In response to RidingWithTheKing's comment:

My mother loved Roger Whittaker.  He's not Canadian, though, even if he sort of seems like one.

Lots of interesting posts here re: musical taste. Seems that some of us, myself included, kind of wound down as far as trying new music as we aged. I'm guessing that a lot of us who experienced this are around the same age (I'm 54). I think that aging plays a big role in taste in music and the willingness to try new things. It's kind of disappointing for me to feel that way because I always imagined I'd always be young (at heart) and hip. Well, I'm not completely an old fogey, but I don't think I'll ever get into the music that young kids get into.

I also like to see that some tastes run from hard rock to mellow singer songwriter, etc. Not that it makes your taste superior, but to me it is more interesting.

@roy, interesting that you and I both seem to have the 1990 cut-off for "new" music.

In response to MattyScornD's comments 

Matty, I think you are too kind (I actually think you are very kind, btw).  I'd say that too many people - most people, overwhelmingly so - allow themselves to decline into comfort and complacency rather than make an effort to grow, or even to embrace the possibility of change.

"attuned and specific"?  Isn't that nice-guy-speak for lazy and smug?  I admit my favourite band has been Husker Du since about 1984....and I hope another band supplants them.  No, I hope I'm open minded enough to allow it (I think and hope I am).  But my top 2-20 is constantly evolving.

 

In response to devildavid's comment:

Yeah, I was just 28. I joke that 1990 is when I officially became an 'old fogey.' Kinda depressing, although, there was some new (new being somewhat of a relative term) that I got into after 1990. It was around 1993 that I started listening to 10,000 Maniacs, and another group that I found I like that had been around for awhile was Roxette, which I started listening to in 1995 when a old girlfriend  liked them, and I found I like them too.

There has been some other, but yeah, overall, 1990 seems to be the cutoff.

In response to SonicsMonksLyresVicars' comment:

I don't agree that we become lazy and smug. Aging changes us, like it or not. I don't feel the same excitement over music that used to excite me on a different level when I was younger. I still like a lot of the same music, but my reaction to it is for lack of a better word, mature. That's what aging can do. It can mature our tastes. I don't see this as good or bad, just something that happens. I don't think anyone who truly loves music closes themselves off from anything new, but the focus of our lives changes with age, and along with it the entertainment we consume. I don't think it has anything to do with whether or not we remain open-minded. You call it declining into comfort and complacency, I call it maturing.

In response to Hfxsoxnut's comment:

My parents listened to him back in the 1970s when I was a kid, and so there are a few songs that he sang that kind of stuck with me. I don't have any albums of his, but yeah, I have downloaded two or three songs.

In response to ZILLAGOD's comment:

The fault, dear Zilla, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves. 

If someone of any age chooses to stop seeking out new stimuli....fine, if that's what one wants.....but don't blame the clock.  

The potential obstacles of money and storage space for music are virtually zero today.  For those of us with many beloved options to listen to (again), there is a tradeoff on offer:  sacrifice time listening to music we know and love in the hope that we will find something new to love. 

To me, the journey alone is more than enough payback.  But along with new bands (to me, anyway) that I find and like....there are a few discovered nuggets here and there that have quickly become huge (and I reckon lifelong) loves.

How did I get cash on Sundays before ATMs existed?  What did I do if I was running late before mobile telephony was invented?  How could I have thought my life was fufilled before I dedicated myself to Dave Cloud?

In response to devildavid's comment:

I really love our jousting over such things, David.....and I honestly think we are almost always in "violent agreement" i.e. it's mainly just a difference in perspective.

But "Aging changes us"?  How?  Why?  Other than the obvious, inevitable physiological decline, what's the issue?  When I met my partner 7 years ago at age 45....the feelings I had when I first saw her, while building up the courage to go speak to her, the shock when she didn't mace me as they usually did (joke), etc....were almost exactly the same as when I was 15/25/35 though perhaps with a little bit more self confidence.  Music?  Literature?  No change in me there that I can detect...etc.

Maturity?  A wonderful, desirable thing in terms of behaviour, understanding, confidence, relationships, etc.  But in terms of art, I'm not sure what you are saying when you write " I still like a lot of the same music, but my reaction to it is for lack of a better word, mature."

If you mean that if the nth time you hear a song you've loved and it doesn't drive you into the same spasms of ecstacy....that's not maturity, that's familiarity.

If you mean new music can't drive you to the same heights as before....that's ok, but don't blame the clock.

 

 

In response to devildavid's comment:

Good post.

Let me add another point when it comes to finding new music, as far as it concerns me.

Many of the groups that I like, I was slow to get deep into their catelogue, mostly due to money. My album collection in the 1980s was kind of thin. I was kind of late to the party in getting a CD player, so when I finally did, there were many  of the albums that I owned that I wanted to get CDs for, which from a monetary standpoint slowed by search for new music.

In the 1990s and 2000s, a lot of my search for "new music" often was digging deeper into the catelogues of band and performers I already liked. So often times, new music was an album of a group or performer that was 20, 30 or even 40 years old.

Because of money, there were some groups that I bought a greatest hits album first because I wanted their best songs and didn't have the money to buy the various albums they were on. Then later, I'd go back and buy individual albums and discovered deeper cuts or lesser-know cuts from the performer that was "new" to me.

So even though, I might not be active in searching for new music among current artists, I do find "new music" that has been around for years (decades) that I just haven't listened to before -- or not very much.

In response to royf19's comment:

Funny thing, I was into 10,000 Maniacs when they first came out. Something about Natalie Merchant's vocals really hooked me. Saw them in concert twice, and both times experienced a generation gap. The younger kids who were into them all seemed to dress alike and would rush the stage at the beginning of the show. There they would remain for the duration, in rapt attention of the band. I sat in my assigned seat rather bemused by this, feeling almost like I didn't really belong there. I liked the music, but obviously was not as emotionally attached to the band as the younger, more intensely devoted fans. That was one of the first signs of getting old for me.

In response to devildavid's comment:

I know what you mean about her vocals. Her singing voice is hypnotic. One of the great female vocals of all time.

If I could chime in here on the age thing. The one truth is the lack of free radio in these last two decades has hindered my approach to new music. I had satelite radio for 6 months before I decided that it wasn't worth it, so I am not exposed to anything new. And there just isn't enough time in my day to hit the internet and look for new music that I might like. I have picked up some new music directly because of this forum. I have also picked up new music brom Facebook as I have made friends with many musicians. 

In response to SonicsMonksLyresVicars' comment:

Thanks for the compliment.

No, I didn't mean that and apologize if it read that way.  Because it's not necessarily lazy to focus one's interest into certain characteristics.  We all do it, and we do it more as we age, though not always self-consciously or even intentionally.

(For example, some people leave popular music behind entirely for classical...which admittedly had a few hundred years' head start.)

Don't get me wrong.  I constantly seek out new music, but I don't do it just because it's new...I do it to see the things that I like combined in interesting, inventive ways.  Live music in general and jam bands are great for that sort of thing, because it renders the performance unique and heightens the interaction with the crowd and the band.

Such is the nature of music that the iterations can truly be endless, and it's the search for that improvisation that becomes the goal itself.

"Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong."

 

I like any music that is a good melody and/or good arrangement and/or good lyrics.  Probably, in general, not specifically, the better music combines some or all of the aforementioned qualities in the first sentence.  Oh yeah, and music should be played with feeling. 

In response to devildavid's comment:

 

In response to SonicsMonksLyresVicars' comment:

 

Not to harp (well, why not?) ...    :)  

While it's irrefutable that age does change all of us in various ways, we are solely responsible for re-setting expectations about ourselves with an allowance for the age factor, but not by making it the sole factor.

If age is only *one* factor in setting expectations and standards for the extent of joy, fulfillment, excitement, etc. in our life experiences as we journey on, any one of us may be as thrilled at 80 as we were at 40 with an accomplishment or activity.  

Take the 100-year old man who recently completed a marathon in Toronto.   He didn't take up running until he was 89, and he is now the oldest person on record to have completed a marathon.   He is just as thrilled at age 100 as a 25-year old who completed a marathon -- in fact, maybe more thrilled -- since his accomplishment is so rare for a man his age.   

He did not set a speed record (he came in last, in fact), but that wasn't his goal; he wasn't trying to win.   He was there to run the entire route, thereby adjusting his expectations realistically for a man his age.  Shoots the "I'm too old" argument right out the window, doesn't it?  

It's not your goal to find 'new' music at a rapid pace, any more than it was for the older marathon runner to win the race.  It's also not your goal to find 'new' music that excites you, similar to the older marathoner whose goal wasn't to win.  His happiness came from accomplishing the goal he created, on his terms, factoring age into the mix to set realistic expectations; age, however, was not singled out as a success factor.  He set the bar at the right level; he did not lower the bar.  

Just my two cents.  

  

 

  Yoga, Good post.  My dad would say: 'As we get older what we value changes'.  In general I think that's true.  I like music today that I would not have given much cosideration to, 30 years ago.  Not to mention other aspects of my life have changed also.  A lot of things for the good.  Decades ago, when I was heavily strung out on party substances, my ability to adjust to life's challenges was in a state of suspended animation.     

 

My comments on the effects of aging seem to be taken wrong by some. My first impulse was to refute the notion that becoming comfortable with what you like in music makes you smug and lazy. Rather than say lazy, I could say that as we age our energy level declines. And smugness is sometimes exhibited by those who look down on certain types of music just because they don't enjoy it.

My view on aging is a general one, it doesn't mean there can't be exceptions. I am speaking more of probabilities than possibilities. In theory, age can't prevent us from doing anything. In reality, age does change most people. I don't see this as 'blaming" the aging process for anything.

Also, I'm not so sure that everything we pursue is because we "choose" to do so to achieve something. When I first branched out in my musical taste, it was not a concious decision. It started randomly, by turning the knob on a radio. Something new caught my ear, and things evolved from there. This was when I was young and in college and in many ways was still free of responsibilites that put demands on my time. It was a perfect time to explore new things. Later on this exploring became more self-concious and perhaps a bit goal oriented, but it was mainly because my personality was still developing and I was discovering music that spoke to me, not just that which made the top 40. By the same token, I didn't "decide" to stop pursuing new music in the 90's. It just happened.

As for physiological decline, this includes every aspect of ourselves, including brain function. We would hope that aging brings wisdom to compensate for the fading of some of our youthful enthusiasms.

In response to devildavid's comment:

 

My comments on the effects of aging seem to be taken wrong by some. My first impulse was to refute the notion that becoming comfortable with what you like in music makes you smug and lazy. Rather than say lazy, I could say that as we age our energy level declines. And smugness is sometimes exhibited by those who look down on certain types of music just because they don't enjoy it.

My view on aging is a general one, it doesn't mean there can't be exceptions. I am speaking more of probabilities than possibilities. In theory, age can't prevent us from doing anything. In reality, age does change most people. I don't see this as 'blaming" the aging process for anything.

Also, I'm not so sure that everything we pursue is because we "choose" to do so to achieve something. When I first branched out in my musical taste, it was not a concious decision. It started randomly, by turning the knob on a radio. Something new caught my ear, and things evolved from there. This was when I was young and in college and in many ways was still free of responsibilites that put demands on my time. It was a perfect time to explore new things. Later on this exploring became more self-concious and perhaps a bit goal oriented, but it was mainly because my personality was still developing and I was discovering music that spoke to me, not just that which made the top 40. By the same token, I didn't "decide" to stop pursuing new music in the 90's. It just happened.

As for physiological decline, this includes every aspect of ourselves, including brain function. We would hope that aging brings wisdom to compensate for the fading of some of our youthful enthusiasms.

 

  Good post.  You are right, though.  We are all individuals.  Some people are more open minded than others.  I know old farts that are heavily into Doo Wop and some of the other oldies or some of the 40's and don't really care much about other forms of music. I still hang out with them because I know they have other good qualities.

 

In response to cavaliersfan's comment:

Hi Cavs, and thank you.   I agree with your father's message; that's the way it's meant to be in life.   A natural progression.   We evolve and grow (hopefully), and with that, priorities change.   

The exploration of music is there for the taking, that's the beauty of it.   I like experiencing a change and revision in my own perspective and taste, because that means my POV has expanded (I'd like to think it's newly-found wisdom, but that might be wishful thinking).  :)

In the great words of Muhammad Ali: "A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty, has wasted thirty years of his life."

Another factor that limits my ability to keep experiencing new music as I age is time.  When I was in my late teens and early twenties I seemed to have all the time in the world.  Now I find my time has to be rationed.  The experience of cultural activities like music and reading is wonderful, but it does consume time. 

Well I had been very pigheaded of ryear.s Lsiten to the same music for quite some time. Was grouchy saying that bands of today are not like they used to be blah blah blah..But then I started to open my ears up. As I have mentioend before the older my daughter got (19 now) the more we got to share music with each other. That and satelite radio have really opened my eyes to some great music. I have many new favorite bands.. Some I missed the boat on before (Sonice Youth and Guided By Voices are two that come to mind).. But I am now in love with a lot of newer music and look forward ot more. there are shows I go to where I am probably double everyones age it seems. I don't care if the music appeals to me I will try to be there

In response to jesseyeric's comment:

jessey, I think the decline and nearly complete fall of commercial/terrestial radio is a gigantic boon to music.  At its best it was/is complete rubbish compared to the smorgasbord available today at your fingertips, for free, without idiotic DJs, advertisments and "news".  

Whether you are into the blandest of hip hop or the hippest of Mongolian Throat Singing I guarantee you there are many podcasters out there desperate for you to listen to the new/new to them music they and you love.

I wasn't a radio guy and am not a podcast guy....too many other, less passive, options...but I could easily tell you 20 podcasters doing music I love off the top of my head, and dozens of others without breaking a sweat....It's all there, free, from all over the world, better than ever by, IMO, a gigantic margin.

In response to MattyScornD's comment:

Exactly right.  It's the journey...the effort...to me that matters.  I'll never stop loving Chuck Berry, Beatles, Sonics, Monks, Ramones, Buzzcocks, Real Kids, Dogmatics, Gun Club, Husker Du, Cramps, Minutemen, Pixies, Mummies, Devil Dogs, Oblivians, Machine Gun Elephant, Phantom Surfers, Embrooks, Vicars, Revellions,  Wau y Los Arghhhs, NOBUNNY, and the next band I fall in love with.  My favourite will always be the next one I love (I hope....you all have my permission to kill me if I ever settle for anything.  That's the same as being dead anyway, so it's no loss).

In response to SonicsMonksLyresVicars' comment:

 

 

Now hold on a second, Sonics.   Please call me if you're about to jump off a cliff ...  :)

 

I've always had problems with the threads that ask for favorite "all time" bands or favorite bands in general, because like Sonics, mine are ever-evolving, but for some reason it makes me feel a little schitzy at times; this is primarily due to the idea that I've always had countless interests (in general), and therefore, have only dabbled in many of them.   It's never-ending for me, so I can relate from the standpoint that if I suddenly stopped  being interested in the world around me, that would signify that the force within me had become too tired or complacent to care.   That's a sad thought, and I hope that day doesn't come (or at least not any time soon).   

It's the journey, not the destination.   Sounds so trite, but it's true.   

In response to yogafriend's comment:

A true renaissance woman.  Kudos!

The way I always saw it...more interests = more interesting.  

(more hobbies = more hobbling, ergo, hobbies cost money)

 

I've theorized that more seniors take up crafts and art because they've already seen what everyone else wants them to, and now they want to create their own.