Obsessed with novelty

[eddantes]

I can't listen to music that I know well :-(

In the past 5-7 or so years, I lost the will to "re-listen" to music I know and used to love. To put into lyric form "Yesterday's favourite; don't you hate it?" Now, it's not that I don't llike those songs anymore, it's that my need for novelty is far stronger than my need for the familliar. I am writing this post, because I accidentally listened to "Bad" by U2 for the first time in ... I dunno... 15-20 years? And as I was listening to it - I remembered why I loved that song in the first place, but... am I likely to que up a U2 album on Tidal - no. But I will walk through the "suggested new albums" methodically.

So what the heck is wrong with me - cause I feel I'm missing out. We can all agree - most music these days is just (to use the kids vernacular) a bit mid...

 

[mhardy6647]

I'm still listenin' to 11-17-70 (or 17-11-70 for the ROW), so I'll get back to you on your thesis.

 

[mhardy6647]

In seriousness, I am envious. I go through fits of listening to new music, but I don't seek it out... and I feel guilty sometimes, 'cause I know I am missing good stuff.

 

[eddantes]

Sorry MH - 'lil girls with guitars' isn't really my bag, otherwise I'd be happy to send some novelty your way.

If you ever need recs for 'lil girls with sneering attitudes and synths,' though - hit me up.

 

[Chr1]

This is interesting to me. I just turned sixty and suspect some of this is an age related thing.

I appear to be very different from most of my friends. I similar to you, rarely listen to the music of my youth now. Whereas they mostly only listen to it.

It's not that I don't like it. It's just that I know it so well that it seems boring to keep playing it now. I still do play old favourite tracks occasionally. Usually after a couple of drinks...And often accompanied with some dubious out of tune singing. Ahem.

 

[AnalogSteph]

I think there is this rift between those for whom music is mostly associated with their formative years before, well, life happened (and for whom nostalgia may be a driving factor), and those who kept up with new developments at least to some degree.

As for yours truly, I only really started collecting music in my late 20s, but even so a lot of it has come and gone since then. (I had a massive Kate Bush phase back in those days and rarely ever listen to her stuff any more, but still consider it super important that I did.) It doesn't always have to be the latest and greatest nowadays, I'm not that hip any more, but most of what I listen to is things I found in the last 2-3, 5, maybe 7 years tops (there was a bit of a pandemic in the way that put a damper on things for a while). That's in terms of new-to-me music, no matter whether it was just released or 40 years old. I don't mind listening to a bit of boomercore radio on the side and enjoying some old hits (or watching the odd YouTube reactionaries listening to same, though I'm picky these days), alongside the classical stations I can get here.

 

[KenMasters]

I keep current, most of the music I listen to is new, often buying the albums of artists and groups I like day one. I generally don't stream, outside of checking out new artists or albums I'm unsure about and monitoring the music scene in general.

It's this discovery period of new album I love, peeling away the layers, finding where it ultimately lays in my musical landscape. Once there, if I liked it well enough, it will be revisited from time to time.

It's not dissimilar to the way I rewatch movies, but prioritise films I haven't seen.

 

[dxmurky66]

I can't listen to music that I know well :-(

In the past 5-7 or so years, I lost the will to "re-listen" to music I know and used to love. To put into lyric form "Yesterday's favourite; don't you hate it?" Now, it's not that I don't llike those songs anymore, it's that my need for novelty is far stronger than my need for the familliar. I am writing this post, because I accidentally listened to "Bad" by U2 for the first time in ... I dunno... 15-20 years? And as I was listening to it - I remembered why I loved that song in the first place, but... am I likely to que up a U2 album on Tidal - no. But I will walk through the "suggested new albums" methodically.

So what the heck is wrong with me - cause I feel I'm missing out. We can all agree - most music these days is just (to use the kids vernacular) a bit mid...

Isn't it human nature - searching for the new/fresh. Most wouldn't keep watching Terminator 2, Breaking Bad, favourite comedy routines or whatever, after the nth time, no matter how much you'd enjoyed it.

I've listened to new discoveries on repeat, then more or less abandoned them once they got famous/songs became ubiquitous (hello REM/U2/The Smiths etc.). Your brain also reaches a point you know everything that's coming, so you can flip the track after 10-20 secs, but still get the same warm, fuzzy, nostalgic dopamine hit.

When I do go back to tunes I was obsessed with in the past, I think its subconsciously recalling how things were for me in that period, as much as the music itself.

I noticed, in my mid-40s, that I was mainly seeking out newer, younger, intriguing female artists - probably quite Freudian, where others would be considering starting a mid-life affair

 

[eddantes]

Isn't it human nature - searching for the new/fresh. Most wouldn't keep watching Terminator 2, Breaking Bad, favourite comedy routines or whatever, after the nth time, no matter how much you'd enjoyed it.

I'd agree with you except music consumption is not congruent with TV/Film consumption. Re-listening is a core function of music consumption; re-watching is a "nice to have".

 

[dxmurky66]

I think there is this rift between those for whom music is mostly associated with their formative years before, well, life happened (and for whom nostalgia may be a driving factor), and those who kept up with new developments at least to some degree.

As for yours truly, I only really started collecting music in my late 20s, but even so a lot of it has come and gone since then. (I had a massive Kate Bush phase back in those days and rarely ever listen to her stuff any more, but still consider it super important that I did.) It doesn't always have to be the latest and greatest nowadays, I'm not that hip any more, but most of what I listen to is things I found in the last 2-3, 5, maybe 7 years tops (there was a bit of a pandemic in the way that put a damper on things for a while). That's in terms of new-to-me music, no matter whether it was just released or 40 years old. I don't mind listening to a bit of boomercore radio on the side and enjoying some old hits (or watching the odd YouTube reactionaries listening to same, though I'm picky these days), alongside the classical stations I can get here.

I agree with the "new to me". Coming across, say, Max Roach or The Zombies can still be a fresh thrill. Kate Bush mentioning orgonon in her lyrics was also inspired

Music that immediately grabs me doesn't seem to linger in my future playlists as much as more "difficult" stuff that takes time to peel away the layers to appreciate.

 

[dxmurky66]

I'd agree with you except music consumption is not congruent with TV/Film consumption. Re-listening is a core function of music consumption; re-watching is a "nice to have".

I don't disagree, even tho I know people who seem only to watch Friends reruns, Frazier or Monty Python!

 

[eddantes]

I don't disagree, even tho I know people who seem only to watch Friends reruns, Frazier or Monty Python!

I am jealous of those people. How nice it must be not to have to wade through a pile of mediocrity to get that tickle one seeks. They just lock on to a thing and it serves their needs for decades.