Musical Tastes Mature With Age?

THis could only apply to me, I don't know. But when I was younger, apart from listening to whatever my mum was listening to (the Carpenters n stuff) I was into pop quite heavily. Then I hit 13 or summat and I got into indie stuff, held that through school and then in college (i'd be around 17 now) I got into the alternative scene. After tiring of that recently (now i'm 20) i've just expanded my musical tastes to include almost anything and everything.

So is a person's current musical taste reflective of their development as a person? As I said before, this might only apply to me, I dunno.

Interesting notion. I think I was fortunate in that I was brought up in an environment where I was exposed to a lot of different music and I've always had a pretty broad pallette of tastes. Of course, during my junior high and high school years I tended to eschew whatever was not popular with whatever clique I was associating myself with. I claimed to hate country, but it was an unfair dismissal because I hadn't listened to it.

Maybe it's not that our musical tastes mature with age, it's our perspectives that mature. Or, at least, hopefully mature. These days I'm unwilling to lambaste an entire musical contingent. There are some songs in particular I don't care for, butI've found songs in every genre that I can enjoy. For that matter, I've found that recently I don't eschew genres, but the notion of genres, the segmenting of music for the sake of marketing. I'd rather have all music placed together in order to break down the boundaries that have been raised soley for the purpose of advertising.

...But that's just my take on it. YMMV.

I tend to agree with impudite. Over time we are exposed to new experiences and our perspectives broaden (unless we closedmindedly resist change and prefer to remain ignorant...) and our musical tastes tend to reflect that process of maturity. It also depends on your musical exposure in childhood. My mother listened to a lot of classical music and jazz so I had sort of "high minded" tastes. I used to avoid popular music like the plague but recently I've come to appreciate some of it not for any sort of depth or artistry but because of the skill and craftsmanship it takes to write something that's simply fun. Another thing to consider is that after listening to one musical style for a period of time it gets effing boring. I, for one, would go out of my skull if I just listened to pop or hip hop or blue grass exclusively for more than a couple of days at a time. Perhaps that has something to do with why we explore new types of music over time.

I think when you're young, you want to feel crazy and listen to loud music. When you're old and you want peace because you're getting ready to die and you're reflecting on your life, you want comfort music (whatever you listened to when you're young, but probably something softer) and classical or jazz. How many old people do you see listening to metal?

My tastes have expanded so so so much the older I've got. Mostly, I listen to very slow, sad, and depressing music. I used to be all about black metal, hardcore, thrash, speed, grind, crust, etc... I still listen to that stuff, but, mostly I'm into old country and Mogwai/Boards of Canada type stuff.

I'm officially getting older.

my dad is 50 and he listens to some new stuff...he's got System of a Down-Toxicity and Linkin Park...but then he likes classical and classic rock stuff that i just can't get into...but he grew up with a lot of classic-rock band members...like, the bass player for Kansas was one of his childhood best friends and the lead guitarist for...i think the Talking Heads (adrain baloo or something) stayed in his room while he was off at college...his brother, Jim, who died when he was 25 in a car wreck, was this insanely good musician who could play almost anything...he did a set with Led Zepplin at a club up in Boston one night...he's got pictures of them on stage together, its pretty cool

I listen to alot of hardcore, metal......but i notice that all the songs i'm listenting to are more soft, depressing, such as a band called another days gain, they are Metalcore, but it has alot of breakdowns. Well i think as i grow up i will end up being like my uncle, He was a metalhead for the longest time, but when he got into his late 30's he just stoped caring for music and doesn't really listen to anything anymore.....will he doesn't have any special interest, he just turns on the radio and listens to whatevers on,.... changing stations

[Edited on Jan 10, 2003 by xKSEx]

i don't know if my tastes have matured any since some of the records i bought as a kid are still some of my favourites now. i just think you're bound to pick up some sort of musical sense over years of trial and error.

Yeah I have to agree that musical tastes develop as you get older. My musical taste over the years have changed a lot. Mostly I embrace more music now but I have noticed that as I embrace more music I also dislike some bands that I liked when I was stuck on one genre of music. Now those bands just seem to lack in a lot of ways. I mean has anyone else noticed this as well or am I alone? I know I have talked to friends about it. I could name some bands but thats just embrassing.

I've definitely experienced dislike and even disgust at some of the bands I used to like... I wouldn't go so far as to sell any of those albums tho, you never know when you need a slice of nostalgia.

I think I agree with the perspective thing. I love to listen to bands that I liked when I was a kid, I have the 80's metal CD's to prove it. On the other hand, there are plenty of things that I listened to at one point that I don't like anymore. I used to be into the goth scene, go clubbing, and listen to lots of industrial music. Then somewhere along the line I decided I liked real instruments better. I pretty much stopped buying industrial music, and since all my CD's got stolen, I haven't been tempted to re-buy any of it. Now I listen to all sorts of things, and I don't limit myself to genres. I am usually drawn to people's voices, and good lyricists, and those can be found everywhere, even in radio pop.

*buzzer* wrong.. at least for me.
When I was in elementary school I was listening to "soft rock". Pleast don't ask.

It got progressively less serious...

And now a few of my favorite albums are Powerpuff Girl soundtracks and stuff from the Kindercore label.

Hi, my name is Living Proof. Nice to meet you.

Its ironic that one of my first favorite bands was DEVO, since my musical taste has, if anything, devolved. Growing up none of my friends really listened to much music, so all I knew was what my parents liked and all I knew was that it was bad. Same with radio music. The first song I ever remember actually liking was that Danger Zone song, and that only because it could have been soundtrack music for GI Joe (I was about 7 at the time). The first music-ey music I really started listening to was old punk rock and such, and ever since then I have progressively downgraded to the likes of metal and psychobilly and real bad garage punk. Yup, so as opposed to maturing, my musical tastes have instead immatured. That's why now I don't like songs that aren't about battle lust and blood and rock and roll UFO zombies. Such is the way.

I always felt that your taste in music always suited your lifestyle and you as a person. I still listen to alot of the stuff that i did when i was younger..but as i experience different things in my life (strong emotions etc..) i find myself graviting to music that also embodies what i'm feeling, living etc.. i dunno it's weird. Broad musical taste is where it's at..i think that developes more with age (in my experience atleast).

As for the older you get the lighter music you get into thing stated earlier..that is true for some people but there's this guy in Ontario called Spider who throws huge (well used to be huge) punfests 3 times a year (or more) on this huge piece of land he owns in the middle of nowhere...he's over 60 and is one of the coolest people i've ever met.

maybe music just improve the older we get? REAL music, ya know..... maybe not.....

I think alot of what people are saying here is tru, but I find myself going back to much of the stuff Iwas listening to 10 years ago, and over the past 5 years got into Johnny Cash (always said I hated country) and so on, so who knows for sure.

You probably just thought you hated country cuz the crap on the radio sucks...

as Hank III says..."the kind of country I'm hearing sounds like a lot of fuckin' shit to me."

within the last year ive gotten into cash. good stuff, nice and depressing. his latest is nice. i like the hurt cover...well, its mostly all covers, and all good.

absolutely, my musical tastes have broadened as i''ve grown older. Almost everyone's does. I say almost, because i've got a friend who still prety much follows the crowd and listenst to music which is associated with 'the latest scene' or whatever. Secretly, I laugh at him.

Yeah my tatses have changed as I matured?

70's Rock Soul(teens), Punk (20yrs- now) if I ever decide Jazz is cool Pahleez shoot me!

Good music is good music. If there is talent and feeling in the music, all that's left is for someone to be able to connect the music to their lives in some way. And most older people don't have as much to be angry about as people our age. At this age, we have greater emotional peaks than most, so we listen to more extreme music.

I take that back if the jazz is old and has word like old big band jazz it's ok. But if it's going to be different every time they play it "you gotta get into the mood?" I don't care for it. Itseems like the grateful dead jammin' to me. Either the song has an end or it doesn't. just my opinion I need words!