Is anyone else hitting that age where they're just not up on/don't care about music like they used to be?

[iamaom]

After your 20s is definitely the time dudes start to time capsule the music of their youth and stop reaching out for new stuff.

Early 30s: I did the opposite. After over a decade of guitar playing and discovering tech death and jazz I really struggle to go back and listen to stuff like Burzum or Amon Amarth. It just doesn't scratch that itch anymore and remind me of being a cringy highschooler.

 

[MetalDestroyer]

It comes and goes, along with my gear spending

 

[CTID]

i'm way ahead of you guys, i barely listen to music at all

 

[Emperoff]

You may have missed it, but there's currently a renaissance of hard rock with absolutely amazing bands. If you're into cookie cutter djentcore, sure you can get bored quickly since pretty much everything sounds the same.

Then in the middle there's still plenty of fresh bands to carry you on a lifetime. Heck, I saw Soen + Molybaron + Terra live and the three bands were absolutely top notch. What an incredible evening... Sweden specially is really killing it lately (well, it always did) as far as great metal bands go.

If you don't have much time to listen to music... Well, make it I guess . I still have CDs (not MP3) on my car on rotation so they get listened properly as we used to. I play music when working out, I play music when working (if doing easy stuff), etc.

 

[Triple-J]

I started to notice way back when numetal was fading that I had friends who moved onto other genes of metal or were still clinging onto the era of skanky dreads & baggy jeans like their life depended on it, tbh I don't blame some people for not moving on because music is an industry that thrives on nostalgia & if you look at the headliners of festivals like Download it's like rock music stopped evolving in 2006.

Overall I feel there's a mindset where you want to keep discovering new music/books/films/etc or you just want to remain with whatever brought you to the dance and I've got no problem with the latter but their lack of curiosity annoys me when I hear them claim there's nothing good around anymore when I know the reality is they're too busy wallowing in nostalgia to get off their arse and search.

 

[jaxadam]

i'm way ahead of you guys, i barely listen to music at all

 

[gnoll]

I've never in my life cared about what's new, hip, or what the cool kids are doing currently. I can't remember EVER looking forward to a new album.

But I keep finding music that's new *to me*. Like I always have. And if I've finished exploring one genre I go to another one. There's always more, I just have to decide where to go.

The music is out there. Old and new. Listen to it if you want. Or don't. We all have different interests and hobbies and we should spend our free time doing things we like. Maybe that's listening to music, maybe it isn't.

 

[Emperoff]

This thread seriously needs some Nestor:

 

[Kwert]

Yes and no. I love when I stumble across new music and I’m always listening to something, but I don’t crave seeking it out like when I was a teen. I remember spending hours trawling around on mp3.Com and the Soulseek Black Metal chat room searching for new bands when I was in highschool. I don’t spend nearly that much time investigating these days.

 

[HoneyNut]

I still listen to Ritchie Kotze and Greg Howe's 'Tilt' . Been on constant rotation for over 25 years at this point.

Joe Satriani's earlier stuff

No metal unfortunately, besides Meshuggah, particularly Chaosphere and Nothing.

But I love Virgil Donati's recent solo albums - Ruination etc. Simon Philips' solo albums.

Also Joshua Redman, Hiroki, Johnathan Kriesberg, Joe Hisaishi,

Few stand outs - Mariah Carey. I never sexualized her like lot of people did... I didn't like her music growing up. But I totally get it now. One of the best artists of our time.

And I feel the same way about Ariana Grande, and the Weeknd. They bring a very fresh take on pop, that's not just victimhood, or puppy love.

Besides, I love Robert Plants latest stuff.

And Louis Cole (Knower).

In regards to shredders, Sean Ashe deserves a lot of recognition. He's really good. Also looking forward to more stuff from Steve Vai's current guitar player, Frisilo (wrong spelling).

Of course I look forward to stuff from Guthrie and the Fellowship. Not to mention, Kiko Loureiro.

 

[Chris O]

Guys in their 30’s saying they’re “old”….

 

[jaxadam]

Guys in their 30’s saying they’re “old”….

No kidding…

 

[Demiurge]

Guys in their 30’s saying they’re “old”….

In fairness, in your 30s you might not be playing "what body part randomly hurts today" roulette, but it is when you start feeling yourself slide out of target demographics for a lot of things. As musicians, I think we're more comfortable going where we please and listening to what we want regardless of age, but I remember my 30s starting to feel like stuff coming out wasn't meant for me anymore.

 

[schaefertribe]

41 here, and I make a point to both hunt new music and explore areas of music I missed in the past. Getting stuck in a rose tinted rut is a real thing, but one I actively try to avoid. That said, part of getting older is understanding and being comfortable with precisely who you are, so it's not crazy if you just want to pick that thing and like it. There are no rules other than the ones you make for yourself.

Agree completely and I’d just add this: There’s never been more music readily available from more sources ever in human history than there is right now. Add to that with age, complex relationships, advanced life goals, established careers, etc. and the fact is that we don’t have the bandwidth to keep up with everything coming out. Plus every genre has a ton of heartless, cookie cutter, play by the formula garbage to sift through further jamming up our available bandwidth.
At 47, I’m still discovering fantastic music that I completely missed from decades ago in addition to new stuff…which, for me, is what keeps that indescribable feeling I first felt as a kid discovering music alive!

 

[yan12]

Lifetime music fan. I am 52.

I only buy CD's from artists I want to support as most of music is free. Unfortunately for the artists.

I follow players more so than bands. When I was a kid, I loved hanging out at Sound Warehouse on a Tuesday for the new records to drop. Read all the liner notes, traded, copied...it was a crazy time. First records I bought with my own money were If You Want Blood (ACDC), On Through the Night (Def Leppard), and Bat Out of Hell (Meatloaf) because it was the coolest cover I had ever seen. Great record too.

These days in terms of rock, I still listen to mostly older stuff I grew up with. The super shredders of today are technically unreal compared to most of my heroes, but they can't write a tune for the most part.

I listen to classical, jazz, country, basically anything but pop, hip hop, and rap.

If I have to pick someone that still inspires me and that is progressing on the guitar/songwriter front, it would be Michael Romeo.
I love his compositions and really enjoyed his last two solo records. He understands the entire construction of songs, not just his guitar parts, and that shows quite a bit when you break the songs down.

 

[RandomPolishGuy]

I'm 23 and I definitely don't care like I used to and it's just burn-out. I used to be up on everything, followed all the bands socials, stayed up on interviews, singles, album releases, what gear they were rocking, up and coming bands that were similar etc but I just can't anymore. I'm gonna be honest, after a pretty disappointing few years from my favorite artists and my music tastes expanding and leaning less towards the heavier side of things I've started finding the whole thing borderline obnoxious to say the least. And I know I'll get some hate for that but it seems like metal especially stopped innovating since 2015 or so and has been all about who can tune the lowest, who can be the most vulgar or politicial, and who can scream the lowest/highest while saying the edgiest things without really saying anything at all message wise and it sent me into a pretty deep depression for awhile because it was the 1 thing I always had. Maybe it's just because I can't relate to it like I could when I was an angsty 15 year old who wanted to see the world burn but it just doesn't feel the same and I usually find myself going back to older stuff just to feel something and I've honestly gotten more into Midwest Emo, indie rock/pop etc simply because I can relate more to it and it makes me feel something. It inspires me again. I highly recommend expanding your taste and that child like interest will come back

 

[cosmorenfro]

it’s called depression

 

[MikeH]

I’m 32 and just went through a resurgence phase of finding my love for music again, but I did hit that phase a couple years ago. It comes and goes. If you’re content with it, so be it. If not, just start checking out new bands.

 

[p0ke]

It comes and goes in waves for me. Usually the "waves" are just changes in what music I listen to - I only ever listen to metal, but the subgenres vary pretty much across the spectrum. But then I've also had a few long'ish stints where I didn't wanna hear music at all.

Right now I'm sort of between waves. I had a pretty long power metal run recently, and then I went from doom metal to melodeath pretty quickly and now I'm waiting for the next thing to kick in.

Usually a new album does it, sometimes from a band I already know, and other times one that I randomly discover through that new album. But then I usually get so hooked, I'll listen to said album until I never wanna hear it again. The biggest one I think was Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos. I was so hooked on that album that I think I listened to it exclusively for half a year I literally tried to detox myself from it by listening to other stuff, but after half a song of whatever I always just ended up going back to it. I had a similar experience when I discovered Periphery, but that didn't last quite as long. Also I had a very long phase of The Faceless, which (weirdly enough) I heard on the radio for the first time

Anyway, if you're anything like me, the "caring about music like before" will come back at some point, there's just no forcing it.

 

[lurè]

I'm reaching the point of caring more about the music I listen than the music I make..

Getting "old" and being nostalgic is just normal. You just go back to the music you listened when yo uwere the most "permeable" to influences (18s to mid 20s years old).

I do listen to new music and there's a lot of good stuff, it simply doesn't kick like it used to when you were younger and it's totally understandable I guess.