Does age affect your perception of music fans? - Music

CA Dreamin

Gender: Male
Location: LA

Words, this isn't a silly question. It's a good discussion and Gowi, bobby, and Michael have made great points.

I agree with Words that when listening to music, it's helpful to think of the environment the music was created in to gain a better perspective. We can consider the political climate, the cultural climate, etc. But sometimes, as bobby has suggested, maybe the best way to experience music was to be there when it was first released? Which is only possible depending on your age.

My favorite music suggests I'm older than I actually am. When I talk to older people who share my music taste, it's always a fun conversation. However I've received sideways glances, as if I can't possibly like the music as much as they do because they were when it was first released, and I wasn't. But whatever, I can't help what music resonates with me. I may have missed out on a bigger, better experience, but there's nothing I can do about that. I was born too late.

Anyway, age definitely affects your perception. But as Gowi has pointed out, there are other factors...experience and open-mindedness for example. And age does not always correlate to those. For example, baby-boomers who won't listen to anything post-1975.
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RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

There are rarely black and white answers/truths. As stated, context helps.

RockyRaccoon
Is it solipsistic in here or is it just me?

Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: Maryland

Moderator

I would have to echo what Gowi said. I don't think someone's age necessarily plays a part, though like he said, I may question their experience with a genre initially simply because, as younger people, they may be new to listening to music intently or new to a genre or something.

That being said, BEA is full of folks who are much younger than me and have way more musical knowledge than I do, so it's entirely possible for younger people to be well-versed in music, you've just gotta talk with them to find out. Don't judge a book by it's cover and all.
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glynspsa

Gender: Male
Age: 52

I'm 45 and my favorite period of music is 1966-1972. So I am a fan of music mostly from before i was born. i do like most genres of music except for those real loud head ache inducing speed metal. I used to be a preppy but a dead head, now i am more hippie than when i was young, so i never judge fans of a band by the media. Even Juggalos I have met some real nice ones. now i hate ICP but hey to each his own.

RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

Gowi wrote:

I don’t think it does. I think I question experience, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding over something as simple as age. I suppose sites like BEA is part of the reason why I don’t really seem affected by the age of a particular user or not – there are many users on this site and others who are younger than me and have a background or comprehension of genre material that I still don’t grasp. This is also true in the inverse of knowing people older who don’t really know what they are talking about; but that is most often to do with other factors than something as arbitrary as a numerical estimate of one’s age.

Well said.

carpents

Words wrote:

Today's culture really bums me out because the things we are glorifying are just in the moment and that really doesn't last.

If it makes you feel better, every generation thinks this.

To the OP: Age is going to influence what music was accessible in that all-important musical discovery stage of life. It's going to color everything after whether you want it to or not.

However, we've broken down barriers to accessing music. I have a family account with that rotten streaming service, so my son can listen to millions of albums any time he wants to. When I was his age, we were scouring bargain bins for good deals on CDs because we couldn't afford to buy new ones. Much of those finds were hidden gems that were 5-20 years old at the time, so it wasn't necessarily the music of 'my' generation.

Temporary33

Gowi wrote:

I don’t think it does. I think I question experience, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding over something as simple as age. I suppose sites like BEA is part of the reason why I don’t really seem affected by the age of a particular user or not – there are many users on this site and others who are younger than me and have a background or comprehension of genre material that I still don’t grasp. This is also true in the inverse of knowing people older who don’t really know what they are talking about; but that is most often to do with other factors than something as arbitrary as a numerical estimate of one’s age.

While I tend to agree with this, it seems more likely that an older music fan is to comprehend music of his time more so than someone who comes in and listens to it later. The whole "experience, wisdom, and understanding" bit is something that correlates directly to age. The older you are, the more likely it is you possess all three within certain parameters. There's no doubt that age doesn't necessarily dictate you possess any of these qualities, but it increases the chances of possessing these qualities as with experience generally comes understanding and wisdom and with age generally comes experience.

Though I will say I'm disliking this whole shift some people have over the last 10 maybe even 20 (if it dates that far back I wouldn't know) years where they think that age more likely gives you foolishness or stupidity rather than wisdom which is, to me, a complete waste of resources. This is obviously off topic though, but it's something I dislike in certain people where they dismiss entirely how age can actually affect other qualities of a person in a positive manner.

creator

Age: 36
Location: chicago

Discovering new music is a hobby just like gardening or knitting. Most people can take care of a potted plant, but how many people can tell a tulip from a lisianthus? The most important factor is how much time an individual is willing to invest - not their age, sex, race, etc..