Why do we stop listening to new music as we get older?

Hey @musicfan2349 

If you are "worshipping at the church of St. Miles, Art Blakey, John Coltrane, etc. " that is great. It's old music that is new to you.

I hope you also look into some of the newer jazz artists --  you know, the ones who are still alive and making music now. Appreciating some of that music may involve actively keeping an open mind (and ears) but I hope you will find it worthwhile.

A few, and not necessarily better than others:

• Tyshwan Sorey
• Jack DeJohnette (still playing at 80)
• James Brandon Lewis
• Matthew Shipp
• Jane Ira Bloom

It is definitely an effort to learn what's new and find what can excite one, as well as to open one's ears to the unaccustomed, as we get old(er). For this music lover, it's well worth it.

I feel sorry for people who don't try new music, whether it's just new to them, new to the music genre, or a totally new music/artist. I'm lucky, I get help from my 10 year old niece to listen to new stuff. Stay connected to young people, it keeps you from being a crotchy old guy.

I think Taylor Swift is fantastic and will rank up there with the great Jazz/Pop singers and song writers. "No Body-No Crime" is as good as any Tom Waits or Bruce Springsteen song. I could image even Bob Dylan writing a version of it.

And there is very good hip hop regardless of some people just absolutely hating it without trying to listen and understand it. Just the same as my Dad hating rock and roll ("Just a bunch of screaming, complaining and banging on drums" -- which also seems to be the complaints I hear about Hip-Hop today), he also saw no value in Elvis and the Beatles. "Give me real music" he'd say. My mother told me a story about how much my grandma hated Sinatra. "Evil music" she'd say to my Mom. My Mom and her sisters then skipped school one day and saw him sing in NYC when she was a teenager.

It's important to remember that searching out new music always takes a little time and effort.

It's all too easy to find good music at the start of your journey (be it via cassette, 45, LP, CD or the internet) but as time goes by, the searching will inevitably reap fewer and lesser rewards.

Take for example the world of popular music.

Once you've explored the back catalogues of the likes of Elvis, Buddy Holly, Phil Spector, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Dylan, Donovan, Bacharach, ISB, the Doors, the Velvet Underground, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles, ELO, Bowie, Pink Floyd, Paul Simon, Bob Marley, Sex Pistols, Joy Division, Springsteen, the Smiths, R.E.M. Morrissey etc it gets progressively more and more difficult to find the same quality of 'musical hit' that initially fuelled your drive towards this wonderful journey of musical exploration.  

Anyone familiar with US and UK singles chart history from 1954 to 2023 will understand that it was those earliest decades, particularly between 1960 and 1980 were the best hunting grounds for classic songs.

Songs that may well be timeless.

I haven't given up on new popular music being made today but neither am I prepared to put much of my increasingly more precious time and effort in towards exploring it: not when the musical bang per buck for me is so pitifully low in comparison to what's already gone before.

As we keep reminding ourselves, this should mainly all be about enjoyment, shouldn't it?

really? I’m in my 50s and still digging for new music daily to the point of totally forgetting classic rock and most of golden age jazz. Not only digging, but enjoying as well. Audiophiles are totally different story. They can get stuck on just 4...5 albums and never go beyond.

I’m a Boomer who considers discovering new music one of the joys of this hobby. Streaming new titles on my Amazon Music subscription makes this pursuit easy and risk free. I also consult AllMusic.com to help research new artists, albums and musical genres that I am unfamiliar with. It’s also a great tool to explore the back catalogues of artists I already know.