Can we make major musical discoveries at age 50, 65, or 80?
Most if not all of us remember our early formative musical experiences vividly. Maybe it was a first live performance, maybe some new band an uncle played on his stereo, or maybe a staticky pirate radio broadcast of a brand new British song for those who grew up across the pond.
I first heard Abbey Road in my single-digit years. Come Together probably rewired my brains right then and there, for better or for worse. My parents liked classical, and I developed a long-lasting fondness for Brahms.
Later in life, more pressing priorities take over. Careers, raising families, spouses who consider music and the gear it plays on a waste of time and money.
And later, we often gravitate back towards music.
I could have been happy listening to glam-rock and prog-rock forever, but I was always curious about new music and regularly got infatuated with new genres and groups and artists. Some of these infatuations fizzled, like with black metal and post-rock. Some, like Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux, ignited a taste for Latino music and Spanish-language hip-hop that lasts to this day. Then, random encounters with the music of Floyd Lee and Junior Kimbrough reignited a long-dormant love for the blues, for good this time.
And (very) few other artists like F ck Buttons, though discovered well into middle age, had the same transformational effect on me that Eno, Roxy Music, Kevin Ayers and David Bowie had when I was 12 years old. Sadly F ck Buttons is no more, having disbanded after just three towering, monumental albums. To this day I listen to them almost daily, and I will only consider audio equipment that satisfactorily passes the F ck Buttons audition test.
Then just recently, an Audiogon member recommended German band Bohren und der Club of Gore as a gateway to Jazz for folks who don't like Jazz. Since I don't like a lot of Jazz, I figured I'd take a quick listen and not only I loved it, it immediately attached itself to empty receptors in my brains somewhere between ambient / drone / industrial and downtempo Jazz / Classical. The band immediately went into heavy rotation here in my humble abode. It is perfect focus music, too.
Which brings me to this thread. Have you experienced musical revelations later in life that equaled or bettered those from your childhood and teenage years? What were they, and when and how did they manifest?
So, not only is the soundtrack of our youth a limited pool in the first place, it also dries up as time progresses... One exception is when we revisit / rediscover artists we hated back in the day... But all the same, thank goodness for new artists
Yes. It’s only natural that as we age and go through many different experiences and stages of development, we’ll be drawn to discover music that better matches how we’re feeling in the present and that the music we favored at age 16 or 25 may no longer fully satisfy. In other words, as we grow and change, it’s not surprising that what we enjoy listening to should change as well. The same goes for any art form. This doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll abandon what we once found most captivating, (although this may occur to some degree, inevitably, depending upon what we were initially exposed to), just that we develop a much larger pool of music to dip into.
A good example of "major musical discovery", for me, would be a band discovered at age 50 that is still in heavy, almost-daily rotation at age 60 (despite having ever produced 3 albums).
Bands that rose to the same level of significance as the best I’ve listened to over the years, including when I was young and malleable.
I started this thread out of curiosity for others’ musical journeys and I was glad to find out that a significant number of folks have had, and are having, such experiences too.
Thank you all for relating your personal experiences - some were truly enlightening - and especially for sharing all those artists I’ve never heard of and into whose works I will now take a delve
I'm 62 and discover new music all of the time. When I hear a song I like, Shazam it, then check more out on Qobuz.
Digging a guy named Mishka for the last bunch of months. Singer song writer reggae, really well recorded and a prolific producer of music. From Nevas by way of Hawaii
Finding new discoveries is one of the greatest joys of my music hobby. I've always been on the hunt for the next thing, and at 50, I remain surprised that I never run out of surprises.
The ones that I am listening to now are the first two Sniff ’n’ the Tears albums. I have a CD burner for "playing records" on my commute, and I am currently in the midst of falling in love with those albums. Two months ago, I would not have recognized the band’s name.
It’s early-80’s power pop with excellent songcraft and pretty good production; "Driver’s Seat" was the one song the band is most known for.
Absolutely. I'm 70 and started digging into post-bop obscurities a decade ago at the prompting of someone I knew from record collecting. I was intrigued by a record-- Milt Ward & Virgo Spectrum. Nobody seemed to know who he was, or what his story was- it was a one off. I found a fellow at Berklee who headed the woodwinds department that knew Milt and he gave me the scoop. I do have an original pressing that looked unplayed at the time I bought it. It was subsequently reissued as a needle drop. I can't take credit for that but it was interesting to unravel the story behind the musician and the sessions.
Over the years I've reached out to some of the artists from this period- some were responsive, others were not. The history of the more obscure stuff is in my view important to unearth. That goes beyond just listening for pleasure. I spent a fair amount of time doing such research out of personal interest, and to write and publish (I make no money from doing this, it actually costs me money to maintain a website). I'm now in the process of trying to formalize my study of music history by going back to school.
When I think of 'new music' or 'major musical discoveries' to me they can be new artists or from any time period or from even musicians I have previously known about and purchased their music and someone introduces me to an album/cd/youtube video of theirs I didn't know about, it's 'new' to me. So here's a new young jazz lion I've had the pleasure of discovering via the youtube algorithm!
@whart...+1K, you go, Sir. *tips hat* (Seldom worn, but exists and sees daylight when apropos....)
It's great to learn that one of our ilk is doing 'something' perhaps not concrete, but moves who was responsible for that we enjoy Still....👌
Good fortunes in your pursuits! *VBS* 👍
Our culture will thank you....eventually.... ;)
At 73 I've my own devious pursuits......“something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, a sixpence in your shoe."....
Experimentation and sampling of new music has given way to experimentation and sampling of new supplements, exercise routines, and monitoring what goes into (and out of) my body.
I am 65 and making more musical discoveries than ever thanks to streaming and Roon. I’d say it’s one of the best tools I have to help deter the effects of natural aging. Discovery of any sort helps to keep the mind sharp and engaged.
This is an artist I just discovered about 3 weeks ago. An absolutely stunner of a musician, writer and singer. Shame, we lost him so early... Nick Drake - River Man (Video)
@devinplombier nice thread sir, and your comments are always appreciated.
@tyrayAnd I thought I was late to the party when I dicovered him right at the time of the Volkswagen commercial. He's one that constantly gets discovered – and rightfully so. „Black Eyed Dog“ – what a song!
Between suggestions from Agon threads, Qobuz, and my Trophy Wife, I find new to me music that I like almost daily. I figure, that the day I stop looking and listening to new and different music might just be the day that I die.
I am the opposite of a folk guy. I dated and lived with a diehard folk music fan and folk musician. I went into that relationship firmly believing that the best use of a Joni Mitchell record was to protect the floor under the cat box. Over our few years together I grudgingly developed a sort of appreciation for folk music as a genre, probably due more to the cultural context than the music itself to be honest.
It was during that time that I discovered Nick Drake. I loved his music at first listen. I have been going back to his too-few records ever since, whenever the mood strikes.
My new discoveries are from the past. Jazz and Classical. For some reason, the 4 inch speakers in my Pontiac Tempest convertible didn’t do them justice. 🤔 If I had a time machine, I’d be visiting the recording of ’The Great Summit’ with Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington.
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Lately, I’ve started a new type of discovery. In the streamer search bar, I’ll type in the name of a favorite song. The results reveal a huge catalog of covers by a wide range of artists in a wide array of interpretations. A lot of fun. Try ’Over the Rainbow’.
A subset of that category would be those songs that are etched in our memories for having been associated with memorable events decades ago, yet we never knew the song's name or who the artist was... It just happened to be playing within earshot of a moment that became unforgettable to us, only to be lost in time. We may remember a couple bars or a few words, fragments too small to be meaningful.
... until google that is! It doesn't take much data to identify and track down a song now. I've recently identified two songs like that... only to realize that I couldn't really play them, lest they lose their connection to the past in the harsh light of the present.
Of course. But I think it depends on your personality type. Most people get stuck on the music they listened to between the ages of 15-20. I've never gotten stuck at any age, so I still find revelations, but most is somewhat obscure. An example would be the best guitar album I'd heard in 30 years. Nick Johnston's Remarkably Human.
@limomangus- too right - personally, I've been wearing hearing aids since I was in my 50's (I'm 73 now), but they have really improved. I can hear plenty out of a seriously good 2-channel or headphone system). They're as great a benefit for hearing as eyeglasses are for seeing, though they don't give you back what you lost. They EQ to make up for it....
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