[jedinat]

I want to get into listening to music more, but I can't get into specific artists. I'll like certain popular songs a lot but nothing for the rest of an album's tracks. I'll really like a single song in a genre I never listen to, go check out other songs in that genre, and hate them all.

The few times I really started liking an artist, it lasted maybe a couple weeks, and from then on I can't stand listening to any of their songs again. I used to like U2 and Coldplay in high school. Can't stand them now. I used to like Death Cab. Now they're bleh. Was really into Loreena McKennett then Florence and the Machine for a while. Now I'm sick of them.

I like acoustic guitar/ instrumentals, but after a few minutes it all blends together (why are the songs so long and repetitous? lol) and I get sick of what I'm listening to.

I sorta think I just haven't heard the right artists or found my favorite genre yet, but I dunno. Been trying that gnoosic site and it has shown me a few decent artists but nothing that blew me away...

 

[ADUHF]

Sorry for your difficulties, jedinat. I enjoyed listening to some of the artists you mentioned above though, esp. Death Cab for Cutie.

Like you, I am generally not an "album" or "artist" guy. I mostly just listen to singles in the genres I like by a fairly wide variety of artists, often via MVs on YouTube. Sometimes it's nice to chill out to an album though, like Kraftwerk's Radioactivity. Or maybe somethin by Prokofiev.

Your tastes seem to run towards the alternative side, or "emo" I guess (though I don't really know what that is). There's certainly alot to explore, both old and new, in alternative music. I think my tastes in alternative music are probably just a little harder-edged and maybe a bit darker than yours. I liked punk rockers like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, for example, but also some of the more gothic stuff that followed those groups, like Peter Murphy & Bauhaus, The Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees, and Joy Division. I love up-tempo rhythms, dissonances, and distorted guitars.

David Bowie, Iggy Pop & the Stooges, Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground, and Grace Jones were some of my go-to guys in the very early days of alternative music. While I was listening to them though, I was also listening to alot of disco, funk (esp. George Clinton's "P-Funk"), R&B, soul, and also more mainstream rock groups. Then in the 80's, I became more interested in punk, goth, hip-hop, reggae, new wave, metal, salsa, house, and other alternative styles. There was alot of different stuff happenin then, and I just sort of soaked it all up like a sponge.

In the 90's and 00's I mostly listened to EDM, reggaeton, and some hip-hop and alternative styles. Now I listen to alot of chalga/pop-folk, Asian-pop/indie (the more adult-oriented stuff), reggaeton/Latin-pop, and a little hip-hop, country, and EDM. I consider myself sort of a post-hip-hop guy now, with strong sympathies for all kinds of alternative music. ("Freak-beat" is another style I've been exploring a little recently.)

Probably the best advice I can give you is to keep your mind open to new things.

 

[tienbasse]

2 pieces of advice:

-try harder when you're looking for new music, streaming services are not so good at predicting what you like (at least for me), so you have to spend time listening for extracts online. I sometimes spend complete afternoons or evenings just doing this (yes I have more free time than most people)
-if you've liked a single or 2 from an artist, there may be other songs that are worth your time, but often not fully appreciated at the first listening session, you have to be patient and give music more than a 30 seconds chance when you've liked one or 2 tracks.

Oh, one last thing: it's not that uncommon to listen to something heavily for a few weeks and then to switch to something else and never go back (except for a few "favorite" songs I use to compare audio hardware). I tend to function like this too, getting obsessed with a few songs, then the rest of the artist songs, and then switching to the next artist or music type without ever going back. It's typical of a certain mindset (I work in Research because I get bore very quickly with repetitive stuff, I also change hobbies often). Not everyone functions the same. Some people are stuck within certain music types because they have fairly constant preferences, and it's fine for them, but not everyone has constant tastes.

 

[ADUHF]

Some very good points, tienbasse. A couple others I'd make...

When you listen is important. If you're not in a particularly receptive mood, for example, then you may just hate everything.

I think your musical IQ can also play some role in the ease or difficulty of finding new things you like. What I mean by "musical IQ" is really your knowledge of what you're listening to and how it's created, as opposed to how "book read" you are on the subject of music, or a particular type of music (though these can also have some benefits).

One way to boost your musical IQ is to try creating some yourself. If you do that, then you'll quickly learn (and probably also start to develop a greater appreciation for) the difficulties involved in creating good music... even good "garage" music, which isn't necessarily as easy as it sounds.

Going to live performances is another way to help boost your musical IQ, though it can run into more $$, and can also be a potentially more dangerous proposition these days in some places. Many places have free concerts and music festivals though.

I'm also a "binge listener" btw,... though it's a habit I'm trying to break. When I find a new artist or genre I like, I will tend to immerse myself, and try to sample as much of the work as possible. I try not to rely on lazy "context sensors". But I do (occasionally) look at the music charts of genres that interest me (and also some that don't), and will listen to other people's "playlists" (on YouTube, for example, or Head-Fi!), if their musical tastes seem similar to mine.

The way I usually find new stuff though is just by digging and sifting through alot of material, both old and new, til I find something that catches my ear, which can often be a time-consuming process.

 

[tonally_challenged]

It is important to note that your taste will change (and hopefully improve) during the years. I have a real hard time enjoying music I listened to in high school if I'm not in a nostalgic mood.