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

@jrosemd I think that 99% of the music being recorded these days is crap - and my three sons, who are all. in their mid-30's - agree.  They listen to the same music as me - Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, NRBQ, They Might Be Giants, Chicago, etc.

It has probably always been true, that a very high percentage of music from every era, has been crap.

Everyone remembers Beethoven, Mahler, Brahms, Weber, Mendelsohn, Schubert, but how many remember the mediocre: Machaut, Ockaghem, William Byrd? Not to mention the dozens of others that we don't have manuscripts of their scores, because they were totally unmemorable. 

Do you think: Henry James, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Count Basie were the only big bands in the 40's?

Even the eras you mention as being so good, had a very high percentage of crap.

All I know, is within the genres of music I listen to, I have a hard time keeping up with all the great new music being released. 

@simonmoon

@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.”

I don’t see here an actual answer to my question or any actual scientific evidence in this answer to support the idea that people stop seeking out new music in advanced age due to “neurological changes.”
I don’t dismiss the idea on its face, but I prefer people cite empirical evidence when they make big, sweeping statements of scientific fact.

There is an older couple (at least in their 70s if I had to guess) in my community that are seen at most of the music and art shows in town, be them at art galleries or less-than-swanky bars. These shows may present art/music of wildly differing sorts, yet, there they are, dressed to the nines, gettin’ down and eagerly seeking out new art frequently, 12 months out of the year (nasty Alaskan weather be damned).

I understand that anecdote I just provided may be the exception to the norm, but I am still without data or empirical evidence to support the idea that neurological changes are (at least partially) responsible for people “giving up” on new music/experiences.

Actually, @simmonmoon, new jazz almost turned me off before I got into it. I subscribed to Jazziz magazine with the idea of using the magazine and its accompanying CDs as a gateway into Jazz. While there was some that I enjoyed, I was never really moved to start digging deeper. By pure coincidence I stumbled across an eBay seller who was slowing selling his deceased fathers jazz collection of about 3500 albums. Turned out he lived about 3 miles from me! I began buying 10-15 albums at a time, mostly 50s, 60s and 70s. I loved what I heard and and his prices were very reasonable, especially considering what fantastic condition they were in. Sadly, he passed away last December, I really enjoyed talking about music with him when he dropped a batch of records off. He still had about 2000-2500 records left, sadly I suspect his son just sold them as a lot at a record store. But I digress! I have followed suggestions on Roon and Qobuz based on the music I like most but I keep coming back to the vintage jazz that I want to listen to over and over again. The newer stuff just hasn’t moved me in the same way. That’s just the way it is. But saying I haven’t given more modern jazz a chance is just flat out wrong. I will try streaming some of the artists you mentioned above with an open mind, but based on previous experience I won’t hold my breath. But thanks for making an assumption about me based on knowing absolutely nothing about me other than two or three sentences I typed above.

It might be unwise to extrapolate too much from this very interesting study:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2800197

But it would seem to me that making an effort to broaden your horizons and seek out challenging music as you age can only be a good thing for both your physical brain and your mental health.

We should consider ourselves fortunate to have so much choice available to us, and also be among those who enjoy music.  I know too many people who are fully indifferent to music, and they're far poorer for it.

@jdougs 

You are correct. I should not have made assumptions about you. I apologize for that.

But, this place does often seem more about nostalgia, than about music.

And I was letting my frustration over the pretty consistent chorus around here of, "there is no good music made anymore", get to me.