Music - Important to you?

[imoldernu]

Thisis just a general question from one who used to listen a lot, in the younger years.
Today, not so much... more like traditional country, favorite classical, and my old favorites... Torme, Sinatra, Brightman, Doris Day and a few of the real old rock and roll groups. Probably ended around the time of the Beach Boys and The Carpenters.

So now, we're looking at the newest from Apple, which brought up the question.

When Apple launches its Apple Music streaming service at the end of June, it will affect things big and small in the music industry.

Hundreds of millions of iPhone and iPad users in more than 100 countries will get to try the $10-per-month service for free for the next three months when it is pushed to their devices with a free upgrade.

They'll get unlimited access to tens of millions of songs during the trial, and afterward be required to pay a monthly fee for access, instead of paying for each album or song download.

"It'll change the way you experience music forever," CEO Tim Cook promised Monday at Apple's annual conference for software developers, held in San Francisco.

My Way News - Apple Music brings change to streaming, but is it enough?

Not so much what's coming, but what your preferences are. Did you, like me, stop at a certain time, and stay with the favorites from your younger days?... Or... maybe you kept up with the latest. The new artists, the new styles, and (ahem)... maybe you find some comfort and intellectual stimulation from rap.

Instead of posting your favorite UTube clips, how would you describe your relationship with music today. Things like, do you listen once, or over and over to the song. Do you follow certain artists? Go to Concerts? download and play? Buy CD's? Save on hard drive? Listen in your car? Music throughout the house... speakers, or maybe headphones? And... do you pay for music? Serius or online per song?

We live a bit apart from younger folks and especially from kids. Have lost track of what is important today in music.

I think it would be interesting and fun to "fill in the blanks" and hear how "we" listen today. Would set up a poll, but wouldn't know where to start. Will you share you feelings, what music means to you, and how you listen?

 

[chilkoot]

I'm hesitant to get into this topic because I know I come off sounding like a cranky old man. But pop music today just doesn't speak to me at all.
Buying and sampling LPs used to my main form of entertainment. In the early days of the Internet I used to spend hours sampling music on Amazon. Not anymore though.
Ironically I never bought into the idea of "classic rock". The notion that music stopped being any good after the 70's seemed a colossal conceit. Unfortunately when I consider what I spend time listening to (lots of Paul Westerberg, Lyle Lovett, Warren Zevon, Kelly Willis...), that seems to be the applicable rut in which I find myself.
Still like CDs. If I really like something I'll put it on iTunes, then onto the iPod.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I'm 44, and definitely still interested in finding new music. I listen on Spotify, a premium subscription, and music plays during my commute, at my office, and at home on the weekends. I listen to a lot of newer bands, but also my old steadies, the music I've liked for decades.
The NPR tiny desk series is a joy, and I highly recommend one of their latest, called Anna and Elizabeth. If you've never seen a "crankie", it is worth it for that alone.
I also just read about Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard's new album, and I've got it cued up for tomorrow's commute.
I enjoy music from the 20-something Americana artists as well as older folks, but have always considered good songwriting to be my basic criteria.
I hope to never lose interest in the discovery of new music as I get older.

 

[jjquantz]

I'm hesitant to get into this topic because I know I come off sounding like a cranky old man. But pop music today just doesn't speak to me at all.
...

+1

I'll go farther than that, pop music after about 1950 really doesn't speak to me. I will listen to almost anything written (pop or classical) before 1950 and enjoy it, but the percentage of stuff that I enjoy that was written after about 1950 is incredibly low.

I can even identify the reasons (for me) that this is so:

1) electric guitars - I find the sound intolerable (and I even like banjos and harpsichords, go figure)
2) trap sets - I have a sense of rhythm, why does the beat need to be pounded into my head?
3) The lyrics mean nothing to me.

I spend hours every day with music - listening and playing/practicing the flute and harpsichord. I also sing with choirs and will sing old Irish tunes accompanying myself on the piano.

I absolutely LOVE music - unfortunately, not today's music. Fortunately, we live in an era where all of Western civilization's music is available to us.

It's OK to point out just how strange my taste in music is, DW does it everyday.

Responding more specifically to your musings:

DW and I attend 8-10 musical concerts every year, usually chamber music recitals and opera. Occasionally, symphony orchestra.

When I have our iTunes on shuffle (or Pandora, or whatever) the following genres/composers/singers are well represented: 18th century opera, 18th century harpsichord music, 18th century chamber music, 16th century vocal music, Western Swing, Big Band, Cowboy music (1930's and before), German pop music from the 1930's, American pop music from ca. 1890 - 1930, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Irish Tenors from the 1920's, etc. etc..

I listen to almost nothing that I heard growing up, all of my favorite music pre-dates me.

 

[Gumby]

I'm 44, and definitely still interested in finding new music. I listen on Spotify, a premium subscription, and music plays during my commute, at my office, and at home on the weekends. I listen to a lot of newer bands, but also my old steadies, the music I've liked for decades.
The NPR tiny desk series is a joy, and I highly recommend one of their latest, called Anna and Elizabeth. If you've never seen a "crankie", it is worth it for that alone.
I also just read about Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard's new album, and I've got it cued up for tomorrow's commute.
I enjoy music from the 20-something Americana artists as well as older folks, but have always considered good songwriting to be my basic criteria.
I hope to never lose interest in the discovery of new music as I get older.

+1 I have always heard that if you listen only to the music that was popular when you were 15, you'll eventually turn into your parents. I try to listen to new music on a regular basis, and I find much that I enjoy among the current generation of artists. I also enjoy the classics, of course.

Making music is as important as listening to it. I sing (tenor) in two choirs at my church - one is the more traditional church music and the other more contemporary. Nailing a difficult harmony is really rewarding. I also occasionally solo, especially during the summer.

 

[Meadbh]

That's a great topic, imoldernu.

As a child I learnt piano and singing and participated in competitions, sometimes earning prizes, but I saw classical music as tedious and stopped my piano lessons about age 14. I did take flute lessons for a year, much later, in my early 40s. Like every young person I was interested in pop music, but not obsessively, and I didn't go to many concerts (my first pop music concert was Janis Ian).

I have always enjoyed listening to music while driving. I do currently have Sirius in my car but probably will drop it this year. It doesn't have much of some of my favourite genres, like world music. I keep some CDs in my car, but I only change them while stationary. I used to like some of the classical radio stations (notably CBC Radio 2) but they seem to have been dropped from the lineup due to changing demographics.

In my 30s I moved to a city with a good symphony orchestra and became quite engaged by the development of the orchestra's repertoire and quality under the leadership of a very dynamic maestro. They started a New Music Festival which gave me great pleasure over many years. I also attended opera, ballet and international music performances (Sudhir Narain, anyone?). I have built up an eclectic CD collection (perhaps a couple of hundred CDs) but have not added to it in recent years because (a) I have enough and (b) I often listen to music on my iPad. Nowadays I spend very little on acquiring music.

Four years ago I moved to an area with a fledgling symphony orchestra. It is not at the same level as the one at my former abode, but it is improving under a young female maestra. One of my friends, a professional musician, plays in the orchestra, and it is a source of pride to see her performances. We are fortunate to have free public outdoor music concerts in summertime, lots of fun and only a block away!

One of my favourite things to do when traveling is to attend a classical music concert. I've enjoyed the San Francisco Symphony play new music, from the bleachers, for $8, a Dvorak recital at the Villa America in Prague, an chamber music concert on a rainy Sunday in Cologne, a delightful oerformance of Mozart's The Magic Flute in Montreal, and the Beijing Opera (with hilarious subtitles) in (where else), Beijing.

So I guess that music is an important part of my life.

 

[liveanon]

Still listen to and play music all the time. With the music industry in the doldrums everybody is on the road a lot more so its a great time to go to concerts too (Particularly for the 70s and 80s bands). Newer bands that are 'good' have a lot harder time reaching arena level status and you have to catch them smaller clubs these days.

As far as streaming, the best way to find new music is really random YouTube surfing. Start with something you like and just follow the suggested vids farther away from where you started. YouTube is also a great place to learn about music that flat out doesn't get played in the US. My kids are into music and bring a lot of newer stuff my way. Interestingly, kids today seem to have a pretty deep appreciation of classic rock as well.

In the car I really don't want to deal with random stuff that's not from my playlists.

 

[ejman]

Listening to music has always been a major part of my like and even more so after retirement. Unfortunately I have no talent for playing it. The room we use mostly at home is the stereo room with a couple of very large speakers, my LP's and in the back of the room my wife's computer station. Fortunately she loves listening to music too. Genres range from very early blues and Jazz to current electronica, I love it all ( well mostly all, I have a hard time warming up to rap and heavy metal).

I have a subscription to both Pandora and Beats and really enjoy discovering new music.I We also enjoy attending live music and go to the symphony at every opportunity , as well as Jazz festivals and local bars and restaurants with live bands.

 

[My Boss Is Springsteen]

I'm 57 ... still buy between 50-100 records (as in vinyl) a year. My rock room is an oasis in the desert of life.

I like digging deeper into older artists' catalogs, but I enjoy a fair amount of new stuff, too. Courtney Barnett is a real talent, imo. So are the Strypes out of Ireland.

I think the internet has made it easier to discover new music than ever before, but it's a little like drinking water from a firehose. So much to try to take in at once, but the hunt can be rewarding.

 

[Totoro]

Spotify had an interesting study released on this topic recently:

“Music was better back then”: When do we stop keeping up with popular music? | Skynet & Ebert

Especially this chart is nice:
https://skynetandebert.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/all_users.png

Basically proves the common conception that once you hit maturity, the average person disconnects from mainstream music. Unless you have kids

I don't listen to music at all myself. Never really have.

 

[Philliefan33]

I listen to music daily, either while exercising, puttering around the house, or driving. In the house I usually stream Spotify, Pandora, or iHeart Radio. My tastes are pretty much mainstream-- country, classic rock, "oldies" (since when is music from my high school days considered oldies?). I make an effort to listen to some current pop music so I can occasionally surprise my daughters with my playlist. I don't like most rap, but Eminem has a presence on my iPod shuffle for running.

Edited to add: I have gone digital for music. I usually stream and occasionally purchase MP3 music. I doubt I'll ever buy another CD-- why bother storing it when I can keep music on a hard drive or in the cloud?

 

[Ronstar]

I listen daily in my car or truck, and infrequently in the house. Country and classic rock. Almost always from a radio station, but listen to my iTunes when traveling in areas with few radio stations. Sometimes listen to iTunes when hiking and biking. I'm interested in Apple Music if it has a huge selection and easily accessible.

 

[jjquantz]

...
Edited to add: I have gone digital for music. I usually stream and occasionally purchase MP3 music. I doubt I'll ever buy another CD-- why bother storing it when I can keep music on a hard drive or in the cloud?

I made a big push to go digital back in 2006 with our collection. I digitized something like 600+ CDs. That still left about 600 LPs undigitized. Since then we have added several hundred more CDs and LPs. The size of the task is overwhelming and I still have a CD changer and turntable. Having said that, most of our "casual" listening is through the digitized part of our collection and through online streaming sources.

My two problems with online streaming are that, 1) within the genres that I like, their playlists are VERY shallow and we end up hearing the same few pieces over and over. Have others had that problem, or is it just an issue with those of us who are way out of the mainstream? 2) The other problem is that the online services don't seem to understand that a single classical music piece has more than one movement (or "song", in the dumbed down vernacular). It is quite disconcerting to have one "song" end on a big dominant 7th chord and have the next "song" begin in a totally unrelated key with a totally different orchestration.

 

[jim584672]

Bring back 8 tracks!
Get off the lawn!

 

[imoldernu]

In college, with a heavy course load in my major, I looked for some relief by trying to choose a "gut" (easy course). Every one I chose over the four years was more difficult than any of my required courses. And so my mistakes were, Comparative Religion, Astronomy, Art, Creative Writing and Music Appreciation.
..................................................................................................
Rarely have I worked so hard. One tiny part of this, in the area of Classical Music, was the 2 hour Lab and endless reading and dorm listening.. I won't aggravate you by explaining, except to mention parsing classical music. Listening and marking up empty pages of notation, for different pieces. Unless you have studied music, you may have no idea how complex this can be. Classifications that are endless and often extremely mathematically oriented... for pitch, speed, meter, rhythm, instrument, tonality etc. Trying to remember some of this, I came across this... a chapter on "beat"... a tiny part of the "gut" course surprise. https://books.google.com/books?id=jtBiPCkrhDIC&pg=PA138&dq=anacrusic+2&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAGoVChMI3Pq20YmFxgIVClCSCh09DwD8#v=onepage&q=anacrusic%202&f=false

For all of that ... the single semester has influenced and enhanced my enjoyment. I mean... how many people can listen to Beethoven's Fifth and think... hmmm.. anacrusic 3.

Aaah yes.... Parsing a symphony... My guess, one of the reasons for today's Rap.

 

[jjquantz]

DW was a music major, I understand where you are coming from, imoldernu! She and I have this very discussion about the different levels of listening every now and again.

 

[2017ish]

I have lousy ear for music, and DW laughs when I try to clap to a beat. Nonetheless, I enjoy listening. Like Alt-rock and Bluegrass mainly and continue to look/listen for new things that we like. (We leave the "oldie" stations to our sons)

We each have play lists for running, and DW has an iPod stuffed with her constantly-replenished favorites of the moment for background in the O.R. We are lucky to have a great local/Nashville radio station that highlights up and coming artists from the area, as well as more established acts. That station is essentially always on in the cars (including via streaming on long trips), and frequently at home.

If we hear new songs/artists that would be a good fit for our playlists, we buy tracks (and sometimes albums) at amazon.

Wish we had more time to go to concerts, although we do get to quite a few at the "free in the park" series, dive bars, and the Ryman. Once we retire, we expect to be able to do a lot more--seems like there are cheap shows almost every night, and we regret having to drop our symphony tickets because of too many scheduling conflicts.

 

[Meadbh]

Spotify had an interesting study released on this topic recently:

“Music was better back then”: When do we stop keeping up with popular music? | Skynet & Ebert

Especially this chart is nice:
https://skynetandebert.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/all_users.png

Basically proves the common conception that once you hit maturity, the average person disconnects from mainstream music. Unless you have kids

I don't listen to music at all myself. Never really have.

Interesting. I don't make any effort to keep up with popular music trends. In the car, I find myself gravitating to the 1970s and especially 1980s channels. Those decades cover my teens to early thirties, probably my most formative years.

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Music has always been a part of my life with exposures to different genres.


Choosing to play clarinet in grade school and sticking with it and picking up alto clarinet and tenor sax I got to play in the school orchestras and stage band - so got exposure to 'classical' and jazz, while listening to and collecting 'rock' in the 70's.


Music sources for me now span all genres, but mostly jazz via streaming (jazz88.org) as a refuge from the inanity of commercial radio.


But, I still hang out on different music & audio forums and get tips on re-issues of my old rock favorites or new bands.


And still heavily invested in CDs, SACDs, and LPs - will never give up physical media.


Every day music is on somehow someplace!

 

[martyp]

When we were in our 20's, DW and I had a modest LP collection. As soon as CD's came out we built up a collection into the many hundreds. However, as soon as iTunes came out for the PC and DW bought me an iPod I switched to digital downloads. Like the Skynet and Ebert study mentioned above I immediately built up a collection songs from my youth. Then I branched out to more current stuff and many different genres. My tastes are eclectic and depend on my mood.

I seldom listen in the house except on Sunday mornings when reading the newspaper. I will usually listen to classical or jazz. The vast majority of my listening is in the car. I've had Pioneer systems that allow me to play my iPod in the car. My entire music collection travels with me.

I've been to my fair share of big concerts and club shows. That tapered off in my 40's. Fifteen years ago DW and I started salsa dancing. I got into latin music big time. We danced to live music often. At 59 I'm still dancing. I went to an Eddie Palmieri concert in the park last month.

Music is and has been an important part of my adult life.

 

[bltkmt]

I'm 44, and definitely still interested in finding new music. I listen on Spotify, a premium subscription, and music plays during my commute, at my office, and at home on the weekends. I listen to a lot of newer bands, but also my old steadies, the music I've liked for decades.
The NPR tiny desk series is a joy, and I highly recommend one of their latest, called Anna and Elizabeth. If you've never seen a "crankie", it is worth it for that alone.
I also just read about Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard's new album, and I've got it cued up for tomorrow's commute.
I enjoy music from the 20-something Americana artists as well as older folks, but have always considered good songwriting to be my basic criteria.
I hope to never lose interest in the discovery of new music as I get older.

This describes me pretty well too. I listen to music every day - usually for hours. I generally use Spotify these days, but have a iTunes library with well over 50k songs. My tastes are a bit eclectic, both new and old.

 

[tulak]

This describes me pretty well too. I listen to music every day - usually for hours. I generally use Spotify these days, but have a iTunes library with well over 50k songs. My tastes are a bit eclectic, both new and old.

Same here. I'm in my early forties and still listen and look for new music.

I use Pandora the most at home, since it supports Sonos and they rarely play ads (unlike the iPhone version).

When I'm not at home, I listen to music in my library or use the ad supported version of Spotify. With the latest Apple Music announcement, I'll probably subscribe to either Apple Music or Spotify. I'm hoping that Spotify will match the family plan pricing, which is a great deal for families. But first I'll try out the free 3 month offer from Apple.

It's a good time to be a music fan.

 

[John Galt III]

Apparently I live in a music oasis. Free weekly outdoor concerts, in summer, thur, fri, sat, nearby at a venue which is (partially) funded by profits from a casino which was built about 7 years ago. And decent groups, too. In my car I listen to the classical or jazz stations only. There is decent new rock/hip hop/etc music out there somewhere, but it isn't on my radio. Refuse to listen to classic rock anymore. Heard it way too often. My favorite musical experience is sitting in on open-to-public recitals at local colleges: some very talented singers and musicians performing for free.

 

[NoiseBoy]

I own roughly 350 CDs, mostly pop and classic rock. Shopping for new CDs used to be a something I did a lot of with my friends. Anybody remember the BMG CD by mail subscription service? We used to work hard at signing up for the best deals and then quitting so we could join again. And then that whole "buy music" period just seemed to come to an end. I stay somewhat current by listening to the Alt Music channel on Sirius and checking out the latest Now That's What I Call Music CDs from the library.

Shortly after the iPod came out, I installed iTunes on my home PC and starting ripping my CD collection. The computer was in the same room with my exercise equipment, so I would listen to my collection and only rip the tracks that I really liked off of each CD while working out. I want to re-rip my music collection at a higher bit rate and switch to using the MP3 format instead of AAC, but that is a lot of work. Before I start that project I want to pick a cloud storage option because it just seems like the way to go. That project may have to wait until I retire.

Live music is important to me too. I mix sound for local bands, which has been my hobby since college, and I go to a number of concerts each year. Mostly outdoor festivals rather than indoor auditorium or arena shows. Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Joe Bonamassa are two of my favorite artists.

 

[nuke_diver]

Since I've FIRED and no longer have an unlimited data plan my listening to a wider variety of music has been curtailed. So mostly for now I listen to music that I have put on my iphone or the songs I am trying to learn how to play. It is pretty typical that we tend to like the music we liked in our teens and early 20's the most and while that is true with me I have opened the door to much more

I like a lot of different music and appreciate musicianship at any level and genre regardless of whether it is my kind of music or not. For example while I do not personally care for Country music, players like Brad Paisley I admire since they are remarkable musicians. This goes for everything, yes including rap. I pretty much like anything that is original, and not over produced (ie not the autotune of so much of today's pop music).

As some other have mentioned it is pretty easy to find good new music with the streaming services and Utube but it can get overwhelming pretty fast.