Who is 'old' and still looks our for new music?

[The59Sound]

30 minutes ago, operative451 said:

Interesting answers, thanks!  And this appears to have turned into a 'find interesting music' thread! Even better...

I recently listened to the radio one rock show by accident and was quite surprised to find it was still mostly music by four generic white blokes, one who is shouting about how upset he is about something.  One thing with the more mainstream stuff, there are a lot of women and a lot of people of colour, often in the same band. And my personal Metal Of Choice is the Nightwish/Within Temptation/Epica stuff; aka Four generic white blokes, a female opera singer and an orchestra/load of synths pretending to be an orchestra. 

One of my favourite recent finds has been PostModern Jukebox who do jazzy versions of current songs, so go figure..!

You could argue that there are hardly any white people in hip-hop since race was bought up. 

[casapete]

I have amassed so much music over the years that at times feel there's no need / room for anymore as what I have gets neglected already. That's not to say I don't enjoy new stuff, but in reality don't have the time / interest to actively seek it out. Some people seem to relish latching on to something new, bang on about it for ages and then swiftly move onto the next new thing ad infinitum, after shouting to everyone how hip they are / you aren't in the process. Their need to constantly find something nobody else has yet heard becomes a bit tiresome. Reminds me of when I worked in a record store in the 70's - we used to sell a lot of Northern Soul stuff, but the minute a rarity became widely available then mysteriously everyone lost interest.

Most stuff that's new to me is a result of either a mate's recommendation / radio play / Later with Jools (know that's not a popular programme on here but has had some great acts on over the years ) etc etc. Having YouTube and Spotify to hand has been an amazing resource for me too, but I do find myself watching stuff that I've never seen before by bands I already know quite a lot TBH. That makes me probably fall into the category of old gimmer with limited taste I guess...

[operative451]

25 minutes ago, The59Sound said:

You could argue that there are hardly any white people in hip-hop since race was bought up. 

I was using it as a description rather than specifically 'race'.  Also while you could argue that most rock is 'four(ish) generic white blokes', lots of hip-hop isn't 'X number of generic black blokes'... But i also meant it in a 'oh look, that again' sort of way.  Rock isn't a disruptor any more, its what people in MAGA hats listen to... ;D

[wateroftyne]

3 hours ago, Japhet said:

My definition of new music is 'music I haven't heard yet', which could be something brand new or something written 150 years ago.

This. All music is new if you ain't heard it before.

[grandad]

Upon reflection, oh dear, I'm afraid not. I play music from the 20th century, mostly jazz from about 1930 on. The majority of pop music would be late 50's into the 70's.

As for anything more recent I do listen occasionally to current stuff via TV and radio but off-hand I can't think of a single performer or tune that has captured my attention of late.

My inordinate abhorrence  of Rap is unwavering. I am dismayed at the prospect of being labeled an old dinosaur but in truth it appears to be the case.

[BreadBin]

46. Listen to 6 Music mostly and have been introduced to some great new music via that medium. Also friends recommendations, this forum and video games have all been sources of good stuff.

I love new music, sometimes irrationally so!

[Dad3353]

My dose of new music comes mainly from the monthly Basschat Composition Challenge, where I come across some very fine stuff, of all and no genres. An inexhaustible source, it would appear.

I've not listened to the radio since the Home Service was switched off. 

Edited August 22, 2018 by Dad3353

[Passinwind]

65 years old, but pretty much stopped listening to much rock music by the mid 1970s. I'll play it myself from time to time in order to hang with friends, but in any case, Grunge is "oldies" in my world and Classic Rap is Old School. I frequently bust on my friends' bands by asking if they even play a single tune from this century, many don't. That's fine, a lot of the jazz I play and like is at least 70-80 years old. But for inspiration I've always generally preferred to listen to live performances rather than recordings. Haven't paid to see a cover band in probably at least a decade. My misguided youth wasn't all that much fun, no need to relive it.

[Kirky]

55 and I've never been more interested in new music.  I go to gigs in Leeds regularly at medium and small venues, pick up hints from my kids, two of whom are very into current music, have made friends with many of the folk in DIY bands in Leeds, many of whom are 25-30 years younger than me and who have endless recommendations of almost always great stuff.   They're interested in my recommendations too.  Listen to Radio 6 (Mark Riley especially and plenty of others).  There is SO MUCH great stuff out there, and a really healthy live scene.  One of the best things is the number of women making music now - they bring a real freshness to what had become a dull scene - not so much emphasis on musicianship, more of expression and performance.

[PaulWarning]

7 minutes ago, Kirky said:

 not so much emphasis on musicianship, 

perhaps as well in my case 

 

[Kirky]

I don't mean there isn't good musicianship.  Its just the boring old look-at-me widdely widdely macho stuff is not there.

[The59Sound]

Er... there is. Plenty of it. 

[BigRedX]

I think that there are two problems for anyone looking for new music whatever their age (I'm in my late 50s if that is important).

Firstly there is almost nothing that is genuinely new. No matter what aficionados of the latest sub-sub-genre of rap/metal/EDM or whatever would have us believe, it is still essentially rap/metal/EDM or whatever, and as such not really new at all. That said there is plenty of newly released music that still appeals to me, but I have to confess that most of the "new"  music I buy these days very much has its roots in what I was listening to in the 70s and 80s, and nothing that sounds to me as radically new and different as what I was hearing back then.

The last really different genre I discovered was Pico-Pop back in the early 2000s and even that could be dismissed as simply a Japanese mash-up of Chip-tune and Punk Rock.

Secondly long gone are the days when you could tune into a music programme on national radio such as John Peel and hear a record he had received in the post that morning from a band of new musicians who had formed 6 months ago and had done their first ever gig only 3 months ago. For instance by the time the first Royal Blood were getting noticed with their first album the band had already been going for about 2 years, and before that both members had been playing together in other bands. Even when the band itself is brand new, you can almost guarantee that one or more of the musicians will have already have a serious back catalogue of works from previous musical projects.

I'm constantly finding what I think are new bands only to discover on further investigation that they have an extensive back catalogue available on the download sites and a comprehensive Wikipedia entry listing many years of previous musical activity.

For instance of the 3 "new" bands I discovered in the last year only one - Prayers - had been going for less than 5 years and the other two - I Am X and Grimes - had already serious back catalogue of music available plus the fact that I Am X is the latest project of Chris Corner formerly of Sneaker Pimps who has been around since the mid 90s.

So... NEW music? I don't think there is any. Newly released music that I like and has the potential to become as cherished as the tunes I grew up with? Plenty being produced every week!

Edited August 23, 2018 by BigRedX

[operative451]

Interesting responses... :) Didn't like, Mozart of someone say 'There's no new music' at some point? :D  I think its true that current pop music is a lot more similar to the music of say 30 years ago than the music of 1988 was similar to the music of 1958. Not counting Shakin' Stevens!

But also certainly i think the Young People use things like Youtube as their primary music player, and there's a lot of diverse stuff up there. I think also its much easier now to get 'that sound' through digital modelling and just better quality of instruments being available at lower prices.  A lot if innovation has come from so-and-so band trying to sound like their heroes and getting it wrong.

[Nicko]

20 hours ago, casapete said:

Most stuff that's new to me is a result of either a mate's recommendation / radio play / Later with Jools (know that's not a popular programme on here but has had some great acts on over the years ) etc etc.

^^this^^

The moments I remember most distinctly were Gomez and The Vaccines playing on Joolz the first time - these were probably a decade apart. 

The only problem with Later (and Radio 6 and the like) is that they tend to play a lot of music that I really can't stand.  Whern the intro starts talking about a unique fusion of jazz and world music it's probably time to switch off. 

Other than that occasionally I'll see a support act that are worth checking out a bit further.  

 

[Passinwind]

Ughh, I posted my last screed before getting to the punchline. I go to every live show with the hope and expectation of hearing something new, even on the most familiar tunes a band may have been famous for over decades. And I try not to play anything the same way twice myself if at all feasible. Needless to say, studio work is not part of my agenda.

[PawelG]

I’m 27 and I do find myself listening to “old” music most of the time. I’m talking 50’s-70’s mainly. Some really great jazz funk bands from Eastern Europe, mainly Poland. Then you have things like Gabor Szabo - great Hungarian guitarist. He’s stuff from early 60’s sounds really modern to me.

Generally, I think there’s lots of amazing music to be found in every era/year/day.

Edited August 23, 2018 by PawelG

[operative451]

That up there ^ i have definitely been doing that thing of going back over the interweb and finding bands that i had heard about growing up but never got on the radio.  Just a few years back i was taken on a very happy journey by suddenly remembering Henry Rollins going on about P-funk...

[Frank Blank]

I listen out for new stuff all the time, I’m fifty-five. I don’t hear much anymore that particularly dings my dong but I (think) I understand that, it seems to me to be a combination of things. Firstly most people have ‘their era’ so to speak, usually the music they were into as a teenager, luckily for me this was Punk. I was introduced to music by my brother who is seven years my senior, he played me (or rather I listened to whilst he did) lots of prog and later Steely Dan and Eagles. Then the Punk thing happened and overnight I turned into a spiky haired vandal who lived in a squat. This was ‘my’ music, ‘my’ time, I stopped listening to the stuff my brother played and set out on my own musical adventure in ‘my’ scene. So now I hear music and I realise that very little gives me that visceral thrill that music did back then, but that’s because I’m older and have heard more things. Now I appreciate the utter brilliance of Steely Dan and I still listen to Yes and Pink Floyd alongside the Punk and particularly Post-Punk stuff of ‘my’ time. I realise I’ll never hear anything that will affect me as deeply as the first time I heard Metal Box by PIL or the first time I saw Bjork perform in a squat in Vauxhall fronting an amazing band called K.U.K.L. So when I listen out for new stuff I try to take into account the fact that nothing is going to top that or be so invigorating. Bearing this in mind I still enjoy some new stuff, my tastes have changed, I listen to a lot of Gillian Walsh, I like Jane Weaver, Laura Marling, I’ve finally caved in to Jazz. Mind you, the first time I heard Sleaford Mods on Jools Holland I was really digging it so the Punk thing has (thank Bog) left it’s indelible Mark on me but I have got to temper that with the fact that I’m not getting a second go at being that teenager wide open to the new world...

 

Edited August 23, 2018 by Frank Blank
Funkadelic

[Bluewine]

I'm open to new music but my genre is pop and progressive guitar, bass and drum driven rock. Not much new stuff for my for my genre that I know of.

Blue

[Woodinblack]

I am the old one in my band, early 50s, the others are late 20-30s. The guitarist, the youngest said something about me and old music. I pointed out he was the one wanting to play old blues songs all the time and I was the only one in the group that had gone to see several gigs by groups that had produced an album this year!

[bazzbass]

"New" music to me is when I go see a young band live in a pub.

 

Anything that is commercially successful these days is just rehashed tripe,overdone with autotune. In my day, if you couldn't sing in tune, you sucked and never made it. Now that is almost a recipe for success, sigh.

 

now get off my lawn you varmits 

[Skybone]

Why break the habit of a lifetime?

[grandad]

Yes I agree about the music of our teen years always being special. To be able to to play a tune or sing a song and give someone a moment of "oh yes I remember when and where" is that music-magic thing, that ability to entertain. The best audiences for a group of my friends are the freebies they do for the local old folks homes. Many residents can't remember what they had for breakfast but they know the words and sing along to every song.

So thumbs up for nostalgia - a place and time of happy memories.

At my music club we have teenagers to OAP's. Some of the younger members perform their latest compositions and everyone always gets an encouraging round of applause whatever, much like an open-mike night. The previous comment about more performance than musicality rings true to a great extent. I find much of it very repetitive with a whinging and whining quality and striving to reach a crescendo far to early and then not having anywhere to go. But we all have to start somewhere.

[operative451]

Maybe i'm 'lucky' my teenage years were in the 80s, so SAW, Rick Astley et al... Blegh... Also i have no desire to be nostalgic about my teens as they sucked!

Having said that, 1991-1994 Kylie is the definitive period!

I think autotune hit me like synths hit my parents ('But they're not even playing it! That's not an instrument! Look, they've got the tape recorder on stage, and where's the drummer?!') and the Bee-attles et al hit my grandparents ('its just clang clang yeah yeah yeah!'), its an unfamiliar sound used as an effect and sounds unexpected so your brain goes 'whauh?' I got use to it..