How Middle Age Affected My Musical Tastes

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by sandmountainslim1, May 30, 2018.

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  1. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    Similar age range (just a bit older than yourself).

    Generally if I liked it back then, I still like it today. Plus age (and the Internet) has allowed me to branch out further, for example more Hip Hop / Jazz today than back then.

    Plus more Frank, I'm with you there.
     
    sandmountainslim1 likes this.
  2. perplexed

    perplexed Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast NJ, USA
    Turned 50 recently. Differences in musical taste include

    1. Pre Buckingham/Nicks Fleetwood Mac
    2. Pre Duke Genesis
    3. 80's stuff that I disliked at the time: Adam Ant, Psychedelic Furs, The Cars, X, etc.
    4. Alt-Country
    5. The Kinks
    6. Jazz
    7. Obscure classic rock: Moby Grape, The Move, Randy Holden Population II, Captain Beyond
    8. Soul, R&B
    9. Listening to less industrial and 80's 90's alternative club based music
     
  3. dave9199

    dave9199 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Durham, NC
    I realized that all punk bands start to sound samey if they stay together long enough. They all followed the same path as the older bands they wanted to replace. In other words; they became their parents just like most other bands.
     
    dave516 and willied like this.
  4. Electric Sydney

    Electric Sydney Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scarsdale, NY
    More Ramones, less Journey.
     
  5. pig bodine

    pig bodine God’s Consolation Prize

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY USA
    I wish I could say I was middle aged, but unless I live to be 110, I’m well past it. Anyway I rarely listen to rock any more—30-40 years ago I loved punk, punk influenced indie and metal, but it all sounds a bit corny anymore ( this has been over the last 10-15 years, so I guess it it applies to middle age. I rarely listen to hip hop anymore either. I was never all that into what is now called classic rock, but was called mainstream rock at the time. I still like old r&b and jazz—some of which could peel paint as well as atonal 20th century classical, so it’s not like I’m mellowing out. Not sure what happened. Wish there still was a market for selling CDs but you get so little, it’s not worth the effort to try and sell them.
     
    snowman872 likes this.
  6. Colocally

    Colocally One Of The New Wave Boys

    Location:
    Surrey BC.
    I still find myself gravitating to the music of my teens and I haven't been a teen for 32 years.
     
    black sheriff, Hermes, cporcp and 3 others like this.
  7. Bullis

    Bullis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Niagara County
    Pete, roger and zack still rock.
     
    vitorbastos123 and markp like this.
  8. Musician95616

    Musician95616 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Woodland, Ca
    At 48 this has happened to me over the past year:

    1. Purged my collection of Journey.
    2. Styx is kind-of silly.
    3. The past 25 years of Neil Young's albums haven't warranted many repeat listenings.
    4. Jazz makes it onto the turntable at a higher rate than rock albums.
    5. Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen are much more appealing/interesting than they used to be.
    6. The Beatles hold-up better than everything else : )
     
  9. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    :laugh: Spot on!
     
  10. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    A bit less into guitar heroes: Hendrix, Clapton, Santana, etc...
    A bit more into female singer-songwriters: Patty Griffin, Brandi Carlile, Julien Baker, Alynda Segarra, etc...
     
  11. gkella

    gkella Glen Kellaway From The Basement

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    65 this year and have spent a lot of time going back and listening
    to bands I never gave much of a listen to in my youth.
    Some of these include...
    The Pretty Things
    Shadows of Knight
    Shuggie Otis
    Caravan
    Chicken Shack
     
  12. DetroitDoomsayer

    DetroitDoomsayer Forum Middle Child

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
    I'm nearing 49.

    Way, way less punk and new wave, which is what I mostly grew up on.
    Very rarely listen to The Beatles anymore, though they remain in the collection
    Used to have a humongous Reggae collection, nearly nothing now.
    Only two prog bands left in the collection.

    Recent (within the last 5 years) additions to my collection:

    Many female folk and singer-songwriter types (Janis Ian, Valerie Carter, Judee Sill, Laura Nyro, Maria Muldaur, Nicolette Larson, etc.)
    The Fania Records catalog
    1970s Bette Midler
    k.d. lang
    Michael Franks
    1970s Dr. John
    a lot more Hot Jazz from the 20s
    50s Elvis Presley
    Marty Robbins

    My tastes have been in constant change though, due to my continuing employ in record slinging retail. I'm sure I'll keep exploring.
     
  13. amonjamesduul

    amonjamesduul Forum Resident

    Location:
    florida
    "One Slip is a better song than The Post War Dream and as a whole Momentary Lapse is more listenable than The Final Cut." Shoot,I thought that back in 1988.
     
  14. sandmountainslim1

    sandmountainslim1 Vicar Of Fonz Thread Starter

    Other than the things I mentioned in the original post I have also gotten into pre-war country Blues and Anson Weeks and his Orchestra.
     
  15. Hamhead

    Hamhead The Bear From Delaware

    Most classic rock I can't listen to since I heard it all for 20 lifetimes.
     
    SandAndGlass, izgoblin and rancher like this.
  16. x2zero

    x2zero Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn USA
    At 57
    More Bill Evans, less Sex Pistols
     
  17. Desolation Row

    Desolation Row Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oklahoma
    I'm not sure when middle age begins. I suppose it's subjective. I'm in my early 40s.

    As I've gotten older, I have significantly expanded my knowledge about various artists and genres. As well, the sheer range of music I enjoy now dwarfs my teenage leanings (and I was a relatively expansive listener already in high school). But I have also found that, those developments notwithstanding, the body of records that regularly rotates across my turntable has narrowed significantly. I tend to play what's on my floor. Within my larger collection, I've curated a smaller system of records that enhance my life and get me through the day. It's sort of a painter's palette. I have my go-to colors, like Bob Ross's beloved burnt umber and burnt sienna.

    Also as I've gotten older, music listening has become a much more solitary endeavor. It's not as communal as it once was. I don't go to as many concerts, or actively listen to and play music with friends as I once did. I don't necessarily regret that. But it is a discernible shift that corresponded with my graduation to early middle age. It's kind of nice, actually. Music has always been therapeutic for me. I like when listening to music turns into a conversation with myself.

    What changed most is that, when I was younger the music conducted me. As I've gotten older I more often conduct the music--I "play" my collection, if you will.

    Finally, my tastes and moods have just gotten weirder and more unpredictable. There's a certain madness to it, people around me must think sometimes.
     
  18. ibanez_ax

    ibanez_ax Forum Resident

    More Classical, Jazz and Sinatra-less Rock and Roll (but I still listen)
    More craft beer-less Rolling Rock.
     
  19. Instant Dharma

    Instant Dharma Dude/man

    Location:
    CoCoCo, Ca
    I cant freaking stand Journey, Styx or Boston but I freaking love Chicago, Mac and especially Toto.

    Wouldnt have said thay 10 years ago.
     
    OptimisticGoat likes this.
  20. I felt all of the above before turning middle aged (like when I was 28 or so) except that I feel that aPOB in its strange way compliments McCartney and likewise Imagine, Ram. Not a surprise really as both were in the process of reinventing themselves.

    As I grow older I appreciate craft even more than when I was 28.i also appreciate great lyrics (I always have but I find lousy lyrics inexcusable now).
     
  21. Walter Sobchak

    Walter Sobchak Forum Resident

    48 and simultaneously embraced Doc Watson and Gil Scott-Heron
     
    saturdayboy likes this.
  22. You’re 1600 years old?!
     
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  23. PlushFieldHarpy

    PlushFieldHarpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    Sometimes when I listen to something I really liked during my teens, I think, "that sounds like stupid teen music."
     
    Mr Bass likes this.
  24. Blimpboy

    Blimpboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Walton, KY
    I'm 48, turn 49 in August. I find I still listen to the same types of music I did in my early 20's, just in different percentages. I've always enjoyed film soundtracks. Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, James Horner and the usual 70' to 80's big movies. Now I'm going out and getting more into guys like Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, Hugo Friedhofer and Leigh Harline. I buy far more music scores on CD than I do rock today. I think I own everything I care too of the classic rock to 90's eras.

    When I do look for new music, it tends to come from Europe and the Dutch and Nordic bands like Nightwish, Within Temptation, Xandria and Leave's Eyes. They are considered symphonic metal, so I guess my love of rock and film scores are being combined.
     
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  25. Khaki F

    Khaki F Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kenosha, WI. USA
    I wouldn't say it's an age thing, but I think my tastes have been shaped by listening to loads more music than I knew in my teens. To call that maturity would seem a little pompous, I think, so let's just say I've been consuming a lot.

    I spent the second half of the '90's involved with the indie music communities that were online (think mp3.com, etc.) and learned a lot from that. I used to think that the world was full of mega-talented individuals who only lacked the necessary technology to record much better material than the commercial bands. I learned over that period that there are plenty of folks who think they're capable of giving the majors a run for their money, but many of them also seemed to lack the discipline, polish, and personnel to produce the caliber of product that the majors put out. There were certainly some exceptions to that, some of which I've had the pleasure to work with, but the "this is good enough" attitude was pretty prevalent too... so I began turning back to the majors for new listening material.

    Around 2003 I began to explore Martina McBride's catalog, and was thoroughly impressed. I've been a pop/rock/techno guy for most of my life, and it was refreshing to get into something a little different. I loved her choice of material, of course... and liked that the songs were well developed lyrically. Production was first-rate.

    I didn't think there was much more of a direction to go after that, so kind of laid off listening to music altogether until 2006. That was the year I found loads of stuff I loved coming out of Japan... and I still listen to a number of artists from there who released material between 2000 and 2013. The earthquake in 2011 seemed to dampen the spirit of the music industry over there, and the material after that seemed to try to be positive, but you could tell there was distress, too.

    Well I found this forum right about then, and began exploring more of the artists I'd grown up with. Some of that material has aged really well, and some hasn't. I found I still like listening to a number of artists from the '70's and '80's, especially.

    I guess I'm saying that, while still reluctant to call it maturity, I've gone through a lot of phases. I like where I'm at now and wonder what the future will bring.

    Finally, while not quite the Beatles enthusiast that many of the folks who frequent the forum are, I have to admit they gave us loads of the best lyrics of the decade. So much more meaningful than many of those other '60's bands. I don't listen to their albums though.

    Hope this hasn't been a tedious read, and thanks to anyone who managed to get through it. I don't know if what I've written answers OP's question or not. Consider it a sort of snapshot of the last several decades, if you will... and make of it whatever you like.
     
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