At what point should you just give up trying to keep up with what's hip and pop in current music, lean back in your rocking chair, and just listen to them ol' time jazz records?

I listen to a lot of music and buy and lot of records, but lately I've been mostly been into older music, buying less and less new records and listening less and less to new stuff. I still might get some new records if they sound interesting or if there's a new releases by a favourite artist of mine, but mostly I've given up trying to keep up with what's trendy. Looking at the ILM 2007 tracks poll, I've heard exactly 6 of the tunes in the top 50.

I'm 28 now, I'll be 30 in a year and three months, so is there any point still trying to be cutting edge with my music taste? Does anyone besides DJs, critics, and people in the music industry really need to keep up with all the latest trends?

-- Tuomas, Monday, March 3, 2008 9:21 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

I'm going through the same thing, and I'm only about to turn 20 in may. I can't seem to be able to bring myself to do it though, it's like killing off a part of me, and despite how much I can tell myself its for the better, I manage to overpower myself.

one of the best moments of my musical obsession was when i quit caring about new drum and bass records. i had been buying other stuff the whole time, but i felt like i HAD to keep up with that shit. when i quit deejaying it and moved on, it was super liberating. since then, the % of old music increased and increased to where i am today.

I'm 29 and have pretty much always been more interested in older music, though I listen to more new music than I used to. For two or three years in my late teens practically all I listened to was classical, jazz and pop vocal stuff from the '20s-'40s. I've actually paid more attention to new music in the past seven or so years than I did earlier. In my teens it seemed less dangerous to invest myself in older music; I felt like I could have greater ownership of it. Newer music belonged to people who could invest themselves in being tastemakers. In the '00s, I've found that the combination of just being older/less insecure and the accessibility of new music via the web has made it all seem much more open and less personal; the sense of ownership isn't as important anymore.

Here's a related old thread of mine, although I drone on autobiographically in the last post:

Why keep current?

Although it's not all that bad for me, I did only hear Crank Dat Soulja Boy for the first time less than a week and a half ago.

May i borrow that phraseology, inhibitionist?

-- violoncellos, Tuesday, 4 March 2008 17:27 (Yesterday) Link

For a nominal fee, yes.

when you'll have children, i guess

them ol' time jazz records

I've never cared about what's hip or trendy - alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers. Nowadays I usually discover new music via music sites, friends (online or off), and such. Discover alot of old music that way too, stuff that's far from canonical.

I still need to discover most ol' time jazz records for the first time....

i think he meant: in what point should you just stop seeking for new music and listen exclusively to the things you already know

When you have children?! Hells no! You'll want some time to yourself and hitting the record shop and closing the bedroom door and putting on something new will keep you sane.

I keep up with my old favorites (Thomas Dolby's new album is pretty good!) and occasionally hear something cool by young artists (P.S. Eliot was introduced to me yesterday) but it's true that the past number of years I've been more interested in music from the 50s-70s than 00s. As Dan said upthread, I expect to run into things I love eventually - and ILM helps immensely in that respect.

well, for my friend's at least, it was the opposite..ot maybe it's just the age idk

alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers
alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers
alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers
alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers
alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers
alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers
alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers
alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers
alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers
alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers
alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers
alot of the new music I listen to is nowhere near the top of the charts or hyped by supposed tastemakers