Do you find your musical tastes evolving as you get older?

[snacks]

I admit when I first got really big into music, it was mostly really terrible 90's grunge/rock thrown in with a little R&B and Hip-hop. (It was the 90's ok?) And then for about 5 or 6 years I was really into hardcore, metal, punk, but it was always sticking to one genre for the longest time.

Now a days, I really don't care. If it appeals to my ears it's ok with me, and I wonder if it's just me getting older or what. Anyways does this happen to everyone? I mean I was pretty strict about what music I liked up until a few years ago when I [re]discovered Robyn, and got into Lady Gaga and...

Well anyways how about you?

[Mirage]

I think musical tastes change, of course. At the same time, it is impossible to not also become older, because that's what happens when time passes. I don't think it is necessarily closely tied to growing older, at least not past the early teen years. I think it's simply because you've had time to hear more stuff, and therefore have a better idea of what things you like and do not like.

I've bumped into people who are ten years younger than me who like music I've just found out that I like, and I still like some of the stuff I listened to ten years ago. I've also bumped into even younger kids who like music people who are older than me also like. I know a 35 year old mother who loves snoop dogg too, while her kids hate the guy.

Another important element that is linked to being young, however, while not necessarily *really* defining someone's musical tastes, is that young people are more worried about not fitting in than older people. You don't want to be the only guy in your class that listens to an artist that is generally known to appeal more to females. However, when you grow older, you're more likely to not give a tit about things like that.

So yeah, I'm not so sure that age alone is the most important factor at play.

[snacks]

Yeah, I agree I'm not sure if age really truly is a factor in it. I thought it was for the longest time but I think I was just too set in trying to fit in and be popular with the people I wanted to be friends with. A lot of my musical taste now comes from living/being with someone who's about 8 years older than I am, had I not met him I wouldn't have discovered a few of the different genre's out there. I'm happy about it clearly, it just seems weird that I was pretty strictly "one type of music" for the longest time and now that's expanded and branched out.

[Shorty]

Absolutely. I still listen to a handful of bands I did ten years ago but mostly, I've evolved from terrible screamo/emo crap that I wouldn't be caught dead with now. I didn't want to venture outside of listening to my goth rock, emo/screamo or industrial crap.

I've learned to like a lot more of variations of alternative, too. The first time I tried listen to folk rock, I haaated it because I thought it sounded so country. I've learned to love it, though, as time has gone on. Folksy and indie is probably where I lean to more nowadays, anyway.

Still won't pass on country or rap, though.

[Jiro]

I don't know about evolve but expand definitely. My music taste widens as I find more and more bands who make music I enjoy in a variety of genres. I also have my little phases where I listen to one type of music more than others (not exclusively but similar in a sense).

[Aulayna]

My tastes expanded more than anything. I'm generally fairly easy going with music and will give most things a listen - my library covers a wide stretch of genres. I think I might be evolving somewhat in that these days I'm actually starting to notice the lyrics and meanings of songs a lot more - whereas in the past I sort of listened to music as a complete whole rather than just the lyrics themselves (hence why I also have a lot of non-vocal things in my library too - I was very into melodies in general)

[Shiny]

Considering I exclusively listened to R&B and pop music from age 7 to under, I'd say yeah my palette has evolved. I now listen to pretty much everything. Even genres I don't really care for like gospel and country, I have a few songs that I like from those less popular genres. Though to be honest, I've been listening exclusively House, Jazz, and Rock for the past two weeks.

[NorthernChaosGod]

My taste have kind of evolved/expanded over the years. When I was first really finding my own taste in music, I mostly listened to the standard metal bands like Metallica, Slayer, Black Sabbath, and classic rock like Led Zeppelin, The Who, Queen. A couple years later I finally started giving rap/hip hop a chance after finding some worthwhile stuff. A couple of years ago I started listening to more electronic stuff and it eventually reach the point where I love dubstep and trance.

The whole time I've been listening to heavier and heavier bands in metal though.

[Araciel]

My musical taste has matured like Incubus songs have.

[Mirage]

From funny to boring?

[Alpha2099]

About once a year, I go on a kick and I try to get a bunch of songs from a particular artist that I like, but don't have much of their music for whatever reason. It started about 3 years ago when I collected a bunch of Neil Diamond songs. The next year was Queen, and the year after that was Gordon Lightfoot.

[Depression Moon]

I still listen to the same music that I've been for as long as I can remember, but I've also branched out into more genres.

[Yeargdribble]

I suppose my taste has broadened, but I really don't listen to that much music. As I've had to play more styles of music to make a living doing it, I've had to brush up on things that I might not've enjoyed as much once. I have a much deeper appreciation for jazz. I really dig jazz now and it's what I'm most likely to play on my own for enjoyment. I can still enjoy some simple stuff (listening more than playing), but when you're playing popular pop songs a lot you start to see behind the curtain and scoff at the same 3 or 4 chords and appreciate things with a little more depth, but there's also more to it than that.

If anything it makes me despite the type of people who can hate Justin Bieber and sing the praises of other pop stars who use the exact same musical ideas. Music, at the consumer level, is about image... not music. So I generally am just sickened by pop music not even necessarily because of the music, but because of the following and the reactions of people to it all.

[The Man]

I would say I have developed an appreciation for more genres as I've gotten older. Over the past year I've been listening pretty obsessively to soundtracks, for example. I've always appreciated some video game soundtrack composers ever since I first heard them but for a long time I wouldn't really go out of my way to listen to anything outside of the games themselves. Several years ago I finally did start listening to soundtracks outside of the games, but I didn't really listen to anything other than game soundtracks. Lately I have been listening pretty obsessively to film and especially television soundtracks (it doesn't hurt that television soundtrack composition has improved vastly over the past decade or so, in my opinion).

I've always had at least a casual appreciation for most genres, but really my interest in most of them ebbs and flows. One year I'll listen pretty obsessively to alternative rock; one year I'll listen to a lot of hip-hop; one year I'll listen to a sizeable amount of jazz. The only two genres that have been constant large presences in my listening for close to a decade have been metal and prog, and I doubt that's going to change anytime soon.

That said, my favourite band has been Godspeed You! Black Emperor pretty much constantly since I first heard them nine years ago, and that is also something that's unlikely to change. My second favourite band, if I can ever even name one, varies widely depending on my mood.

[Araciel]

From funny to boring?

I meant I like things more mellow now, but that also fits.