I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I was going through my old cassette tapes and songs that I have from when I was a kid. Listening to a lot of them I realized that while they were special to me and meant something to me, if I were to hear them now as an adult I'd probably really not like the song.
Has anybody else experienced that before? Is there a specific song or songs that come to mind? Wondering if I am the only one that feels that nostalgia is what keeps me listening to a song sometimes.
Ember, my parents controlled the radio in the car and the stereo at home--especially my mother. Not that I'm complaining, though. They had wide and overlapping tastes that ran from James Taylor to Jethro Tull. On a road trip, we'd hear Charlie Pride, Genesis, Sly and the Family Stone, and Willie Nelson. A lot of Beatles, Billy Joel, Elton John, Springsteen etc. Pretty much all that music still holds up for me.
What has faded over the years has probably been Southern Rock. There are still songs I like to hear, but they are mostly for nostalgia.
I pretty much stopped following new music when Kurt Cobain ended himself. I don't think I could listen to an album of Grunge any more. I don't think I could listen to an album of synthy New-Wave. Again, there are still individual songs I like to hear but that music as "genre" or whatever has lost a lot of appeal to me.
I have most of the music I ever liked on a USB drive that plays through my car stereo when I travel. The genres are all over the place, but what I listen to in any given moment depends on my mood. Sometimes I skip over the oldies, sometimes not.
So in my case it isn't a matter of not liking formerly favorite songs anymore, it's more of a selective yearning for a particular place and time that I want to re-live through the music of that period. It's all interesting, but not all at the same time.
Well, my tastes in music have certainly changed a bit over the years. As a kid and a teen, I really liked the Beatles.... they kinda started the whole crazy journey.
But, also in those formative years, there was a certain fascination with groups like, but not limited to....
The Cowsills, The 1910 Fruitgum Company, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, The Family Stone, The Grass Roots, and so many more. I had and still have widely diverse tastes in music.
While I seldom listen to those styles of music on a daily basis, I do occasionally enjoy the trip down memory lane and .... You take a bus marked Lakewood Drive and you keep on driving till you're out of the city.....
It's mostly country music for me now, or some of the new song writers, or old 70's rock when the music was fresh and still creative.
In a nutshell, there's really very little music that I listened to as a kid that I don't like now. I still love it all.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Oh - I have many of these instances. My teen years were spent listening to a lot of aggressive rap music. There isn't anything wrong with that per se, but my tastes have definitely changed. I'm still a fan of hip hop, but I've moved onto artists in the genre with more lyrical merit. Sometimes I still put on those old tunes for nostalgia's sake though, since I did make a lot of memories to those songs.
Oh - I have many of these instances. My teen years were spent listening to a lot of aggressive rap music. There isn't anything wrong with that per se, but my tastes have definitely changed. I'm still a fan of hip hop, but I've moved onto artists in the genre with more lyrical merit. Sometimes I still put on those old tunes for nostalgia's sake though, since I did make a lot of memories to those songs.
Curious to hear other's experiences with this
This is the original rap music. I listened to quite a bit of this in my time.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
I have most of the music I ever liked on a USB drive that plays through my car stereo when I travel. The genres are all over the place, but what I listen to in any given moment depends on my mood. Sometimes I skip over the oldies, sometimes not.
So in my case it isn't a matter of not liking formerly favorite songs anymore, it's more of a selective yearning for a particular place and time that I want to re-live through the music of that period. It's all interesting, but not all at the same time.
So it's more nostalgia based for you then? I feel that's pretty accurate to why I might keep some of the older songs around, although I don't think I actively yearn for a certain time or place so much as an emotion.
In a nutshell, there's really very little music that I listened to as a kid that I don't like now. I still love it all.
I guess my question was, if you were to hear it now outside of that time, would it still appeal? I still like the old songs I have from my youth, but I know as an adult if I stumbled on them now I wouldn't give them a second glance even if I still cherish each one.
In a nutshell, there's really very little music that I listened to as a kid that I don't like now. I still love it all.
I guess my question was, if you were to hear it now outside of that time, would it still appeal? I still like the old songs I have from my youth, but I know as an adult if I stumbled on them now I wouldn't give them a second glance even if I still cherish each one.
yeah, for me it is the memories that give the song its appeal. Hearing the same song today from a clean slate and no memories attached, I probably wouldn't linger on 90% of the songs on my USB drive. Interesting topic.
Oh - I have many of these instances. My teen years were spent listening to a lot of aggressive rap music. There isn't anything wrong with that per se, but my tastes have definitely changed. I'm still a fan of hip hop, but I've moved onto artists in the genre with more lyrical merit. Sometimes I still put on those old tunes for nostalgia's sake though, since I did make a lot of memories to those songs.
Curious to hear other's experiences with this
I personally used to listen to a lot of pop-punk and screamo (much to present me's chagrin). I don't listen to any of the old screamo anymore because ... really, what was past me thinking? But it did introduce me to a whole world of metal that I really appreciate, even to this day. I'm generally pretty open to any kind of genre nowadays. It's all about the emotional resonance with me.
Oh - I have many of these instances. My teen years were spent listening to a lot of aggressive rap music. There isn't anything wrong with that per se, but my tastes have definitely changed. I'm still a fan of hip hop, but I've moved onto artists in the genre with more lyrical merit. Sometimes I still put on those old tunes for nostalgia's sake though, since I did make a lot of memories to those songs.
Curious to hear other's experiences with this
This is the original rap music. I listened to quite a bit of this in my time.
When I was a kid there were 50,000 watt "clear channel" stations all around the US. At night you could have a good selection to listen to. For some reason (to this day I haven't been able to figure out why) I would go to sleep listening to WLAC which played mostly R&B and some serious straight blues. This is when I was around 12-13 years old.
Later came Elvis and the Beatles and psychedelia and that station and it's music lost relevance with me. But then after seeing BB King in 1969 (and realizing that the Allman Brothers were much more a bluesy jazzy rock band than a so called "southern rock" or "jam band") I renewed my interest in the blues - and delved into Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and more. And I maintained that interest through 30 years of playing in a bluegrass band.
Then six years ago with BiaB and the discovery that Janice could and would sing more than bluegrass I'm able to write and produce some blues songs.
I know I didn't mention specific songs but felt that approaching it from a genre thing wouldn't be too far off topic!
Bud
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Me, personally, I'm just all over the place. I listen a lot in the car on my XM Satellite Radio (I bought the lifetime single price subscription before they stopped doing that, so I've basically been listening for free for the past six years). I listen to the 40's channel, the 50's channel, the easy listening channel, the Contemporary Christian channel, the 60's channel, the 70's channel, the Bridge (mainly soft rock from 60's and 70's), deep tracks (classic rock album tracks), classic vinyl (60's/70's), classic rewind (70's/80's), the classical station, and several others. It just depends on my mood or who's riding in the car with me (I'm not going to subject my son to "easy listening" and have to get the "da-a-a-a-d!!!" from him).
There is very little I don't like (my wife says I'm not discerning enough), but that's just me. I love novelty (Weird Al or Spike Jones), rock, country, classical, easy listening, orchestral, musicals, broadway, some heavy metal, instrumentals (Bert Kaempfert), jazz (especially screaming trumpet like Maynard Ferguson or Bill Chase) and big band, and, well, I could go on.
I don't get much into the 80's and 90's channel (and that's not really music I grew up with), but do occasionally pop over there to listen to the songs that came out in my early adulthood.
I'll listen to rap and hip hop in small doses, but to me it gets repetitive musically. Some of it I view more as poetry (please, no flaming, just my opinion) with a repetitive musical backtrack.
And I love listening to the original music posted here on the forum, even if the vocals aren't perfect or a chord or note here and there is missed. I always stop and listen when I see someone performing live on the street, even when it's not the best. Because they're trying and the music still has something to say.
I'm open to anything new. Some of it I like; some of it I don't; some of it bores me; some of it excites me. But I also realized that most of it will resonate with someone, which is what makes music great.
I do listen to music for which I don't necessarily agree with the lyrics, but I do try to understand the context of the song, and so can still enjoy it. I will listen to both Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young, even though they both basically told each other to go f--- themselves.
But that's just my own weird self.
John
Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA
I listened to a lot of 50s through 70s rock when I was young but shy away from it a little more these days.
I'm weird as well John. I use Pandora and listen to channels I created on specific days of the week. I listen to these mostly when I'm out for walks solo or with my dogs....
Monday - 90's Alternative Tuesday - 00's Rock and Alternative Wednesday - All Rock varieties from 90s to today Thursday - 10's Rock and Alternative Friday - 70's Funk and Disco Sat./Sun. - 80's Pop
In the car I listen to local alternative, rock, and 80's pop stations.
In a nutshell, there's really very little music that I listened to as a kid that I don't like now. I still love it all.
I guess my question was, if you were to hear it now outside of that time, would it still appeal? I still like the old songs I have from my youth, but I know as an adult if I stumbled on them now I wouldn't give them a second glance even if I still cherish each one.
yeah, for me it is the memories that give the song its appeal. Hearing the same song today from a clean slate and no memories attached, I probably wouldn't linger on 90% of the songs on my USB drive. Interesting topic.
These are the thoughts that keep me up at night. They're interesting to think about, so I don't dissuade them from creeping in. I thought I'd share this one and see if anyone wondered the same.
Oh - I have many of these instances. My teen years were spent listening to a lot of aggressive rap music. There isn't anything wrong with that per se, but my tastes have definitely changed. I'm still a fan of hip hop, but I've moved onto artists in the genre with more lyrical merit. Sometimes I still put on those old tunes for nostalgia's sake though, since I did make a lot of memories to those songs.
Curious to hear other's experiences with this
This is the original rap music. I listened to quite a bit of this in my time.
I know it's not square dancing, but this makes me miss the dance hall that used to be across from my house. I appreciated the chuckle. Thanks for that!
When I was a small child perhaps, but since I got to adolescence and able to buy my own recordings, there isn't much that I wouldn't want to listen to now. The songs of my youth that I liked I still like, and the ones that I disliked actually have acquired a taste for some, and still dislike most.
My tastes have broadened as I matured. There are plenty of different types of music that I wouldn't go out of my way to hear when I was young that I enjoy now.
That said, there are songs of my youth that I wouldn't buy today if I had never heard them before. They wouldn't offend me, but some of them are just not interesting enough. But when I hear them on my digital Walkman mixed with the other 10,000 songs they are like old friends.
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They're interesting to think about, so I don't dissuade them from creeping in. I thought I'd share this one and see if anyone wondered the same.
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