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

Having an open mind to new thoughts and ideas has little if any downsides. When relating to newer(last 10 years) music the quality standard(content) has declined in popular music. Is "Bad Guy" a great song? The mainstream media thinks so. How many have read the lyrics? My 82 year old mother even knows the song and thinks the Duh part is cool(yikes), Paul Simon has nothing to worry about. My point is listening to new music does not give one "The Fountain Of Youth". or make you more open minded then someone chained to Greatful Dead recordings. IMO is just means you have lowered your expectations when critiquing new music. Not all is lost... Maggie Rogers, Agnes Obel, London Grammar, Gregory Porter, Kygo(house/chill), Rita Payes(jazz) and even 60 year old Jazz Pianist Renee Rosnes(to name a few) have all released great recordings in the last 10 years. With any luck major pop artists like Adele will step up their game(content) with future releases.

@bmontani I don’t find this to be true for me. I am constantly finding new music from all different time periods and genres. There are tons of new great artists but you do have to turn over some rocks. I find that having a streamer makes it very easy.

@chrisoshea Some do listen to new music...I’m 67 and am always discovering new music. Try Stereophile music reviews for some great stuff you may not have discovered yet.

I did not read the entire thread, but I am pretty sure there are other responses similar to the above examples.

I hope those of you who fit the above types of profiles, are the exceptions in the world.

This forum is not a fair sample of the general music listening public. This is a music specific forum, on an audiophile site.

The fact that people like this exist on this forum at greater numbers than the general music listening public is not a surprise. This site has the function of filtering out the more serious music listeners than would be found in the general population.

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

 

Because we lose, and no longer have any contact, interest, or understanding, of the world in which the people that create and perform the new music live in.  

Cheers

@jdougs As a 60 year old I listen to mostly jazz now which I only discovered 3-4 years ago.  As for contemporary music, not so much.  That’s a shame, those vintage jazz records don’t come cheap! 😂

With apologies, posts like this frustrate me. No wonder jazz has an ever shrinking fanbase. 

I am 65, and the amount of great, new, creative jazz being released on a constant basis, is hard to keep up with.

I could list pages of great new jazz artists, with chops and creativity to spare.

Craig Taborn, Michael Formanek, Mary Halvorson, Tim Berne, Alex Machacek, Snakeoil, Tord Gustafson, Steve Coleman, Gonzalo Ruplacaba, Hiromi, Johnathan Finlayson, Afashai Cohen, Mette Henriette, Ralph Alessi Quartet...

I also love the post bop, modal jazz of the past, but jazz is not a museum exhibit for me. The new, progressive jazz that is being produced is also incredible, in different ways as that of the past. 

@tylermunns How do age-related neurological changes affect one’s propensity to seek out new music?

One of the things most people lose as they age, is the search for, and love of novel experiences.

This is due to some of the changes in aging brains.