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Youth is something to be reckoned with, despite how often it's overplayed. We forget how young so many geniuses were when they made their mark. In 1905, when Einstein's annus mirabilis began, he was 25. One of my favorite things to do when a friend turns 30 is to say, "Well, you're now older than every member of the Beatles when they broke up." The implication being, "Remember what they did with their young adulthood? What the hell have you done with yours?"

When you're a kid, every time you have an idea, you think you're the first person in history to think it. There's serious power in this misconception. When you feel like all your thoughts are original, you burn to share them with the world. And then, it turns out, people with talent sometimes do have something unique and valuable to offer. And the fearlessness engendered by the cockiness that comes from youthful ignorance is what gets their ideas out there. That's how you get your Bob Dylans (he turned 25 a week after Blonde on Blonde came out). You get the feeling that maybe Jay-Z knows the "truth" that it's all been said. It may well be true, but it weighs down his art like an anchor. Meanwhile, Lil Wayne burns on.

- Mark Richardson, Resonant Frequency #50