Again, to me the difference is WHAT they are selling and the QUALITY of it. Poppy or not, in the 90s, the band emulated the Rolling Stones more than they did Bill Clinton. But the way Jon sells his brand nowadays is certainly closer to a "respectable elder statesman", only he's a shoddy used car seller, considering the quality of the product.

I am not denying that some of it is very well meant even today (Soul Kitchen), and some of it was terribly sketchy money grabbing even back in the band's heyday, but you know, they at least were a... first a rock band. Then at least a band. Then at least a music act. But it seems that for what they are selling now, music is not the priority. It's nostalgia and a shiny brand.