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

I don’t ...

but yes, most people get "stuck" on the music they listened to from about age 15-22. Seems very limiting. It possibly has to do, at least somewhat, with personality types. I’m a Sigma (I’m sure people have heard of Alphas and Betas, but they may not know there are also Sigmas, Gammas, and Omegas ... and some researchers might include Deltas). Sigmas are never standing still when it comes to interests and curiosity. However, Sigmas are only 6% of the population. The vast majority of my music library is 2000 to now, even though my "stuck" period should have been the 70’s. I believe, like with most things, in general music has greatly improved since my "stuck" period. Again, in general, instrumentalists, singers and songwriters are more talented, and have built upon the foundation of the previous artists. The one thing that is lacking is originality. There are no more Beatles or Elvis Presley or Led Zeppelin or Van Halen or *Yngwie Malmsteen popping up.

Also, some people seem to think that new music is all pop, rap and hip hop. But there are tons of new and old genres available, and many of these genres have morphed into better versions of themselves.

* Non-musicians probably won’t know Malmsteen, but 40 years ago he caused a seismic shift in the way rock guitar is played that continues to this day.

Of the 6,000+ LPs that I own, about 800 are from that 12-22 years old age window (for me, more like 9-25 years, 1963-1979, more or less), which included rock n roll, rock, folk, psychedelic, and some classical, jazz, gospel and blues.

In my 20s, I explored other genres, including but not limited to: zydeco, reggae, bluegrass, swing, Afro-pop, Latin American folk, bossa nova, tango, world, modern and a lot more classical. Also punk and new wave.

in my 30s, I got into Afro Cuban almost exclusively.

From my 40s onward, I built my collection up fairly evenly among a variety of things.

I have to say, sadly, that though I do listen to current musical artists, I don’t do it much because I find that the stuff made after the year 2000 simply does not engage me. A fuss was made of Rihanna’s so-called comeback performance at the Super Bowl. I found it cold, sterile, musically simplistic.

I do have some early rap music from the 60s-80s: The Last Poets, Gil Scott Heron, Grandmaster Flash, Notorious B.I.G., a few others. As a general rule, I think rap is extremely limited. It’s all anger and misogyny, little in the way of music. I see others in this group also don’t care for the genre.

I have added very few LPs to my collection over the last 10 years. It’s all I can do to listen to the ones I have.

When some of us were younger, our exposure to music was "controlled" by the media (radio,mostly) that introduced us to it.  We liked what they played, and they played what they were paid to play, in many instances.

Naturally, the "college" FM stations were not governed by payola, so we were exposed to "newer" music by bands that these people liked--Dylan, Baez, King...and yes, Boston as well.

Today, with music literally "pouring" out of hundreds of sources into our many "devices," it is no longer "controlled" by a few record company owners or radio station people.  Thus, we have a very egalitarian music scene that may be a bit too diverse for many of us to discover.  Personally, I don't "stream" anything or DAC anything; I am an old fogey who listens to vinyl and some CD's, although I don't much care for the way they are compressed and mixed these days.  Their dynamic range is better in some cases, but compression in the algorithms and chips removes every "x" bit, which I find to be rather unfortunate.  This is not to say that in the day, music was not mixed down to sound good on a car radio, since it was.  However, LP's were usually more dynamically complete.

As for "new" music, I have a young daughter who constantly exposes me to what she and her friends are listening to, and I have found some wonderful and some horrible "new" music just as we had "in the old days."

Unlike one poster who said he does not relate older music to his past, I LOVE living in the past sometimes and the old music is a wonderful gateway to enjoy those memories.  What we used to call "soul music" is still terrific even if the lyrics are a bit saccharine.  Our LIVES were saccharine back then, so "These Arms of Mine" and "Lonely Teardrops" remind me of dances at the Original Club or our school gym (actually the old Armory next door), and hearing The Crests do "Sixteen Candles" or "You Belong to Me" by the Duprees--pretty misogynistic lyrics, but still--reminds me of wonderful times in my teens.  I would imagine that "Whoops, I Did it Again" (an AMAZING pop song) means a lot to those who were young when it was new.

So, I have it BOTH ways.  I try to find new stuff of EVERY genre--Hailey Whitters' album "Raised" reflects values from the Midwest that are universal, and Taylor Swift, even though not always in tune, has a knack for lyrics that are as good as any these days.  Doesn't mean a Coltrane song or even "Moonlight Serenade" or "Stompin' at the Savoy" are off my playlist, and the inimitable back-to-back guitar solos by Dicky and Duane on "Stormy Monday" Live at the Fillmore East stops me in my tracks every time to marvel at their musicianship.

I love music, and it really doesn't matter to me when it was made...

Cheers!

On the subject of "introducing others to new music", this "demo" CD was introduced in 1988, widely distributed, and experience by a group of primarily 17 to 22 year old audiences.

Artist/composers: Alfred Newman, Jennifer Warnes, David Benoit, Billy Cobden, Swing, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Stanley Myers, Beethoven, Dave Grusin, Vivalda, Bach, John Williams.

Installing SQ systems in car audio enthusiasts vehicles, introducing them to various genres, and watching them smile was fun.