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Can we make major musical discoveries at age 50, 65, or 80?

Most if not all of us remember our early formative musical experiences vividly. Maybe it was a first live performance, maybe some new band an uncle played on his stereo, or maybe a staticky pirate radio broadcast of a brand new British song for those who grew up across the pond.

I first heard Abbey Road in my single-digit years. Come Together probably rewired my brains right then and there, for better or for worse. My parents liked classical, and I developed a long-lasting fondness for Brahms.

Later in life, more pressing priorities take over. Careers, raising families, spouses who consider music and the gear it plays on a waste of time and money.

And later, we often gravitate back towards music.

I could have been happy listening to glam-rock and prog-rock forever, but I was always curious about new music and regularly got infatuated with new genres and groups and artists. Some of these infatuations fizzled, like with black metal and post-rock. Some, like Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux, ignited a taste for Latino music and Spanish-language hip-hop that lasts to this day. Then, random encounters with the music of Floyd Lee and Junior Kimbrough reignited a long-dormant love for the blues, for good this time.

And (very) few other artists like F ck Buttons, though discovered well into middle age, had the same transformational effect on me that Eno, Roxy Music, Kevin Ayers and David Bowie had when I was 12 years old. Sadly F ck Buttons is no more, having disbanded after just three towering, monumental albums. To this day I listen to them almost daily, and I will only consider audio equipment that satisfactorily passes the F ck Buttons audition test.

Then just recently, an Audiogon member recommended German band Bohren und der Club of Gore as a gateway to Jazz for folks who don't like Jazz. Since I don't like a lot of Jazz, I figured I'd take a quick listen and not only I loved it, it immediately attached itself to empty receptors in my brains somewhere between ambient / drone / industrial and downtempo Jazz / Classical. The band immediately went into heavy rotation here in my humble abode. It is perfect focus music, too.

Which brings me to this thread. Have you experienced musical revelations later in life that equaled or bettered those from your childhood and teenage years? What were they, and when and how did they manifest?

Thanks and Happy Listening!

 

devinplombier
malbers
6 posts
 

Absolutely (54+ fart here). Honestly that’s maybe my favorite part of the easy discovery of new artists on Tidal. Influenced by my listening preferences. Or which artists were influenced by others.

I’ve been introduced recently to whole new genres I enjoy and currently listen to more than “the old stuff”:

- Orch pop (Agnes Obel, Fildel, Jesca Hoop etc)

- mellow Indy (Charlie Cunningham, Fink, Hollow Coves, Mighty Oaks, etc)

- Instrumental Indy (Khruangbin, The olympians, Hermanos Gutierrez, etc)

- Retro Soul (Thee Sacred Souls, Lee Fields, Monophonics, The Alton’s, Joey Quinones, etc)

etc

Right now I’ve been in a retro soul period for months. Sounds like old soul but it’s relatively new  

i suddenly found myself enjoying deep diving into artists that influence others, I “heart” a song I like for later radio station or deep dives when I like a never before heard / discovered song.

And my latest approach is I read Rolling Stones Magazine while listening and pulling up the artist I’m reading about.

So much great new music out there.

But never too old to enjoy something new id say!

 

rettrussell's avatar
rettrussell
192 posts
 

I stream YouTube music and am constantly amazed at how well the algorithm can predict enjoyable new music.

My current pastime for the algorithm is to simply choose ONE song I want hear at that moment, select it, and then see what comes next.

Hours can go by w/o being annoyed by the AI choices and I've been exposed to music I would probably never investigate.

mksun
508 posts
 

At 63, I am constantly seeking out new artists and genres while listening to a wide variety of music: Jazz, Folk, Rock, R&B, Blues, Electronic, Reggae, World, New Age, and Classical. AllMusic.com has been a very useful tool for doing the research. Some of my favorite discoveries over the last 5+ years include Spiritual Jazz and Neo-Psychedelia sub-genres and artists Aimee Mann, Rhiannon Ghiddens, Allison Russell, Cat Power, Neko Case, Kamasi Washington, The Natural Information Society, Muriel Grossman, Agnes Obel, Loreena McKennitt, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Meshell Ndegeocello to name more than a few. I still enjoy listening to my old favorites but limiting myself to that would get stale real fast.

stuartk
2,968 posts
 

@mksun 

It's Too bad Allmusic no longer offers the listening feature but I still use the site  along with Spotify and youtube.

stuartk
2,968 posts
 

@oberoniaomnia Yes; I know what yummy and adolescent mean, separately. What wasn’t clear to me was what, specially, you intended to connote by using them in tandem regarding music. It's still not clear, but never mind. 

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