halls, Keith Richards, at least, seems capable of such a move--a point demonstrated in his 1988 solo tour.

Bruce Springsteen

How can Springsteen do a four-hour show without using his old material? One answer may be that, after almost two decades of marathon performances that were unmatched in rock history for the number of emotions they touched, Springsteen no longer needs to do shows that long. What if he cut back to two hours, but concentrated on songs as far from the tone of his early “Born to Run” classics as those found in “Nebraska” and “Tunnel of Love”? Would anyone who responds to the best in Springsteen’s music really go away disappointed?

The decision not to record with the E Street Band is one sign that Springsteen is exploring these questions. He must have noticed on the worldwide Amnesty International tour how Sting has been able to break from his old band and grow in the process. Springsteen has been a model for so long in rock that a dramatic break on his part could tempt other musicians to follow.

Rod Stewart

Saddled for years with a sexy image almost as cartoonlike as Tom Jones’, Stewart--once a superb vocal stylist--needs to act quickly to regain his creative position in pop before he becomes a total prisoner of image. When better to start anew than now, when he is riding his hottest commercial wave in years?

Stevie Wonder

The most honored figure in pop music in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, Wonder has settled into such a comfortable elder statesman role in pop that you tend to forget how long it has been since he made an album that mattered. “Innervisions,” you say? That was 1973. “Songs in the Key of Life”? That arrived just three years later. Wonder is one of the few figures of the modern pop age who might reasonably be described as a genius and it’s hard to believe that, at 40, he is no longer capable of greatness. Being forced to rely on new material in concert may not be enough to shake him out of his artistic slumber, but it’s worth a try.