© 2025 WEKU
NPR for Northern, Central and Eastern Kentucky
Support WEKU!
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Join WEKU's 1850 campaign for the future! 1,850 new supporters, each giving $10 monthly to keep WEKU strong. Update: 1,571 supporters to reach the goal! Click here to support WEKU!

This year's best songs come from some of the youngest — and oldest — artists

Fresh Air | By Ken Tucker
Published December 15, 2021 at 1:22 PM EST
Olivia Rodrigo performs at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on Sept. 18, 2021.
Mat Hayward
/
Getty Images for iHeartMedia
Olivia Rodrigo performs at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on Sept. 18, 2021.

From 18-year-old Olivia Rodrigo to 83-year-old Peter Stampfel, critic Ken Tucker says the music he most enjoyed in 2021 was recorded by artists who were either very young or quite old.

Copyright 2021 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

Local News
Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker reviews rock, country, hip-hop and pop music for Fresh Air. He is a cultural critic who has been the editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, and a film critic for New York Magazine. His work has won two National Magazine Awards and two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards. He has written book reviews for The New York Times Book Review and other publications.
See stories by Ken Tucker
Support nonprofit, fact-based public service journalism
WEKU depends on support from those who view and listen to our content. There's no paywall here. Please support WEKU with your donation.
Contribute now
Related Content