Music Taste and its Development

[videoheadcleaner]

Maybe this has been talked about before but after a recent comment on my chart about my music taste, I thought I would bring this up.

When does music taste start to develop and is there a point where we switch off?
The comment made was about my music being what I listened to in my teens and that my music should expand further back. Granted that my chart does have more recent albums (and my chart age is 18 years old) but I do listen to music before 1985. The Cure started in 1978 and I only started listening to them 7 years ago. Echo and the Bunnymen is a recent discovery. David Bowie was heard in my house at a young age but it wasn't until a few years ago that I really considered his music.

In saying that, for older generations, do you still listen to music you listened to as a teen? And does newer music become a 'no-go zone' because it is just 'ripping off the past?'
Are we all just frustrated teenagers listening to music our parents didn't want to hear? Or are we evolving beasts of music that consume anything that is listenable in a digital world where music is a click away?

[Bork]

I've had sort of this conversation many times over and around this site my chart and music taste is often considered stuck in the 70s and 80s. If there is any sort of unbalance in a top 50 list (which it isn't unlikely to be as there are way more than 50 great albums out there) that is an easy argument to make and one that some chose to go to, whether because it makes their own unstable ego grow a little as they can pat themselves on the back and claim that THEY INDEED are not of the narrow-minded sort, or whether it is actually an informed criticism.

Generalizing has it's limitations but is not completely useless, and to do just that I do believe most people form some sort of musical identity from around the first half of their teens until they get married and start a family (whenever that happens). That is probably because following music and all it's twists and turns is rather time consuming and at some stage in people's lives other things become more important to spend their time on. It's not just a matter of the self either as a lot of music influences tend to come from discussions with friends, and when they decide to use their time on other things the main influence and inspiration fades away. So yes, in general people are likely to have a core like of music that they listened to from, say, the ages of 14-20. They are likely to stray a bit from this core and incorporate some things that do not fit into whatever that core is, but when they talk about THEIR music, it most likely was aired during their teens. Individually pretty much everyone will deny that they themselves fall into this generalization, but pretty much everyone will agree that the generalization is valid.

Around a site like this I do however believe that you will not find quite the same thing. Most of the people who stick around BEA (or any other site like it) are likely to be more interested in music than the average person and likely to be more susceptible to music that does not fit into their core (granted, if you are still a teenager there is a chance you will fall into the main pattern still).

For the second part of the question, the rebellion aspect of music is important and will probably remain important. We live in a much more diversified world now than just a couple decades ago, however, and it is getting more and more difficult to annoy your parents with your choice of music. I still listen to a large chunk of the music I listened to as a teen, while some of it I have happily thrown out the window never to return to. I do keep up to date with most of the new albums that come out, I get my hands on everything that reaches the country, mainstream rock, and alternative rock charts, as well as the stuff that is heralded as great on this site (I do stay clear of most of the stuff on the pop and R&B charts). That said, I do think, and this might be a generational thing, that music took a wrong turn in 1991, brought on by the Kurtster and his likes. As soon as Nevermind hit the stores it seems that a decision was made that music was no longer supposed to be fun, riffs and hooks were banned, and lyrics were not good unless they were about being miserable and wanting to kill yourself. There are multitudes of exceptions on both sides of that line, but sticking to generalizations that seems to be the main route of good, popular music (as opposed to just popular. Any good looking 20 year old girl has always been able to sell a million albums based on nothing but ruthless commercial exploitation).

So, in short:

1. Yes I do think there is a point where most people not necessarily switch off, but gradually become less interested in taking new influences in. That point normally starts about when you get married. If you are really into music the decline will be a much slower one though.

2. For most people it becomes a no-go zone, not because of a conscious choice, but simply because of other things becoming more important. For most of the remaining people, the roots remain but flourishes off of them are allowed and often both uplifting and inspiring.

EDIT: Damn that got long. Sorry about that.

[Applerill]

Well, as I'm still an immature teenager, I am very easily swayed still at this moment in regards to everything, but especially musical taste. But there are certainly a few things that I experienced early on in life that effected my taste.

For instance, people will often ask me why I like female singer-songwriters so much. The thing is, back when I listened to Radio Disney, my ears were very valuable to me, and if a song was better than Crazy Frog or The Black Eyed Peas, I was infinitely grateful. This led me into artists like Avril Lavigne and Vanessa Carlton that I, in retrospect, realize that I probably wouldn't care for if it wasn't for that.

But yeah, it's amazing to listen to music from when I was a little preteen and how well it stands up over time.