[squirt]

I've been a music lover since the early 70's but i've been noticing a distinct change in my musical tastes over the years, from loud and lively disco and pop to softer, gentler flavors with a strong emphasis on good recording quality...Much of the music from previous years that were my favorites i've now grown to really dislike without knowing exactly why...Presumably as we age we change our views on what we like but i still like many 60's and 70's rock groups (i don't like any current rock groups) but more and more i prefer milder, more relaxing music...

i'm just wondering if others have gone through any significant changes in their musical tastes over the years or if they remain pretty much as they've always been...

 

[blessingx]

Anyone whose tastes don't change over time scare me.

 

[spaceman]

Yep, thats me. I'm 38, and still listen to my favorites from the 70s and 80s, but over the past 10-15 years I have slowly evolved into a new realm of music. I have always liked classical, but listen to it more often. I'm really into space/ambient, and the past year I have started to get into downtempo. I think a lot of the music today sucks, and I cannot stomach top 40, rap, or any of that MTV ****. IMO, there is very little creativity in todays mainstream pop music. There are too many musicians (if you want to call them that) ripping off one anothers sound/style, so everything sounds alike....****...I'm sounding like my dad did about 25 years ago

 

[wallijonn]

is it a matter of our changing preferences, or of not wanting to be associated with the new gendres? is one more prone to listen to lyrics or melodies as one gets older? or is it because one wants music to seduce a date? is it because as we get older, some of us get closer to nature due to our understanding our mortality?

as a disco baby, I have made the transition to eurodance, hard house, techno and trance quite seamlessly.

But that doesn't mean that I'm giving up Big Band or folk.

 

[blip]

Boy my taste's sure have changed. I started off as a hard-core classical music guy. Oh I listened to a little rap and some top 40 stuff on the radio just so I could chat with the guys at school. But in the shower I was humming Mozart.

Then, sometime during highschool, I sort of lost my love of music. I think it was because I was listening to a lot of opera. I had been a singer since I was young and I had finally started to tackle semi-serious arias and a few serious ones. I had started winning junior competitions around the state. In general my musical life was blooming. Problem was, I lost my love of singing at some point along the way. I just didn't care anymore, it was like a job. Thus listening to music was just a reminder of my problems.

When I reached college, things started to change. I got exposed to a lot of stuff. I started out listening to random popular stuff, then one of my friends introduced me to trip-hop... and everything changed. I felt that love of music again. Since then I've moved into some IDM and a wide variety of other stuff. I'm even regaining my love of listening to opera.

Anyway, tastes change and that's okay.

 

[Mr.PD]

In the mid 70's I discovered music. Rolling Stones, Wings, Eagles etc.
From then all the way through the 80's I listened to and purchased top 40 stuff.
Then in 1991 my second wife and I were driving home from one of my step children's house (in a brand new Mustang GT) and on the radio was a program about The Guess Who. Since it was over a hundred mile trip we heard the whole show. From then until last year I listened to 50's and 60's oldies. I got bored last year and started looking for faster and harder music. I got caught up in the darkest desires thread here, and now I like black metal and that sort of stuff. I do still listen to 50's and 60's stuff often.
I will say that lately I have been searching for music from my personal "golden age". That would be mid 80's. Mostly for nostalgic reasons.

And the quest for better quality recordings is entirely from participation in this headphone hobby.

 

[bootman]

Quote:

Originally posted by spaceman Yep, thats me. I'm 38, and still listen to my favorites from the 70s and 80s, but over the past 10-15 years I have slowly evolved into a new realm of music. I have always liked classical, but listen to it more often. I'm really into space/ambient, and the past year I have started to get into downtempo. I think a lot of the music today sucks, and I cannot stomach top 40, rap, or any of that MTV ****. IMO, there is very little creativity in todays mainstream pop music. There are too many musicians (if you want to call them that) ripping off one anothers sound/style, so everything sounds alike....****...I'm sounding like my dad did about 25 years ago

Man that pretty much nails me. (even age.)
I'm sure that it's just a natural progression of musical maturity.

 

[elrod-tom]

It's a complicated issue....

For example, my first real exposure to music occurred when I was about two years old. I had an uncle who had just purchased his first good hi-fi system, and all his old records sounded like they had been played on a nail. So, he gave a bunch of old stuff to me (and went out and replaced it). The Turtles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones...and, of course, the Beatles. Yesterday and Today, Meet the Beatles, Revolver, and (of course) Rubber Soul. Still amongst my favorites today.

OTOH, there is some other music that I've sort of visited over the years, only to lose touch as the years moved on.

Recently, I'm finding that my tastes are running more towards very well recorded music. The sort of stuff that leaps out at you when you slap the cans on your head. Mellower stuff too, probably because I find so little free time to relax and unwind. That doesn't mean, however, that I've disposed of all of the rowdier stuff. I just listen to it in the car.

Oh...and the Beatles.

 

[Mr.PD]

I listen to different stuff in the car than I do on the headphones.
Black metal doesn't work in the car for me, with only a couple exceptions.
I really like the 60's hits in the car. Stuff like the Mammas and the Pappas, The Guess Who, Bill Haley, Fats Domino. But I also llike AC/DC and Fleetwood Mac and Molley Hatchet and Poison types in the car sometimes. I even have some Kentucky Headhunters, John Anderson, and Waylon Jennings mixed in with the Eagles and Alice Cooper for car music.

I think I may have hard time narrowing down my taste in music.

 

[elrod-tom]

I think that a lot of the issue is tied up in what memories are evoked by some of the older music.

The Beatles, for example, remind me of some of the best times of my life. When I was younger, full of awe and amazement at the world. I find that, when I listen to it, I often will remember something that happened years ago. Something that I'd forgotten about, save for the music in the background. Some of the best feelings of my lifetime are tied up in that music. How could I ever just walk away from it?

There is some other music that, when I happen upon it on the radio, I'll change the channel immediately. Anything from Journey's Escape album. Reminds me of an old girlfriend. Of course, it's all for the best in the end...it's not like that album was ever any good.

 

[Mr.PD]

Quote:

Originally posted by elrod-tom I think that a lot of the issue is tied up in what memories are evoked by some of the older music. ...........

You scored a direct hit with that post. I agree totally. Even with the part about Journey's album.

 

[Onix]

Quote:

Originally posted by bootman Man that pretty much nails me. (even age.) I'm sure that it's just a natural progression of musical maturity.

Sounds like me also, I guess we mellow with age.

 

[spaceman]

Quote:

Originally posted by Onix Sounds like me also, I guess we mellow with age.

Like a fine wine....smooth, full-bodied, not to complex.

 

[KR...]

Funny, the older I get the heavier the music I listen to gets. I still listen to the same type of music as always, just different newer bands and recordings (for classical).

 

[TravelLite]

My little theory about long-lasting (lifetime) music preferences is that for most people in general, these preferences tend to be formed between the ages of 12-18 years inclusive.

It's as if the child or young adult is most receptive to music "imprinting" during that period in their development.

In many cases this "lifetime imprinting" usually turns out to be the popular music of the era, whatever it happens to be.

Oddly enough though, the majority of my favorite music genres actually pre-date my 12th birthday, hence I consider myself something of an exception to the rule, LOL.

TravelLite