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Maybe it's because they are reminders of a period in their lives that had a huge influence on them.
Why don't people keep watching the same shows and movies? Eat the same foods? Drive the same cars? Wear the same clothes? etc. Those things also remind people of fond memories.
Most people I know continue to listen to the same music from their teens/20's, but for the most part their tastes in other things change. Maybe once in a while they'll watch an old movie, but they generally watch newer releases. They prefer newer cars, different clothing styles. In fact, people's tastes tend to lean toward newer and fresher for most things (other than music).
It would be interesting if they could do a study where people were not exposed to music until their 30's, and see if the result is the same. I.e., is it nostalgia or is there brain development in one's teen years that causes them to stay fixated on certain music
I've wondered about this too...fascinating subject!!
I love the music I grew up with for the reasons others have pointed out, BUT, my favorite band from those years was the Moody Blues because they "spoke" to the loneliness and angst I felt as a teen-ager. Now, if I put them on, I still think the music is beautiful, but I don't want to "go there".
I'm so much happier now than I was then, so I just want to listen to music that is upbeat and will enhance my happy mood. Not depress me. That's my criteria nowadays, whether its Frank Sinatra or Jonathan Richmond---if you want laughs, You-Tube this guy. My favorite is "You're Crazy for Taking the Bus"...he's been on Conan several times. And don't miss "I was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar"....
Alot of my old music I'm just plain sick of too. Funny though, I work with some 20-somethings, and they have my era music (classic rock) on all the time. Whew! Currently, I'm into "Chicago", precisely because it is so upbeat and makes me feel good. Saw them in Vegas recently, and they still "got it"!
- used to listen to what kids listened to: classic rock and disco
- graduated to jazz
- never went back to rock or disco, except for "nostalgia" visits, so my taste did change
- don't know what kids are listening to today but, from channel surfing, it sounds like garbage
Some people need to "man up" if they lived through this era, and don't think this is the pinnacle of Donna Summer's body of work. LA freeways, curly "big hair," and Donna Summer on the airwaves. What an era!
Have you noticed that the type of music people are exposed to from age 10-25 tends to be the type of music they will enjoy for the rest of their life?
Certainly agree with this perception. I have friends only 8-10 years younger than myself whose music I cannot stand. They grew up in the rock era of the 60's, while my influence was the big band, old standards, and doo wop smooth sounds of the early R & B era. About the only new music liking I picked up at a realatively advanced age was the country sounds of the 80's. One of the jokes that I often make about myself is that I am so old that the songs played on the oldies stations are too new for me. Time Warner cable is often much critcized, but one feature that I very much enjoy is their Music Choice selection of recorded music, with a selection of just about any kind of music. My favorite is the Singers & Swing channel with music from the 20's thru 60's. While using a TV as a record player may seem odd, often do this for long periods while on the computer, reading, etc.
I've been through so many musical phases it's not even funny...now I tend to be obsessively into a small handful of songs, until I tire of them and then I rotate out the files on my thumb drive for the car and my playlists on my phone. It's rare that I find new music. Most of the time it's because I discover a band when they're opening for my favorite band (I've seen my favorite band 24 times and counting...) or maybe I hear some random thing on TV or something that leads me somewhere. There was a song on a commercial with two guys costumed as flies, "Born to be Alive" by Patrick Hernandez. I loved it from the commercial, so I snagged it on Amazon. My kids watch The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (actually whatever's on Cartoon Network) and there's a musician named Voltaire who did some songs for them. I fell in love with "Brains!" and became a huge fan. I had a classic rock phase (my 14 year old self thought the Lizard King was "like God, man") but I haven't been into that in a really long time. I like punk, metal, goth, 80's geek-rock, rockabilly, ridiculous gay disco, big band jazz, and the occasional showtune. I like some entertainment in my entertainment. I miss the MTV that featured Nine Inch Nails videos and weird animation...
What is psychologically interesting here is that I take inordinate pleasure in sharing my musical tastes with others and seeking common ground of some kind. I've seen people do this with food tastes, too. And other things. Seems the urge to "seek one's tribe" isn't lost in the teens and 20's.
My favorite band, the one I'm obsessed with, though...not an interest shared by many. But they did cover a song recently, that some of the classic rock enthusiasts might know...
I have an obvious answer...todays hip hop is musical puke
I saw an old rerun of Hee Haw and they did a rap song. Of course, c&w style and of course, long before hip hop was invented. It was funny and yet made me wonder how many country fans would still want to puke. It was still country. It just wasn't performed by inner city blacks. And yes, I am well aware that there are groups like eminem and beastie boys.
My musical tastes have always evolved. I definitely do not listen to what I did from ages 10 to 25 years of age. I try to keep an open mind. I actually can't stand to hear 70s music, because as a youngster we were HEAVILY into music. And I can't stand to heard those songs that I hear a thousand and one times.
Have you noticed that the type of music people are exposed to from age 10-25 tends to be the type of music they will enjoy for the rest of their life? Someone born in the 50s will have grown up listening to 60's rock and probably favors it over all other eras of music. Someone born in the 70s probably loves 80s music even to this day and thinks today's music is garbage.
People change their taste in other things, like food and clothing, but why does taste in music stay constant after their early/mid 20s?
Hmm, I must be the oddball, because I don't fit that mold at all. I do know people like you're talking about, though.
I'm a child of the 60's. Pop and rock of the 50's through the mid-70's remain my favorite era, although I've been more into blues for the last 30 years. It was about 8 years ago when I last listened to pop music. I was 52 then, so I guess I gave it a good run. (I finally hit a dead-end when I learned to hate the popular little-girl sounds and the horrid lyrics. One morning I was listening to some cat-screeching singer and it such torture that I decided "no more".)
But I have expanded my horizons a lot over time. In the 90's I picked up on outer-Louisiana sounds (zydeco, Cajun roots) and listen to those a lot. And in recent years I've learned to like Country.
I'm glad to have been a young person during the era of the BEST rock!
I grew up listening to everything. Dad definitely was of the belief about "If it ain't country, it ain't music." My mom grew up on Big Band music and pop vocals (Teresa Brewer, Doris Day, etc.) And I've been all over the board on musical tastes ever since. The concerts I've been to this year reflect it; Bob Lind, Danny O'Keefe, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Riders In The Sky, Firefall, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Carlos Nakai, Beausoleil, and others. Next month I'm going to Phoenix to see the Moody Blues and two days later an all oldies show with the Lovin' Spoonful, Vogues, and the Association.
I admittedly get into a nostalgia kick in more ways than one. Just last week I went through season 3 of the Andy Griffith Show dvd set. It reminded me how much I loved the Dillards (part of the Brisco Darling family). Same with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs regarding their relationship with the Beverly Hillbillies. In my mid 20's I discovered that there was more to bluegrass music besides the Dillards.
The area of music I focused on the most was 1964 to 1974. When disco became popular I just shook my head. Ditto punk rock, but after several years certain artists in those two genres did kind of step out to me and I found some decent music there.
Starting around 1982 I really went after jazz; Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery, Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, and many others. Ditto 50's country; Hank Sr., Hank Thompson, Bob Wills, Patsy Cline, etc.
Still, after all these decades, I appreciate good guitar (Chet Atkins, Liona Boyd, Jan Akkerman of the Dutch group Focus.) And good singing. I love vocal harmony (Everly Brothers, CSN, Beach Boys). And it doesn't have to be in just one genre of music. I'll be in the car on a road trip and I'll go back and forth with Cd's; Henry Mancini, Four Tops, Beatles, Doc Watson, King Crimson, Dave Brubeck, Emmy Lou Harris, Dire Straits, YoYoMa. I'll get on a background music kick when I get down to Phoenix next month with the movie soundtracks Wyatt Earp and Ken Burns documentary "The West."
I suppose for the same reasons people's tastes don't change about other things; many people value sameness, what they know, have memories with and feel the comfort of home for.
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Time Warner cable is often much critcized, but one feature that I very much enjoy is their Music Choice selection of recorded music, with a selection of just about any kind of music. My favorite is the Singers & Swing channel with music from the 20's thru 60's. While using a TV as a record player may seem odd, often do this for long periods while on the computer, reading, etc.
