"Why do old people hate new music?"

[dandrews]

http://www.clarksvillian.com/post/music-parents-kids-popular-hate

Excerpt ..

As I’ve grown older, I’ll often hear people my age say things like “they just don’t make good music like they used to.”

Why does this happen?

Luckily, my background as a psychologist has given me some insights into this puzzle.

We know that musical tastes begin to crystallize as early as age 13 or 14. By the time we’re in our early 20s, these tastes get locked into place pretty firmly.

In fact, studies have found that by the time we turn 33, most of us have stopped listening to new music. Meanwhile, popular songs released when you’re in your early teens are likely to remain quite popular among your age group for the rest of your life.

[Corgigal]

1. Been thinking about this a lot.

It bothers me. I then bother my kids. However, I have decided that I can like current music, but it must be allowed to have imperfections in it. Auto tunes, and Voice pitch correction is killing the human sound in music. I’m going with this.

[highplainsdem]

19. Agree about auto tune. And I really enjoy those analysis videos from Wings of Pegasus, too.

[ProfessorGAC]

24. I Can Hear Autotune

Unless it's well under 10 cents of pitch correction.
Then it can happen a bit more subtly and still be fast.
But, when it's at 20 cents, the sudden change in pitch is noticeable, even though it's taking place in a couple milliseconds.
If the error starts to approach a quarter tone, the correction algorithm can easily overshoot and you hear the artificial sounding glitch twice.
Listen to "Firework" by Katy Perry. You'll hear what I'm talking about.

[Corgigal]

25. Will do.

I don’t know when I can hear it or not. It just doesn’t have the correct punch, and then the singing can just be drowned out. So to me, it’s not memorable.

[tanyev]

2. I've been looking at a lot of music on YouTube lately for a project,

mostly 60s through the 90s, and I've noticed almost every song has a large number of "that was the best decade for music, they don't write songs like that anymore, etc., etc." comments. It's so pervasive I started wondering if people were getting paid to write comments like that. I can't imagine why, but I was surprised how much of that there was.

ETA: Also, I would listen to a lot more new music if the so-called music channels still played music videos all the time and I could just leave it on in the background. No, I'm not going to spend hours wading through iTunes trying to find new music I like.

[brewens]

3. I listen to new music. In '94, The Allman Brothers put out their, Where it All Began album.

I think it's as good as anything they ever did.

[luvs2sing]

4. I'm 64 and still listen to new music.

My parents listened to new music their entire lives.

We may be weird..

[Deuxcents]

5. Yes.. I think my generation had the best music

Resistance. Trying to change for the better. Against wars n violence. The best love songs w/o being unrealistic. I’m a child of the 60’s n at 74 I do try to be open for minded. I love Alicia Keyes. I do like songs that advocate for change. I’m not into hip hop but I know they have their appeal. Give me Pink Floyd. Jackson Brown. Roy Oberson.. the Traveling Willburys Bob Dylan. the Band. And too many more. I have to say.. since being on the DU.. I have been introduced to different genres n I appreciate it.. has broaden my favorites. Ty

[FM123]

6. I'm 60 now, and while I still love "my music"

I have three kids who always enjoyed sharing their music with me so I like new music too.

[cachukis]

7. False premise. Familiarity does bread contempt.

But that is not an excuse. Lazy brains stay in their comfort zone. Staying young takes work. Hang with the crowd that you feel safe among, is, well, safe. Same could be said of any age. Quincy Jones was old and led music to new ways. The Beetles outpaced the Scarabs. If you are with it, you can appreciate what's good. I suspect the other wants the mundane and trite to be better than it is.

[Thomas Hurt]

9. Panko, flour or corn meal...

[cachukis]

12. Simplicity rears it's beautiful head.

[relayerbob]

8. Fortunately, not true for me

At 64, I always want to hear new stuff. But yes, very sadly not true for most people. I rarelt listen to retro music, and gleefuly make fun of people stuck in the past. haha

[Walleye]

10. In the 80s rock stations in New York were so bad I developed a taste for jazz

I actually started in about 1972 when I saw Miles Davis and his large band open at the Hollywood Bowl for Blood Sweat and Tears. I got hooked on jazz after that. I still listen to the station, WBGO in Newark,New Jersey, I used to listen to in the dark room in New York. These days I like any music that’s good. Was it Duke Ellington he said there’s two kinds of music, good music and bad music.

[padah513]

11. Simple answer

Today's music sucks. Not all of it, but a lot of it.

[Midnight Writer]

13. In my 70s and still discovering new music every day. Youtube is a marvel.

Can't take the autotune, though. It's very unpleasant to me.

[hlthe2b]

17. I could not agree more on the autotune. Like cats screaming in heat.

[jmbar2]

14. I heard good music on FM stations when I was young

They played long versions of the latest songs and albums. Mellow DJs introduced listeners to hip records with no ads, and minimal talk. Today's commercial radio is pretty unlistenable.

Sources today are highly fragmented and segmented - Americana, country, bluegrass, jazz, rap, hard rock, metal, acid rock, etc.

Most of my exposure to modern music is from Saturday Night Live. What I hear on those acts are extremely repetitive melodies and canned beats. Nothing memorable.

I don't know where the interesting melodies and harmonies are coming from today. Perhaps Americana and jazz.

[Texaswitchy]

15. I think that is the way it is suppose to be.

I am sure my grandparents hated big band music.

I know my parents hated my music.

It is the way it is.

I listened to my granddaughter's music, didn't to anything for me.

Why should it

[hlthe2b]

16. I doubt many today hate it because it is "new," but because so much of it is truly "bad."

Seriously, I appreciate a lot of music from every decade including that from 10,20, 30-plus years before I was born and of course classical music from previous centuries. But, bad music and non-music is universally bad--whether "new" or not.

Sometimes bad is just bad.

[Tikki]

18. I am addicted to what I consider 'rock and roll' music.

I like what I like no matter how old I am/was when the song was released or when I first heard it.

But I love the teen-aged rush of discovering a newly released song that fits.

No one in my life has ever had a problem with me searching out new music; it is kind of a tradition in this family.

We casually share a new discovery with each other. Sometimes I will grab on to an artist's music that is shared.
And I can reminisce over an oldie.

I am a Senior Citizen.

Tikki

[highplainsdem]

20. I like some new music, but it has to be really good to measure up to the best classic rock.

Trying to think of an analogy. In a way, it's like watching the Kentucky Derby every year, even the years when there's a really great horse favored, when you remember watching Secretariat win the Triple Crown.

The '60s and '70s FREED popular music, unleashed creativity and energy we haven't seen since.

Billboard article from 2015 on why classic rock continues gaining younger listeners:

https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/classic-rock-radio-at-30-6806124/

Two more articles on the popularity of classic rock, including with younger listeners:

https://hubbardchicago.com/15-stats-and-facts-about-classic-rock-and-its-listeners/

http://www.insideradio.com/rock-is-on-a-roll-as-ratings-and-music-consumption-show-growth/article_d0ba997a-aead-11e9-aad8-bf34f42901be.html


When I skim through YouTube comments on classic rock videos, I see a LOT of younger people saying they wished music made by their generation was as good.

[pwb]

21. New music repeats too much.

.

[appalachiablue]

22. My parents & grandparents didn't hate 'new music'

esp. of our gen, the 60s, 70s, 80s which was mainly soul, rock, punk. They tended to be open- minded by nature while still respecting tradition and earlier music of all kinds. I'm basically the same way.

When young I was mostly into popular music 1960s- 1980s, and some classical, jazz and Big Band. I try to listen to some 'new music' - if it's good then great, if it's bad forget it, like any other style.

Until recently I never listened to much bluegrass or country music. I love it. Rock and soul dominated in my youth and I was ignorant and biased about a lot of country music. No more.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. Recommended

Good article.
I went well past the 33 year old number the author mentions, but I was still an active musician in a prog pop band well into my 40s. So, that probably matters a bunch as to when I "locked in".
I'll admit that I began to lose interest when production became close to the whole point, rather than the playing of the music.
Newer artists that still caught my ear, even in pop, were those I found it obvious there were musicians playing all the parts.
Not that I don't admire excellent production, but I've always found great production is icing on the cake. I don't want all icing.
But, the article is interesting. I'm glad I read it.