Aging and its effect on your musical judgment/tastes.

[God]

I'm generally very open to any kind of music and pride myself on having a good ear for things that may potentially have commercial success.

Lately, as I've been getting older - I find that touch starting to fade.

For example, where I was supposedly looking for the avant-garde and truly appreciated it, I am looking at stuff from a different perspective, specifically like "this looks/sounds really stupid."

Case in point, I'm watching MTV right now and Lady GaGa is on. Her image is something that makes me say "this is utterly ridiculous" and then I catch myself and say "shit, G - did you just say that? It's perfect and differentiates her from the other pop-princesses. Especially since GaGa's face is ugly, so the clothes draw away from that."

For example, I also heard an unsigned artist with what I considered the dumbest minimalist beat. A person I deal with looked at me like I was crazy.

For you older cats... do you find this paradigm shift happening?

 

[classic]

YES...
i was just having this conversation one of my with co workers.. I think this is the main problem in hip hop.. the generational divide... Soulja boy for example, of course older heads aint gonna like him because he makes music for 16-19 year olds... Personally i think his music is harmless, that's what kids are suppose to be listening to.. but for me as a grown as man, i gotta move on. Since hip hop is youth driven, the older it gets the more alienated its listeners become.

Every other genere of American music(blues, rock, R&B, polka, country, soul). The artist can grow old with his audience. The younger generation respects and loves them. THats why the rolling stones can still sell out shows to 17 year olds and 60 year olds.

Hip hop doesn't have that... you see the older artist trying to fit with the younger dudes, after awhile it gets embarrassing...(look at busta)

As i get older im finding my self gravitating to more musician based music that's laid back and has a message. Ive been rocking alot of Fela kuti/afrobeat Bob Marley and old soul.. I never rocked this stuff in my late teens early 20's. Back then it was all about who is the hottest MC or who got the hottest beats. Now as far as hip hop is concerned, i only check for a very select few.

I used to care about the trends and stuff, now i don't. Its just silly to me now. I feel myself slowly getting left behind on the trend train(I'm 28 now) and I'm cool with that....

class...

 

[Sincock]

I like to think that taste matures.
Lady Gaga isn't a great example, her image is a tad ridiculous. It's a good strategy as you outlined but...meh seems like a desperate attempt to dress up some more bland pop for teenage girls.
I dunno; I used to listen to shit like Merzbow and think it was cutting edge when it was really just a wank, (good for annoying people with, though)..
It's hard to be subjective on this topic. I don't think I would have liked Lil' Wayne any more if I was still 21 than I do now.
Also being able to discern what could have commercial success and making a judgement based on the actual musical value of something aren't often the same. Maybe you're taste is improving.

 

[mono]

As i get older im finding my self gravitating to more musician based music that's laid back and has a message. Ive been rocking alot of Fela kuti/afrobeat Bob Marley and old soul.. I never rocked this stuff in my late teens early 20's. Back then it was all about who is the hottest MC or who got the hottest beats.

same here. im also a lot more open to various styles of music now. i even catch myself listening to classical music and older punkrock type stuff at work, to name the extremes. but alltogether its rather about older stuff with more real musical background. there is great innovative modern music out there. rock, electronic stuff, even hiphop, it just doesnt get to be heard as much as it did. that documentary "before the music dies" is a perfect explanation of what the industry does to music.

surely, as im getting older, i dont fall as easily for certain stuff as i did when i was a teenager. because its just, as you said, plain stupid. "i wish i was a little bit taller...", "first of the month", we used to love those tracks, and i still kind of like em, but...today itd worm out a smirk of me, at most.
but on the whole, im not like todays music is crap in general, not yet. now that would be stupid for sure.

 

[samuelock]

i'm 18, so i guess nothing i have to say may be completely valid...

BUT,

over the course of around 5 years, my musical taste changed completely. i can't even turn on pop radio anymore, because i just start to get really mad at how shallow it all is.

probably started when i began to understand jazz...i value musicianship in music. if a song has great musicianship, then i can listen to it. but people like soulja boy and lady gaga...ew, no thanks.

leave me to my u2, miles davis, radiohead, toe, nujabes, eric b & rakim please..

 

[2GooD Productions]

Im feeling the shift.
My musical tastes are starting to open up, stuff I used to refuse to listen to Im now giving a listen.
I really dislike most pop music, and anything thats based more on gimmick than talent/originality.
As for Gaga, her whole persona is just another gimmick to make her stand out from the crowd, its obviously working.

 

[Big Tone]

ive always liked all kinds of music. i dont listen to radio anymore because 90% of it is just lyrics thrown on top of the beat. but kids are the ones buying the cd's these days so.... im an old skool guys always was so my ipod is full of stuff from 2003 and before. very few of the new stuff. and lady gaga was on american idol a few weeks back. and she is horrifying to look at. but as long as she selling records, nobody will care.

 

[skidflow]

sometimes I feel like I'm loosing my touch at times...but I think its just a case of "you being your hardest and worst critic" I dont think age has alot to do with it even though it does cross my mind. But making beats is totally different from rapping na mean...I mean wit beats its easier to stay relevant in music on the production side of the wheel rather than the performer or entertainer side....as you get older in this game you wanna kinda make a spot for yourself behind the scenes and what not...maybe helping develop artist sorta speak. The cats that listen to the same type of hip hop I listen to still think my material is relevant...and I'm older than some of the people I work with by more than 10 years. REAL HIP HOP IS TIMELESS THOUGH.

 

[Sucio]

I've thought about this quite a few times. Generally most of the music we love and enjoy has come from the times when we were teenagers. Because of that, we've grown biased towards that generation of music and the type of music that has come out around that time. This happened to our parents and it will happen to us (if it hasn't already), and it will happen to our kids. You notice this a lot more with hip-hop than other genres mainly because we are more in tune with hip-hop than other genres.

I know people who hate rock today but adore rock in their "glory days"- which brings me to my next point.

We love the music we love because it reminds us of our "glory days". Teens today are going to hear "lollipop" 10 years from now and they'll be talking the same shit we're talking..

It's a vicious cycle, but it must happen for music to continue to be one of the most important parts in our lives.

 

[Shonsteez]

i'm 18, so i guess nothing i have to say may be completely valid...

BUT,

over the course of around 5 years, my musical taste changed completely. i can't even turn on pop radio anymore, because i just start to get really mad at how shallow it all is.

probably started when i began to understand jazz...i value musicianship in music. if a song has great musicianship, then i can listen to it. but people like soulja boy and lady gaga...ew, no thanks.

leave me to my u2, miles davis, radiohead, toe, nujabes, eric b & rakim please..

Dam Sam! Your only 18 dude!?.....Fuck man, you got a bright future ahead of you. Everything Ive seen you post here on ill is impressive IMO...

Moving on tho....lol....I dont think your too young to have a valid opinion man, as a matter of fact - Id say your thoughts on this issue are practically equivalent to mine and im 28 so there you go....

 

[Sucio]

Doesn't matter how old you are...but as you get older, I think you'd feel exactly what we feel a little more.

 

[KurtisRich]

This is a good topic. I am 28. I think it varies. As for me, it's a habit to follow the trend of mainstream music because it's also part of my side job since I DJ too and that's pretty much all I listen to. I don't really have anything bad to say about today's music. I never do because I'm very open minded and will listen to anything new. If an 8 year old kid tells me to check out this song that Miley Cyrus did, I'll be like, "Sure lets hear it." But ofcourse, I have an outstanding collection of music from different genres and time frame too that I listen to from time to time depending on my mood. But I prefer listening to fresh new music because I get tired of listening to the same old stuff. It helps me keep my mind fresh as far music making goes.

What really amazes me is that most of the crowd I DJ for are young professionals ages between 25-35 years of age. I'll throw on artists like Soulja Boy and Lady Gaga on my set and surprisingly people seem to like it. I know people who thinks Soulja Boy's music is garbage and stuff. But..... when they're at the bar or club and hears that garbage music, they magically know the entire verse and chorus for that song. Funny huh? It must be the mixure of alcohol. Yea, maybe its the alcohol that impaired their judgement lol.

However, I do believe that my opinion will eventually change as I age. I can sometime feel the affect kicking in when I DJ. Especially when I'm in the middle of my set, my mind goes blank and I'm thinking to myself, "Damn... what am I going to play next?" Maybe I'm starting to lose my mojo slowly lol.

 

[Relic]

Ahem , God..... we say this all the time on here and you scold us.. lol

 

[slik da relic]

i was thinkin the same thing fake Rel..lol... i guess it finally hit him.

its funny, bcuz there arent many HIP HOP records from MY past that i can say was terrible... yet i can name NUMEROUS from the last 10 years... my ipod (psp) is filled with mostly 80s and 90s music... mostly NY/NJ music, with the exception of Dre, Cube, Kanye, and Em... we were taught and educated back then... we talked about the struggle... and we made good songs... people actually met up and WENT to the studio... none of this "email me the wav file and i'll have the verse on there for u 2morrow", never even meeting the other artist.

im done with listening to most new Hip Hop... i cant take all the synth sounds, and the bubblegum raps that everyone's doin now... i wasnt brought up on that, and its hard to stomach the simplicity of what's goin on right now... i'd rather listen to sports radio, which is what i do.

da real

 

[skidflow]

My musical taste has always been the same since a kid...I always like good music period reguardless. I started listening to classical music quietly at night about 10+ years ago. I love soft rock from the 70's & 80's. Always have loved soul, R&B, and Hip Hop. When one is fortunate to be around at the birth of a whole new genre of music thats when the game is different...you feel directly connected to it. I used to think the youngsters of today was f'n up the game but they just doing them whether it be wack, dope, whatever...but at the same time I still know where to find music that sparks the same feeling in me as I got when I was 18...and its just not 25+ year olds cats out here doing dope shit so "so-called Real hip hop will never die". This site is a prime example.

 

[afriquedeluxe]

I don't know about this. I think may be in most cases the older you become, the less 'fun' you become. Instead you are more 'serious' and 'sophisticated' and more than often you have seen it all before. Whereas in younger years (or in alcohol induced states as Kurtis mentioned lol), things are new and fresh and you are more playful and open to ideas adults would immediately consider silly. I don't know, just my thoughts.

 

[Shonsteez]

people actually met up and WENT to the studio... none of this "email me the wav file and i'll have the verse on there for u 2morrow", never even meeting the other artist.

Thats a good point Slik...
I think that things like this really ought to be accounted for as well in regards to how the game has been continuously evolving and changing because just removing that element of physical interaction together in the studio often makes a big difference IMO.
True, you can still make a hit song with this method but theres just something artificial about going about it this way unless its a last resort due to geographical limitations....

 

[Sucio]

people actually met up and WENT to the studio... none of this "email me the wav file and i'll have the verse on there for u 2morrow", never even meeting the other artist.

That's just technology making it easier... If it wasn't for technology, a lot of people wouldn't have been discovered.

I like the participation as well..

But if Nas is in NY and he wants me to send the track over to lay it down tonight......nothing better than an email and he can have a track done without me flying to NY..

 

[Shonsteez]

Like i said, "geographical limitations"....other then that tho its simply a matter of technology making people lazier.

 

[Sucio]

Yeah I was responding to his quote, didn't read yours.