I simply don't like anything after the 70's

Whew. Here's to being an outlier. Thank goodness.

 

Damn those old people who listen to new music! Why can't they just conform to our established social standard and be like everyone else?

 

I'll answer that! It's because the 60s and 70s artists you mentioned had fire and high energy in their music. It was usually fast-paced, while D'Angelo's music is mellow and slow, with sparse instrumentation. I fall asleep trying to listen to it. D'Angelo is what is wrong with most non-hop-hop-influenced R&B today. That, and the prominence of programmed instruments.

 

I want to see more studies done.

 

Actually, I think it's being more of a non-conformist NOT to listen to new music...

 

Beethoven excepted (naturellement) I just can't listen to anything from the 19th century. I just can't do it. I mean, I'm a Gen X kid. I know many of you will say that's too narrow minded and I'm missing out on great music, but whenever I listen to something it just seems too corny or forced. For the most part, it's music from the past 105 years for me!

 

Disagree. The new D'Angelo record is more varied in style than most of the R&B albums from the period in question. The songwriting is creative and fresh. The musicians are excellent and the band is comprised of consummate professionals. Pino Palladio plays most of the bass parts for crying out loud.

This is all opinion of course and somewhat subjective, but I feel like the comment is a little bit dismissive considering the caliber of the album, unless the listener has spent enough time with the material to let it sink in. Which could very well be the case

 

It doesn't seem that farfetched to me. I haven't really researched the subject in any detail, but it seems like a good bet that when people start gaining more responsibilities (starting a family, working more, etc) that their time spent on discovering new music dwindles. There's only so many hours in a day, and if that person has a decent sized library of music they can get by without ever having to hear something new to them again. It's likely a combination between being content with the music they already know and not having the time to branch out like they used to.

 

What do you think is more likely:

1. You miraculously happened to be born at the right time and place in the history of humanity - including the future! - to experience the "greatest popular music" and the "zenith of entertainment" firsthand.

or

2. Your perception of the importance and quality of the media you consumed in your youth is greatly skewed by your emotional attachment to it.

With the benefit of a few hundred years of hindsight, I think we can reasonably say that the golden age of baroque was during Bach's lifetime. We can understand the significance of his contributions and place his compositions into a broader musical context. We aren't anywhere near that point with 20th century western pop music.

 

a good song is a good song. i don't give a damn if it came out in 1967 or if some band played it on a street corner this morning.

 

There are other factors as well. Just speaking from a personal perspective when I was younger I'd go out three to five nights a week to see whoever was playing at different venues. That has certainly changed - though I still try to get out one show a week to see someone I don't necessarily know. There is also the vastness of a library you collect - at some point there is a saturation and you don't have enough time to listen to everything. Not to mention the social aspect that was much prevalent when I was younger - while I have friends that still share and challenge my tastes it's not the same as it was when we were 18.

I still love live music though - and I hate large arenas or stadiums so I'm always up to checking out a show on any given night. Thankfully there are plenty of venues locally that provide all sorts of bands and sounds to digest. I think that still gets this aging guy excited - it's wonderful to get that thrill of seeing some act for the first time that just connects.

 

I go with #1. (Though my being born in 1962 was not as "right a time" for that as, say, 1950 was ) .

I think that #2 applies more to those who prefer the past 30 years. -- IMO --

 

I agree!
I just wish there were a lot more good songs now.

 

I didn't say anything about variations in style. I was talking about low-energy vs. high-energy. And. for me, any time I have to let material "sink in", it means that I have to conform to the mood of the music. I don't do that.

If you're talking about "Black Messiah", it came out way back in 2014. I sampled it and it's still low-energy with relatively little going on musically, and somewhat monotonous.

 

I guess my family were a bunch of outliers, too, then.

 

My point was that it varies from mellow to high energy. You are comparing the album to R&B records from the 60s and 70s? Not speed metal? It came out within the past year and is eligible for a Grammy in 2015.

If I listen to an album without distraction, from front to back, once maybe twice ... most of the time it "sinks in". YMMV

 

There's plenty of good songs, IMO. Great ones too.

 

You're on the side of the angels in this general discussion (despite my misgivings about giving any oxygen whatsoever to the proudly dopey idea that started this thread) but please, for the love of God, give the D'Angelo-as-symbol-of-the-lack-of-R&B-pep argument a rest. It's in the dictionary under "wrong."

 

Not when you're old

 

No, i'm comparing it to records in the 70s, especially.

I guess your idea of high-energy and my idea of high-energy are different. I also like a lot of things going on in music. I like a lot of chord and key changes. I like complicated and dense mixes.

 

You've totally lost me and at this point and, based on these comments about complicated and dense mixes, I don't believe you listened to the album. We can disagree. I'll leave you alone on this topic.

 

The adult equivalent of the "I know you are but what am I?" comeback.
Accuse your accuser of exhibiting your own blinkered predilections.
Best you get from that is an impasse.

 

Have a great day.

 

There are also basic bio-psychological reasons why music connects more forcefully with us when we're younger. Our brains are wired differently at age 20 than at 40 or 60.