Why do we stop listening to new music as we get older?
Hello all,
Sometimes I find myself wondering why there is so little newer music in my library. Now, before you start in with rants about "New music is terrible!", I found this rather interesting article on the topic. (SFW)
With the maturing of streaming as a music delivery platform, and the ease of being able to surf new artists and music, it might be time to break my old listening habits and find some newer artists.
I'm 64 and got very interested in music which was called punk or new wave. I played in some bands. I love indie rock/dream pop etc. I am constantly on the lookout for new music and sometimes it is older stuff I had never heard of before.
I've almost never listened to music which most people like and that is true going back to the mid-1970s. So far this year I've found releases by Alex G, Nova Twins, Soccer Mommy, Jadu Heart, older stuff by the Throwing Muses, Beach House and others. I really enjoy listening to Alvvays (3 albums so far), Pip Blom, MIYNT and others.
I do think that listening to new types of music requires your brain to adapt (actually changing the brain waves) and, nowadays, if a song doesn't hook you within a couple of bars, people ignore it. I do listen to and like almost all genres including classical, jazz (listening to Dave Brubreck right now), classic rock, rap, singer songwriter, bluegrass, etc.
I want to say that've been following this thread with great interest. I've enjoyed reading almost all of the posts especially those that present their own ideas on why the phenomenon seems to occur and how to go about getting past it.
BTW by no means did I mean to imply that the 'no new music' thing is ubiquitous. Everyone is an individual and thinks and reacts differently to the world around us.
But best of all I've gotten some new artists to check out! So thank you all again.
Actually, we don’t, or at least we don’t have to stop. In part because of my stereo, and in part because I don’t particularly like most of what is defined as popular music currently, I listen mostly to jazz. I’m a card-carrying boomer so I already own all the classic rock I’m ever going to listen to over and over and over again, and while I realllllllly enjoy it, the “new”, and the unknown still interests me and I find that in jazz. I have always dipped a toe into jazz, but within the last 5-7 years I’ve really gone much deeper. I own all the classics and enjoy the usual suspects, but I’ve also discovered some incredibly cool new artists along the way.
It doesn’t keep me young, but it certainly keeps my brain firing.
I know I'll get beaten up for this, but J.S. Bach may be my least favorite among the accepted pantheon of Top Classical Composers. Too many of J.S.'s pieces feel mechanical. More busy than inspired. Cranked out on deadline for a fee. To be sure, part of my problem with Papa Bach may be due to the fact I'm less of a fan of High Baroque than of the earlier and later eras. But still...
But it would seem to me that making an effort to broaden your horizons and seek out challenging music as you age can only be a good thing for both your physical brain and your mental health.
We should consider ourselves fortunate to have so much choice available to us, and also be among those who enjoy music. I know too many people who are fully indifferent to music, and they're far poorer for it.
Actually, @simmonmoon, new jazz almost turned me off before I got into it. I subscribed to Jazziz magazine with the idea of using the magazine and its accompanying CDs as a gateway into Jazz. While there was some that I enjoyed, I was never really moved to start digging deeper. By pure coincidence I stumbled across an eBay seller who was slowing selling his deceased fathers jazz collection of about 3500 albums. Turned out he lived about 3 miles from me! I began buying 10-15 albums at a time, mostly 50s, 60s and 70s. I loved what I heard and and his prices were very reasonable, especially considering what fantastic condition they were in. Sadly, he passed away last December, I really enjoyed talking about music with him when he dropped a batch of records off. He still had about 2000-2500 records left, sadly I suspect his son just sold them as a lot at a record store. But I digress! I have followed suggestions on Roon and Qobuz based on the music I like most but I keep coming back to the vintage jazz that I want to listen to over and over again. The newer stuff just hasn’t moved me in the same way. That’s just the way it is. But saying I haven’t given more modern jazz a chance is just flat out wrong. I will try streaming some of the artists you mentioned above with an open mind, but based on previous experience I won’t hold my breath. But thanks for making an assumption about me based on knowing absolutely nothing about me other than two or three sentences I typed above.
@tylermunns How do age-related neurological changes affect one’s propensity to seek out new music?
”One of the things most people lose as they age, is the search for, and love of novel experiences.
This is due to some of the changes in aging brains.”
I don’t see here an actual answer to my question or any actual scientific evidence in this answer to support the idea that people stop seeking out new music in advanced age due to “neurological changes.”
I don’t dismiss the idea on its face, but I prefer people cite empirical evidence when they make big, sweeping statements of scientific fact.
There is an older couple (at least in their 70s if I had to guess) in my community that are seen at most of the music and art shows in town, be them at art galleries or less-than-swanky bars. These shows may present art/music of wildly differing sorts, yet, there they are, dressed to the nines, gettin’ down and eagerly seeking out new art frequently, 12 months out of the year (nasty Alaskan weather be damned).
I understand that anecdote I just provided may be the exception to the norm, but I am still without data or empirical evidence to support the idea that neurological changes are (at least partially) responsible for people “giving up” on new music/experiences.
@jrosemdI think that 99% of the music being recorded these days is crap - and my three sons, who are all. in their mid-30's - agree. They listen to the same music as me - Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, NRBQ, They Might Be Giants, Chicago, etc.
It has probably always been true, that a very high percentage of music from every era, has been crap.
Everyone remembers Beethoven, Mahler, Brahms, Weber, Mendelsohn, Schubert, but how many remember the mediocre: Machaut, Ockaghem, William Byrd? Not to mention the dozens of others that we don't have manuscripts of their scores, because they were totally unmemorable.
Do you think: Henry James, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Count Basie were the only big bands in the 40's?
Even the eras you mention as being so good, had a very high percentage of crap.
All I know, is within the genres of music I listen to, I have a hard time keeping up with all the great new music being released.
You know I have a friend who mentor me .He has very very good musical system? For about 9 yrs now .He stop listening.I don’t understand it. He just completely lost passion from this hobby?
@jdougsAs a 60 year old I listen to mostly jazz now which I only discovered 3-4 years ago. As for contemporary music, not so much. That’s a shame, those vintage jazz records don’t come cheap! 😂
With apologies, posts like this frustrate me. No wonder jazz has an ever shrinking fanbase.
I am 65, and the amount of great, new, creative jazz being released on a constant basis, is hard to keep up with.
I could list pages of great new jazz artists, with chops and creativity to spare.
Craig Taborn, Michael Formanek, Mary Halvorson, Tim Berne, Alex Machacek, Snakeoil, Tord Gustafson, Steve Coleman, Gonzalo Ruplacaba, Hiromi, Johnathan Finlayson, Afashai Cohen, Mette Henriette, Ralph Alessi Quartet...
I also love the post bop, modal jazz of the past, but jazz is not a museum exhibit for me. The new, progressive jazz that is being produced is also incredible, in different ways as that of the past.
Why do we stop listening to new music as we get older?
Because we lose, and no longer have any contact, interest, or understanding, of the world in which the people that create and perform the new music live in.
@bmontaniI don’t find this to be true for me. I am constantly finding new music from all different time periods and genres. There are tons of new great artists but you do have to turn over some rocks. I find that having a streamer makes it very easy.
@chrisosheaSome do listen to new music...I’m 67 and am always discovering new music. Try Stereophile music reviews for some great stuff you may not have discovered yet.
I did not read the entire thread, but I am pretty sure there are other responses similar to the above examples.
I hope those of you who fit the above types of profiles, are the exceptions in the world.
This forum is not a fair sample of the general music listening public. This is a music specific forum, on an audiophile site.
The fact that people like this exist on this forum at greater numbers than the general music listening public is not a surprise. This site has the function of filtering out the more serious music listeners than would be found in the general population.
Having an open mind to new thoughts and ideas has little if any downsides. When relating to newer(last 10 years) music the quality standard(content) has declined in popular music. Is "Bad Guy" a great song? The mainstream media thinks so. How many have read the lyrics? My 82 year old mother even knows the song and thinks the Duh part is cool(yikes), Paul Simon has nothing to worry about. My point is listening to new music does not give one "The Fountain Of Youth". or make you more open minded then someone chained to Greatful Dead recordings. IMO is just means you have lowered your expectations when critiquing new music. Not all is lost... Maggie Rogers, Agnes Obel, London Grammar, Gregory Porter, Kygo(house/chill), Rita Payes(jazz) and even 60 year old Jazz Pianist Renee Rosnes(to name a few) have all released great recordings in the last 10 years. With any luck major pop artists like Adele will step up their game(content) with future releases.
Technically, the "demo" CD was actually a "system evaluation" CD. It was used for judging systems in car audio competition. As system designer/installer, we never knew exactly what cuts the judges would select for system evaluation. So, we would make sure the customer was familiar with how all the tracks sounded on their system. A good way to motivate the customer to listen to all the music on the CD.
On the subject of "introducing others to new music", this "demo" CD was introduced in 1988, widely distributed, and experience by a group of primarily 17 to 22 year old audiences.
Artist/composers: Alfred Newman, Jennifer Warnes, David Benoit, Billy Cobden, Swing, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Stanley Myers, Beethoven, Dave Grusin, Vivalda, Bach, John Williams.
Installing SQ systems in car audio enthusiasts vehicles, introducing them to various genres, and watching them smile was fun.
When some of us were younger, our exposure to music was "controlled" by the media (radio,mostly) that introduced us to it. We liked what they played, and they played what they were paid to play, in many instances.
Naturally, the "college" FM stations were not governed by payola, so we were exposed to "newer" music by bands that these people liked--Dylan, Baez, King...and yes, Boston as well.
Today, with music literally "pouring" out of hundreds of sources into our many "devices," it is no longer "controlled" by a few record company owners or radio station people. Thus, we have a very egalitarian music scene that may be a bit too diverse for many of us to discover. Personally, I don't "stream" anything or DAC anything; I am an old fogey who listens to vinyl and some CD's, although I don't much care for the way they are compressed and mixed these days. Their dynamic range is better in some cases, but compression in the algorithms and chips removes every "x" bit, which I find to be rather unfortunate. This is not to say that in the day, music was not mixed down to sound good on a car radio, since it was. However, LP's were usually more dynamically complete.
As for "new" music, I have a young daughter who constantly exposes me to what she and her friends are listening to, and I have found some wonderful and some horrible "new" music just as we had "in the old days."
Unlike one poster who said he does not relate older music to his past, I LOVE living in the past sometimes and the old music is a wonderful gateway to enjoy those memories. What we used to call "soul music" is still terrific even if the lyrics are a bit saccharine. Our LIVES were saccharine back then, so "These Arms of Mine" and "Lonely Teardrops" remind me of dances at the Original Club or our school gym (actually the old Armory next door), and hearing The Crests do "Sixteen Candles" or "You Belong to Me" by the Duprees--pretty misogynistic lyrics, but still--reminds me of wonderful times in my teens. I would imagine that "Whoops, I Did it Again" (an AMAZING pop song) means a lot to those who were young when it was new.
So, I have it BOTH ways. I try to find new stuff of EVERY genre--Hailey Whitters' album "Raised" reflects values from the Midwest that are universal, and Taylor Swift, even though not always in tune, has a knack for lyrics that are as good as any these days. Doesn't mean a Coltrane song or even "Moonlight Serenade" or "Stompin' at the Savoy" are off my playlist, and the inimitable back-to-back guitar solos by Dicky and Duane on "Stormy Monday" Live at the Fillmore East stops me in my tracks every time to marvel at their musicianship.
I love music, and it really doesn't matter to me when it was made...
Of the 6,000+ LPs that I own, about 800 are from that 12-22 years old age window (for me, more like 9-25 years, 1963-1979, more or less), which included rock n roll, rock, folk, psychedelic, and some classical, jazz, gospel and blues.
In my 20s, I explored other genres, including but not limited to: zydeco, reggae, bluegrass, swing, Afro-pop, Latin American folk, bossa nova, tango, world, modern and a lot more classical. Also punk and new wave.
in my 30s, I got into Afro Cuban almost exclusively.
From my 40s onward, I built my collection up fairly evenly among a variety of things.
I have to say, sadly, that though I do listen to current musical artists, I don’t do it much because I find that the stuff made after the year 2000 simply does not engage me. A fuss was made of Rihanna’s so-called comeback performance at the Super Bowl. I found it cold, sterile, musically simplistic.
I do have some early rap music from the 60s-80s: The Last Poets, Gil Scott Heron, Grandmaster Flash, Notorious B.I.G., a few others. As a general rule, I think rap is extremely limited. It’s all anger and misogyny, little in the way of music. I see others in this group also don’t care for the genre.
I have added very few LPs to my collection over the last 10 years. It’s all I can do to listen to the ones I have.
but yes, most people get "stuck" on the music they listened to from about age 15-22. Seems very limiting. It possibly has to do, at least somewhat, with personality types. I’m a Sigma (I’m sure people have heard of Alphas and Betas, but they may not know there are also Sigmas, Gammas, and Omegas ... and some researchers might include Deltas). Sigmas are never standing still when it comes to interests and curiosity. However, Sigmas are only 6% of the population. The vast majority of my music library is 2000 to now, even though my "stuck" period should have been the 70’s. I believe, like with most things, in general music has greatly improved since my "stuck" period. Again, in general, instrumentalists, singers and songwriters are more talented, and have built upon the foundation of the previous artists. The one thing that is lacking is originality. There are no more Beatles or Elvis Presley or Led Zeppelin or Van Halen or *Yngwie Malmsteen popping up.
Also, some people seem to think that new music is all pop, rap and hip hop. But there are tons of new and old genres available, and many of these genres have morphed into better versions of themselves.
* Non-musicians probably won’t know Malmsteen, but 40 years ago he caused a seismic shift in the way rock guitar is played that continues to this day.
I listen to new music all the time. I'm so tired of the same classic rock from the 70s that I grew up on. Here are just a few newer artists I listen to (not that new anymore lol)....
I’m an old fart and mostly stream, so l listen to all kinds of music From Diana Ankudinova (need to check her out! full stop) to Odesza, London Grammer and Daft Punk and so many more
I listen to classical music, also called art music. The older I get, the more I’m interested in contemporary art music and less in Mozart, Brahms etc. I find the repeats in 18th c music especially tedious. But I would call myself a connoisseur, which has something to do with it.
I'm a research psychologist and have studied this issue. If you'll forgive a shameless plug for my book, The Things We Love, I've got a discussion of the research on this issue in chapter 7.
As some people here have noted, not everyone does stop liking new music as they get older. But it is very common. There are three main reasons:
1. Neurological changes in the brain as it matures.
2. Our social situations change. When we're young, we're in a lot of social situations where we are exposed to new music, e.g., listening to music with friends. As we get older, that happens less, and we only get exposed to new music if we make an effort for it to happen.
3. When people are young, music is a main way we define our identity, so it is important to us and we talk and think about it a lot. As we get older, our identity shifts from what music we like to our career, our family, our home, our choice of vacations, our possessions, and lots of other stuff. So for many people, music becomes a smaller part of their lives.
The book is about why people love things, including music and audio equipment. It might be of interest to people on this list. And Amazon named it a "best book" of 2022. So I hope you'll check it out.
The only time I hear new music is when I am in my wife's car (I drive it more than she does) and listen to Sirius, but only the stations I like: Classic Rock (3-4 channels), Real Jazz & Watercolors, Yacht Rock and Bridge, and a few artists with their own channels. If I hear a song I never heard before, especially from an artist I like, I will usually buy the album on an LP, if available new. I seldom buy a used record. Joshua by Miles and One Trick Pony by Paul Simon and Mr. Radio by Linda Ronstadt all enticed me to buy Seven Steps to Heaven, One Trick Pony and Get Closer. New records, but is it new music when you add to the works of an artist you like? It is for me. With jazz, there are so many combinations of players, you really have to know if a particular album is worthwhile. Same with pop and rock with the evolution of bands with different members and stages of their evolution.
The only groups I listen to where I have every album they made in the studio are the Beatles, Steely Dan (& DF) and the Police (only 5 records). The Beatles have a few clunkers (especially on Yellow Submarine and Magical Mystery Tour), Steely Dan's only ones are the one or two Walter sung (RIP) and the Police had a few Andy sung that I make sure to skip. If you count Sting with the Police as one, they drop off the list of groups with every album in my library.
I didn't start listening to jazz until about 20-25 years ago, but am fairly selective in what I like there (mainly bob and blues) and in classic rock. CD player was disconnected about 15 years or so ago, and won't relax listening to my stereo by looking at a computer phone, etc. for access, so it's records only for me.
If I don't like something, I won't listen to it, and if it is worth anything, I either trade it in to a local record store or sell it on eBay. Many "legendary" albums I find unlistenable.
I want to expand my record library beyond the 325 I currently own, but it is not easy for me to find new things I like. I am always asking for recommendations of people's favorites. With the amount of time I listen, I play each record about 3-4 times a year through what I try to arrange at a relatively even distribution of playing time per record, so a record has to earn its keep. I could see the total getting to 4-500, but beyond that, there wouldn't be time to listen to the ones that are my favorites. Those with thousands or records can't possibly listen to them all even once a year, so I would call them collectors or even hoarders. Not me.
Some do listen to new music...I'm 67 and am always discovering new music. Try Stereophile music reviews for some great stuff you may not have discovered yet.
I think that 99% of the music being recorded these days is crap - and my three sons, who are all. in their mid-30's - agree. They listen to the same music as me - Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, NRBQ, They Might Be Giants, Chicago, etc.
I don't find this to be true for me. I am constantly finding new music from all different time periods and genres. There are tons of new great artists but you do have to turn over some rocks. I find that having a streamer makes it very easy.
Music affects everybody differently. For me, I'm constantly searching for new artists on Tidal every week. I still enjoy all the music I've accumulated from the 60's and onward, but I know there's still many great songs to be heard....and I've been fortunate to find some of them. The journey continues....
I haven't read the article yet but looking at the responses, it seems many of us are searching for new music as a sole pursuit. In our teens and twenties, you found music with your friends. Once you start your own family, that spare time is largely gone and thus an important avenue for discovering new music.
I could be totally wrong about this. It's happened once or twice before.
Umm... because most new music lacks things like melodic invention, harmonic movement, dynamic contrast... There are no dynamics when the sound level goes from too loud to too gddamn loud. When was the last time you heard a pop singer sing "I believe in love" and you really believed her?
@simonmoon: We all walk our our musical paths. Mine has been the reverse of yours; I started with 20th Century (Stravinsky, Copland, Ives, Vaughan Williams, Strauss, Rachmaninoff, Holst, Ravel, Prokofiev, Penderecki even (his "Threnody To The Victims Of Hiroshima" is the single most terrifying piece of music I’ve ever heard).
Then, just as I followed the bread crumbs back from the Rock music of the 1960’s to it’s origins in the Hillbilly and Jump Blues music of the 1940’s, I went backwards in Classical: through the Romantics (I love Wagner), then the Classical era (who doesn’t like Beethoven? Or Mozart? Well, except for Glenn Gould ;-).
But my love of Baroque music surpasses that of any other. Well, except Bluegrass.
Whenever I see conversations like this on music forums, and I see so many people make comments about how new music sucks, or, it's all autotune, I get the idea that these people are stuck in old ways of looking for new music.
Good new music will never be found on mainstream radio, in Billboard, made by any musician nominated for any mainstream music award, or any other mainstream sources. If those are your sources, then resign yourself to believing that new music sucks.
I listen to prog, jazz, and contemporary classical music, and my biggest problem is keeping up with all the great new, creative, incredibly well played, music.
And none of it, zero, uses autotune, teams of dozens of writers, computers, quantization, etc. All real musicians, playing their instruments.
Glad to hear you have found a way around this. You are clearly more net savvy than I am, so you do better.
Right now I am happy where I am and I don't have the time to tweak the population of stuff that's trying to access me. Nor to I have the technical skills.
I don't even know what 'autotune' is.
Don't forget Bob Dylan has won plenty of Grammys. Would be a pity to cut him out ever if only his current music is 'new'.
For a stimulating workout of your brain, give Bach’s Concerto For 4 Harpsichords And Orchestra a listen. Each harpsichord plays a separate melody (the form of the Fugue, employing a lot of counterpoint), all following the chord progressions, modulations, etc. played by the orchestra. But it’s not just an intellectual challenge, it’s also a thrilling musical ride!
For the enlargement of your soul, listen to any of his Passions.
Believe me, I have listened to a lot of Bach’s music. I still own a fair amount of Bach recordings. Same goes with Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Handel, etc, etc, etc.
Bottom line, I am just not a fan of the "Common Practice" eras of classical music. Tonal classical music bores me tor the most part.
With regards to classical music, I only like: atonal, serial, avant-garde, 12 tone, and other forms of 20th and 21st century music. I only tend to like ’challenging’ and ’thorny’ sounding music. Most of my listening of classical music, is from post 1950’s, up through the present.
I have tried many times to listen to earlier eras of classical music, but it bores me. And I return to it from time to time, including Bach, in hopes that it will someday ’click’ with me. But despite honest attempts, no luck so far.
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