Does music lose its 'wow' factor as you get older?

daninthemix

daninthemix

daninthemix

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I remember when I was younger, I'd hear a new great piece of music and be transfixed. It would have such a profound effect on me.

I haven't had that feeling for a few years now (I'm almost 30) and I was talking to friend of mine (much cleverer than I) who said he feels the same, and he thinks that in your teens and 20s you experience most of what life has to offer and it affects you, but then your senses become 'dulled' by age and the fact you've done and seen it all before.

What do you guys think?
 
You could be right. Or it could be that in the 80's and 90's when new music came out, it could genuinely transfix people, and these days the music that comes out generally sucks.

Maybe try going back in time and listening to some bands from the past that you haven't heard much of? If the music still doesn't make you go wow, then maybe it's your age. If something makes you go wow, then maybe the modern music you listen to just isn't as appealing.
 
I agree to some extent, in the 70/80's i had such a thirst for rock/metal, i would listen to albums none stop, now days i enjoy all types of music and there is the odd track that leaps out at me and makes me go 'wow' but now im a lot harder to please, i dont know if that comes from appreciating music more or cynicism.
 
Your senses don't become dulled as such, you just get harder to please. You see repeated patterns, recognise more influences, see the imitators and originality appears harder to come by.

These days I have to do a LOT of research to find an artist I really like. But when it happens it's all worth it.
 
im 43 now and cant stop listing to eminem,every track of his just give's me the "wow factor" and even some tracks on you tube i listen to still give me goose bumps when i listen to them.

but i think you are partly right as i had a massive music collection when i was a lot younger and now i just listen to tracks via the internet.

but eminem still does it for me after all these years.
 
Lysander said:
Your senses don't become dulled as such, you just get harder to please. You see repeated patterns, recognise more influences, see the imitators and originality appears harder to come by.

These days I have to do a LOT of research to find an artist I really like. But when it happens it's all worth it.
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I think that's more a fault of the music industry than of yourself.
 
Lastfm recommended radio.

Recently started up again and found about 4 new bands from 2000-2006 that I missed. That's just in a couple of hours!
 
ridiculous, its nothing to do with age, its just that you are not hearing what your ears now demand to make you go 'wow'
some people go through life never hearing music that makes them go wow, because somebody has to make the music before you can hear it, music is always evolving, somewhere along the line is the music you desire, but I believe people are lucky if they get to hear it, especially with the way the music industry pick and choose what we get to hear without actively searching for it ourselves, its better with the internet nowadays
 
On reflection, the amount of bands that made me go "wow" when I was younger wasn't very many. It can take me a while to get into bands these days, and that includes just listening to loads of different artists until I find one that clicks. But usually when I do find one such artist, it's the one that really does impress me.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I probably check out more new bands than ever these days, and that "wow" factor comes through checking out loads and loads of folk until someone really does blow me away.
 
Lysander said:
Your senses don't become dulled as such, you just get harder to please. You see repeated patterns, recognise more influences, see the imitators and originality appears harder to come by.

These days I have to do a LOT of research to find an artist I really like. But when it happens it's all worth it.
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I hate to be pedantic but you start loosing your hearing soon after your born, but this really only affects high frequencies so it's debatable if this really affects the way you react to music.

I do agree about being harder to please tho... I seem to be far more fussy than I used to about many new artists, it seems that very few of them are bringing something new to the table which is a bit of a shame... But there are still quite a few artists which have their own unique sound but they seem to be few and fa between...
 
Brilliant music is always brilliant. And new music will always be released which is brilliant.

However, when you are young and you just hit out of that period between childhood and adulthood, music suddenly becomes a lot more emotive and relevant (speaking from my experience)

This is a beautiful period; as all the great music from the past, of which there is almost a limitless supply, can come flooding into your life. You may discard what you don't like, but I found I barely had time to process it there was so much. Couple that with the new music of your day which becomes the soundtrack to your (and your friends) lives and you have an almost intoxicating few years where music is totally awesome and is something you can't imagine not being part of your daily life.

After that music doesn't get worse, you just get older and the wonder of music it isn't quite so intense. You've had time to hear and digest a lot of the old stuff and you have time to wade through the new stuff at leisure.

My experience anyway.
 
Very interesting thread and something a few of my friends definitely think is true. I think it's like others have said, music has to do more to amaze you as you get older as you get used to hearing similar patterns/chord progressions and so new music, even if it's great doesn't sound as fresh.

I've managed to overcome this by gradually branching out into genres I didn't listen to while I was younger, and that's not only making me a more rounded listener, but providing lots of cool 'wow I've never heard that before' moments. Last year it was starting jazz, and this year it's expanding that and also going deeper with my understanding of hip-hop. Saying that, I'll always love rock music and when I hear some new rock I love it's still a magic moment. I've been really exciting at the prospect of new Foo Fighters and Rival Schools already this year.
 
Superewza said:
I think that's more a fault of the music industry than of yourself.
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I disagree. Go to boards like /mu/ on 4chan which is filled with teenagers creaming themselves over music like Antlers, Mumford & Sons, Brand New, Sleigh Bells, Grizzly Bear etc etc. This stuff sounds incredibly overdone and derivative to me but they love it. And it sells - just the way the music I loved when I was a teenager sounded derivative to others. It's always the way: if you have a fervent interest in music, the more you hear, the more it takes to impress you. I don't think the industry's at fault, there are a lot of niche, technical, avant-garde bands who don't do it for me either. Some artists naturally have a certain magic to them and some don't.
 
Disagree. I think sometimes you need to take a break from a particular genre but I always manage to find new stuff that I like.

It doesn't help that chart music is really rubbish these days and I do feel popular muisc was better in the 70s, 80s and even 90s, but at the same time with the help of the Internet the udnergound scene from indie music to punk rock to hiphop to dubstep to disco to techno to boogie to electro etc etc is bigger than ever.
 
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Lysander said:
These days I have to do a LOT of research to find an artist I really like. But when it happens it's all worth it.
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What Lysander said. Aged 15-17 (1994-6), I was heavily into the charts. I liked the fact that it was mainly dance vs indie, a bit of jungle thrown in and very little room for anything else. I blamed Take That's split for the upsurge of boybands in 1996 and then all of that reality stuff in 2001 (Popstars) finally killed it off for me. Now I'm searching on unsigned artist sites like Soundclick to find the music that I like.

The only band I followed in 1994-6 and I still follow now is the Chemical Brothers.
 
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