That makes me wonder about musicians I like who just don't do so great anymore (in my opinion, not necessarily in others'). What about Jethro Tull? Did they just run out of steam? Cos Ian Anderson wasn't the only creative force in that group.

Of course, then you have Bob Dylan, who as far as I'm concerned exemplifies the whole "artist in a bubble" thing. Although I have to say a lot of folks seem to like his current stuff.

As you said earlier, we're not really saying anything in the sense that we're coming to firm conclusions, but I do think these sorts of discussions are great for working out a better, if also fuzzy, understanding of how people work. :-D Isn't that part of why we like movies anyway?