I've been wondering about how older people deal with new music. A lot of people seem to stick to what they've already found as the years go by. Do you do this? Do you explore music less than you did when you were younger? If so, why? Have you become disinterested in new music? Or maybe disinterested in finding new music? Or maybe more important things have taken precedence? Do you look on the internet for new music? Or other ways? And those who do find new music, what do you think? What has kept you interested in looking for new music?

Very roughly between the ages of 15 & 25, when physical fitness and energy, coupled with sexual awareness are at their peak is the time when most people experience life most acutely. This is when we are falling love, the skies are bluer, the trees are greener, the stars are bigger. Naturally the music which is current at the time will be experienced at a more intense level also.

Were we to ask a person on the phone, where we cannot see that person, what his/her favourite music is, we could usually date, to within about five years, when that person was born. Nothing to do with education or intelligence, but generally the style of music which they choose, the bands, singers etc. will tell you when they were roughly 18 years old and experiencing Love for the first time. Living, the state of BEING is never again so vibrant, and as emotions are so powerful and the senses extra aware, the whole broth of feelings is exploding all over the place.

From then on, life settles down somewhat, and I would say (although this is merely my own observation) except in that small minority of cases where there is a highly developed musical sense, and response to it, no other music in the future will appeal in quite the same powerful way. It is not so much that most people become 'old fashioned', merely that, for the reasons outlined above it can never again be experienced at that giddy height! Our favourite music is the music which we associate, by memory, with the most exciting period through which we, individually ever lived. Only those with a highly developed musical sense continue to develop and advance their musical knowledge and experience in this art form.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ritzmar,

Hmm, that's an interesting way to put it, Ritz. I suppose people do have gain a significant connection to the music they grow up with.

Now a days, with classic rock being the last generation's music, that generation's music is being heard and liked a lot more by younger ears. It'd be much harder to determine how old someone is by their music now. I know of a few kids who listen to almost only music made before they were born. I guess they chose a different time period of music as their the one they connect with.

My two sons are 35 & 30 (funny names for men...?...) and I feel I may be shot down here for what I am about to say! However, that is the beauty of discussion, and it would be awful if we all felt the same way.

I honestly feel that when they were in their mid teens that popular music hit a low spot not encountered since the mid 50's when, thank God, Rock n' Roll blew away the putrefying rot. The demise of the big bands (wonderful stuff!) left a straggle of threads without purpose, form or direction. Then came R n' R, like a hurricane obliterating everything in its path. I am not claiming great subtlety or profound music (that came later) but the crumbling edifices were swept away leaving the way clear for development and musical re-growth. For 30 years music grew, splintered off in exciting new directions and new styles appeared. Then we hit the years c. 1985-1995...

OK, here it is; I always swore that I would not criticise 'new' music out of hand, as this would merely be echoing the vacuous and uninformed sentiments trotted out by my parents' generation, viz. rock n' roll being 'nothing but rubbish'. But I have to say that in general, there was precious little of significance for around 10-15 years being created musically in those years, in my humble opinion.

Consequently, anyone who had anything remotely resembling musical acumen was forced to dig into their parents' collection. Hence my children, and I include my daughter (although she is less musically motivated that the guys) went for Queen, Clapton, Hendrix, Elton John, Billy Joel, et al.

Little Richard, then The Beatles, Sex Pistols and a host of lesser bands seemed to give way to dire mediocrity in the early 80's. Around this time I was working less and less in bands, and in 1988 I went back to full time tutoring in piano, keyboard, composition & theory, returning more and more to my personal roots of classical piano (Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart etc.

These days I am hopelessly out of touch with modern music, but I insist that my current lack of interest stems from the drivel which I heard in the above mentioned period and has nothing to do either with age or nostalgia. If other AP members can show me a wealth of undiscovered (by me!) treasures from this period I shall be delighted, but I feel that my case is quite a good one, and that is why my children prefer music from my youth to their own. I firmly believe that their generation has been sold shamefully short (as was that of those growing between big bands & Rock n' Roll) and the results are plain to see.

I am "missing" huge chunks of the musical timeline... During the Disco era, I retreated gratefully to my mom's astonishing collection of folk, early rock and roll and traditional country, I was current from about '79-'86 or so, then gave up on top forty again until well after the "grunge" craze was over (During most of that last period, I was a DJ...quit one job when the Classic Rock station I was doing late nights on went top forty).... It is not a matter, for me, of "resisting" new music but the simple fact that every decade or so there is a period of 2-5 years during which the crop of "new" music is mostly either formulaic garbage or so intent on being "different" that it forgets to be good.... Lately, I find myself buying CDs more and listening to top forty radio less because, at the moment, there are some seriously solid bands out there but the ones that sucks, suck so badly that I can't stand to ignore them even for the length of one song.

I think it's a bit more complicated than saying that the popular music has degenerated. What has most accurately happened is that mass marketing has taken over. There are some great bands out there through all the time periods mentioned that never got a fair shake because they weren't appealing to the broadest possible audience. The 80's were a goofy time, a happy silly time where hair bands and scantily clad women performed for music videos rather than for the music. Ever hear "Video killed the Radio stars"?

There has been excellent music every year and new bands that are doing great things, but most people won't get to hear it because the radio stations are all conglomerates now and they aren't trying to sell good new music. I am lucky to have a radio station that plays "The best of the old and the best of the new" and they also play local bands once in awhile. WXRT.com in case you'd like to listen online for awhile. Until very recently they were still privately owned and they've managed to keep their integrity by relying on music loving DJ's.

These radio stations that take DJ's out of the equation really do put nobody in between the marketing folks and the listener as a representative of good taste.

Anyway, I wouldn't stand behind any argument that says that "music these days just isn't as good as it used to be". Consider the fact that you've most likely been robbed of listening to some of the good stuff because the people singing didn't have a pretty face or also because many people avoid new things. I can't tell you how many of my friends still only have the cds that they bought when they were in high school... there is a ton of stuff out there that is really interesting, good to listen to and NEW.

quote:

Originally posted by aminator2002:
I think it's a bit more complicated than saying that the popular music has degenerated.

I do hope that no-one so far in this thread has mistakenly expressed that idea...?

Yeah, that all makes sense. When I look at the 60s and 70s, I see so much stuff that made its mark and got recognition. But now it seems quite a bit harder to make a mark within the huge music world. And so many that make their mark musicially can't get as noticed as they could be. A lot of good and smart artists pop up and get what they deserve, but for an outsider, it all gets lost with the various other musicians in the crowd. Do you think that plays a part?

Ritz, we could show you a lot of great stuff. It depends what'll work. I imagine that a lot of the creative stuff that artists do today probably wouldn't much impress music fans from decades ago. There's obviously nothing as revolutionary as rock n' roll. Perhaps the various fusions of electronic into rock would come the closest. So what do you think would interest you?

It's going to be funny when I get like 60 years old and listen to what ym grandkids are listening to. I"ll probably say hey thats filthy and disgusting, thats not music. Then I'll put in a Tupac CD and say, now thats music.