I Like Music Older Than I Am Most Of All

Anyone else feel the same way? By the time I was born (1976) the majority of my favorite artists were either deceased or in artistic decline. From Sinatra's Capitol era to Elvis to Billie Holiday to John Coltrane, The Beatles... the list goes on and on. Of course I had a soundtrack to my teenage years consisting grunge and Radiohead and other bands but I don't find myself listening to that music nearly as much as music produced before I was born. What say you?

 

Most of the music I enjoy was produced when I was between -3 and +8. So, not as extreme as you, but in the ball park. Music that's been created since I was old enough to start getting into music (14 or so), is pretty secondary in my musical enjoyment.

 

Yeah, pretty similar story here. 1978. Obviously I love my Nirvana, Soundgarden, Blur and Radiohead records, but if you corner me it’s really the Beatles and Motown I love the most.

I do sometimes wonder if it’s simply because I listened to Oldies radio up until the 3rd grade. In essence that’s the foundational music of my youth as much as any kid growing up in the 60s. But I’m not sure.

 

That’s almost a requirement to be here.

In my case, both music from before I was born and music I was too young to appreciate when it was released.

 

When I was younger I always felt I was born at the wrong time. It felt like all the great songs had been written.

I don't feel that way anymore

 

I, like you, listened to oldies a lot as a child. My Dad was a big fan of soul music/Motown/Elvis, though the world of jazz (like Brasilian MPB) I have discovered on my own. I am not only like this with music either. I really like 1950's sci-fi films, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, old westerns, etc. A coworker who is a few years older than myself told me that he is the same way, and for some reason older tv shows feel like an escape from reality in every possible way - from the clothes to the hair to the dialog to the setting. Regarding music, I am not sure why the older stuff appeals to me so much. I know I really appreciate the ambience of the vocals in older music, for one thing, like the (is it called an) echo chamber at Capitol.

 

I wish I felt the same way The 'new' discoveries I enjoy most are from music of the past.

 

Hell no. Old music is just that…old. It may be great music, but it holds no surprises once you’ve become familiar with it. New stuff is where it’s at for me.

 

My favorite music is from 1972 (when I was 9) until 1985 (when I was 22). I appreciate what came before I and I love a lot of music from the 1990s and 2000s as well, but those formative listening years in the 70s and 80s hit the sweet spot. In short, growing up, my favorite music was mostly the music that came out at exactly that time.

 

I find much post 60s 70s to be increasingly abrasive, as far as rock, starting mid sixties w/garage....music before this era had more concentration on melody and quite brilliant relatable poetry for lyrics. As time went on and things got more abstract, there becomes more in the way of category and margin, which one tends to fit into if not enjoying the current in thing.

 

Similar here. Most of my favorite music comes from my age 3 - 12, although I didn't really get to listen to a lot of music until age 17.

At least for pop/rock. When it comes to Jazz, my faves run mostly in the decade prior to my birth.

 

I don't feel the same way, but I love all sorts of music from the entire history of music.

My top 50 artists are almost all artists who were primarily active while I was alive, but a lot of them had important parts of their output in place prior to me turning 10 years old, say.

 

For me with jazz, the bulk of my favorite stuff emerged when I was around 13 years old and after. (Around 1975 and later.)

 

I still discover older music, but since I got back to listening properly, a lot of music, new and old, has really opened up for me.

I think with a lot of the newer music it is finding artists that you like, and it takes a lot more effort than it used to.
Back in the day, my parents introduced me to fifties music and country and stuff like that. Radio introduced me to sixties and seventies rock bands. TV shows exposed me to top forty eighties pop. Etc etc.
These days the palette is so broad, and the access, or exposure is virtually completely up to the individuals efforts to find stuff.

Also with the old style of exposure, you got plenty of listens in, to acclimate to an artists sound and style, before buying a record.
When you stream something on youtube or whatever, it's rare that folks give it enough listens to settle in the mind.
It makes a big difference.

 

1/3 classical
1/3 jazz
1/3 pop/rock

so I"m stacking the deck on enjoying things before I was born

 

Another thing... you can't underplay how big of a role nostalgia can play in attitudes to music

 

I like new music, but it holds little or few surprises for me. It’s been done before & usually much better.

 

Grew up in the 90s and 90s music is my favorite, but oddly enough I wasn't aware of most of it at the time because I was a kid (born in '89). There are some bands/albums that are still favorites that I got into during the decade, like Beastie Boys, Green Day and Weezer, but most of my favorites I didn't pick up on until I was older, like Ween, Mr. Bungle and Primus. So I'm pretty much the same age as my favorite music.

Only pre-90s bands that are up there in my all time favorites are The Beatles, Pink Floyd and The Clash.

 

A lot of my recent 'new' music, music that has given me the most pleasure, has been international (Brasil, Japanese city pop) and made from the late 1960's through the early 1980's. That and my obsession with Billie Holiday as of late. I've also been exploring Willie Nelson's back catalog. I'm all over the musical map basically.

To my ears, no one is making music like this anymore, which is what I want (need) to hear. Total escape.

 

I agree with you about Primus. For years I thought the only album of theirs worth listening to was Pork Soda, but since then - for instance, the Brown Album - there are some great recordings to explore from Les and company.

 

Yea but at some point that new stuff will become familiar and non-suprising too, wouldn't it? Then you're done with it?

 

I think Frizzle Fry is my favourite Primus album

 

When it comes to jazz, yes.

 

No so. But apparently not going along with it's a requirement for being resented...

 

It's all new until you hear it.