How Middle Age Affected My Musical Tastes

Probably we just like September of My Years better!

 

More juice + less pulp.

(That’s all I’m gonna say about my listening tastes in my 60th year...it’s a complex matter, music is)

 

Well I'm past middle age and I have never got into Frank Sinatra or music of that ilk. I neither like it nor particularly dislike it, it's just there.

Here's a conundrum for you: I like the Beatles more now than I did when they were current. I still don't idolise them or anything, but in my teens I would not have bothered buying a Beatles album. I think maybe it was a reaction against their all-pervading presence, plus the fact that I was more into folky rock (which I still love).

 

Is the volume lower, or does it just sound lower?

 

That's me too.Enjoying the he'll out of the top billboard # 1 thread.Still listen to Hendrix and Pink Floyd.I'm 56 and don't have a powerhouse stereo for nothing.

 

Oh my, I think about this often. The most recent example is that I heard Peter Gabriel's "Shock the Monkey" in a store the other day and liked it. It's been stuck in my head since. Until that moment, I ABSOLUTELY HATED THAT SONG.

I listen to a lot of library music these days, some of which would be considered "easy listening". No chance you would have caught me listening to "easy listening" music when I was a kid.

I own a Tears For Fears CD now and like several songs on it. I don't find any one of them even remotely offensive. That would never have happened back in the day.

I still listen to a lot of hard rock and metal, and no matter what music I'm listening to, it's always loud. But there are plenty of examples I could list of songs or artists I never cared for back in the day that I think I only like now because my tastes have either "matured" or just gone nostalgic.

 

I'm 43, and find that my tastes have been broadening at the extremes for several years now. I listen to a lot more jazz AND a lot more metal and punk than I ever did when I was younger. Also more ambient music, and even drone metal bands like Sun))) and hip-hop on rare occasions (it doesn't really speak to me, but I try to understand). But I don't really listen to much classic rock anymore. Just on occasion, but for some reason I just want to hear more new and new-to-me stuff or do deeper-dives into artists/bands I only knew on the surface back in the day (Miles Davis being a perfect example).

 

Anything from this century?

 

I just turned 48 myself. My musical observations are subtly different. For example, as a Cars fan, I never realized how important David Robinson was to the sound of the Cars until Move Like This came out.

I like Muzak a lot better now.

I find the Doors pretentious now.

I now know that Roger Waters was not Pink Floyd.

I hear jazz a lot better than I used to but I still have much learning to do.

As great as Steely Dan’s music is, it’s their lyrics that make them special.

 

MC Peace's "End Of Weed" album is one of my favorites and it's from this decade and I like some Jake Bugg.

 

yes there was some good music in the 80s like Iron Maiden and Echo & the Bunnymen, but it was underground.

 

Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper had some pretty good music in the 80s and so did Robyn Hitchcock.

 

I appreciate live performances (both recorded and at concerts) more than when I was a youngster.

I used to think live shows were just inferior alternate Greatest Hits things. (Actually, this is often true, but varies per artist)

 

Opposite. I’m more entrenched in the music I’ve loved since the early 80’s more than ever.

My quest is to find current bands to like which seems to be sadly rare, but finding one is like finding gold it makes me so happy.

Edit: I never got into reggae, didn’t hate it but never followed up on it. The last 5 years I’ve become a reggae junky.

 

I'm 48 as well. I still like the music of my youth although I find I like a much bigger variety of music now than I did then. I've gone back and discovered artists I missed back then but I still listen to a lot of new music too. That's where Spotify's Discover playlists come in handy. I've made a bunch of playlists and Spotify is always recommending music, sometimes new and sometimes old, that I've never heard before. I've found a lot of newer (last 10 years) music that I really like that never got any radio play or real exposure. So basically the older I get the more music I discover that I like. If I can keep that up I'll stay happy. I love finding music I've never explored before, be it new or old.

 

I always believed all of these, especially the first one. I felt that The Who should have called it quits after Moon died.

 

Exactly the same here.

 

Just to be clear--I was joking about the "deep connection" between Sinatra and middle age. As I said, the number of times he's come up in the thread is amusing (at least, to me). I certainly would never assume that younger people couldn't get into Sinatra.

 

I gotcha

 

I've come around to appreciating a lot of artists I had no time for when I was a snobster.

When I listen to music now, it's without an 'agenda' other than to just simply listen. I might not like everything I hear, but I'll at least give any song a try before dismissing it offhand based on genre or era. And by gum, I'm liking some of the music these kids are making nowadays.

However, your initial assessments above are pretty consistent with how I've always thought and still think.

 

I had a similar experience with “Solsbury Hill” recently. Used to think it was ok song of his, but after hearing it recently now think it may be his finest.

 

68 here.

I feel like I've kind of heard it all, including a real lot of all international, international traditional & folk, etc... a 1000 times. Been listening to LPs since 1956 so it's been awhile.

I still do love music, love my stereo, etc., but honestly I must admit I've slowed down listening a lot. I only have 500+ LPs, 900+ CDs, & 60 remaining cassettes... not much by most 'collectors' standards. It's like I've got my favorite 25 LPs and favorite 35 CDs (that I usually listen to the most for sure) and the rest are just 'there', which is ok. To me it's like 'My music'.

I've slowed down a bit.

 

I agree and applaud everything you just said.
You had mentioned having an appreciation for current blues players that are concerned with authenticity and the "music"

Not to change topics, but i'm curious. What are some of your recent favorites?

Have you heard this guy?
Current, soulful, authentic...
And to think, he was washing dishes at a restaurant in Fort Worth just a couple of years ago.

 

I'm about to turn 50 in a few months and I'm still getting into new indie stuff - probably because that's the sort of music that can be made on the computer now, perhaps using loops or classic synthesiser sounds.
I've been trying that out music wise and it is interesting.
I've been listening to the stuff older people might listen to for a while now - such as Sinatra (but I stop after 1970, with the exception of the SHE SHOT ME DOWN album), 80's pop I grew up with and jazz (since my early 20's). Not so much classic rock on rotation, but having rediscovered my CD collection after buying some new speakers, I'm reminded of why I liked most of that stuff and am playing CD's from start to finish which I (like many others, I suppose) haven't done for a while.
Once I get the new speakers hooked up to the turntable, it will be time to take the Beatles Mono box for a spin - I still love the group, but I find that I can have longer periods in between playing them.
Let's face it, it's hard to wake up one morning and pretend you haven't heard them - luckily, you can appreciate so much in their music such as the sound of the album, the sounds of guitars or drums, the chords in later songs, the types of lyrics etc. They are the one band for me where the saying 'familiarity breeds contempt' does not apply.