The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

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Arjen
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The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

Post by Arjen »

Hi Friends,

The recent death of David Crosby and Jeff Beck triggered me a question.
The joy of music in my younger days I think was the outcome of a common peer group experience, we escaping from rather narrow social life those days, dancing together away on random played 45 rpm singles, the joy nowadays appears to me as more related to determined individual listening experience of complete albums with more sophisticated music system than in the old tube radio or wireless transistor days. Apart from the joy I still experience going out for gigs and concerts and sharing ideas and experiences on this forum.
How about you forum friends?
Last edited by Arjen on 2023-01-21 18:49, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

Post by springwood64 »

Most of my life music has been a pretty individual pursuit.

In contrast, in the last couple of years, I've found digital music in the home has made it a much more inclusive and social activity, leading to discovery of much more music involving the whole family.

At the same time I've experienced a lot more live music with friends.
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

Post by ThomasOK »

There were times where I was part of the shared experience and other parts where I was less so. When I went to see King Crimson live it always bothered me when some idiot yelled "Rock and Roll" in the middle of a piece of music - especially if it was a quiet part. I came to listen to the music, not the idiot. With other music I might get more into the group feel. But then King Crimson was never into the rowdy crowds. Sometimes Robert Fripp would refuse to play until the audience was quiet. They took this further with the last generation coming out in suits and banning photographing or video making until after the encore. They treated it more like a classical concert where you were there to listen. When I really listen at home I generally want to sit down and listen to a whole album but I rarely get time. More often I am just putting on a soft jazz playlist on the Källa and letting it run. I keep it on all day for Lily as well.

This next part doesn't tie into personal experience but is just some unusual observations over the last couple of weeks that made me think. The first was an interview with Steven Wilson who has a strong solo career, was the founder of Porcupine Tree who recently got together again and did a tour which I attended, and is very in demand to remix albums. He started doing this for a lot of the progressive groups like King Crimson, Jethro Tull, ELP, Gentle Giant and Yes, etc. and lately has been doing other groups like XTC, Tears for Fears, Tangerine Dream, Black Sabbath and others.

In the interview he mentioned finding that his daughters listened to music in a completely different way than he and his generation did. He said that he (and this certainly relates to my experience) would hear something on the radio that he liked and would then have to find who the artist or group was. Then he would go out, buy the album and if it was good find out more about the group and it's members often buying other albums by the same group or featuring members of the group in different settings. His children, brought up in the age of streaming, didn't listen that way at all. When they wanted to listen to music they would ask him to play a song. If he asked "Who did it?" they would have no idea. They didn't know the musicians, groups or albums. They just knew the songs they liked and wanted to listen to that. Then the streaming service would play a similar song. If they liked it they would listen, if not they would skip to the next one. All the time they were blissfully unaware of who was making the music. He saw this as a paradigm change in the consumption of music (as do I now that it has been brought to my attention) and wondered how it would change the music business over the next decades. Good question!

The second one was an article about record sales and where that market is going. The article said that the record labels are signing their own death warrant by continuing to raise the price of records to squeeze every last penny out of their catalogs instead of investing in expanding production and lowering prices to make LPs a mass market again, which is what growing, successful companies do (Tesla, anyone?). But also in that article it mentioned that of the Gen Xers who buy LP albums it has been found that 50% don't own a turntable! They just buy them as a fan item, like a T-Shirt but cooler. So half of all those Taylor Swift albums that just sold won't be played. This also brings into question how much the vinyl revival is an actual revival of the way people listen to music and how much is them just buying the artifacts.

As Bob Dylan said: The Times They Are a-Changin"
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

Post by Charlie1 »

I think in some ways music played a more important role when I was in my teens with hormones running wild etc.
ThomasOK wrote: 2023-01-21 20:36 His children, brought up in the age of streaming, didn't listen that way at all. When they wanted to listen to music they would ask him to play a song. If he asked "Who did it?" they would have no idea. They didn't know the musicians, groups or albums. They just knew the songs they liked and wanted to listen to that. Then the streaming service would play a similar song. If they liked it they would listen, if not they would skip to the next one. All the time they were blissfully unaware of who was making the music.
Just to counter that, my eldest (14) is into music and most of the time knows who the artist is on the car radio during the school run - I often ask. Surprising really when 80% of her listening is to Harry Styles, and consequently, about 40% of our listening is to Harry Styles :D

Most nights we hear her upstairs marching up and down in her room listening through headphones - I can relate to that but with a walkman 3-4 decades earlier. I think she misses the act of playing a whole album though, or side of an album - the phone is just a jukebox. My youngest only listens in bed (quite regularly) but no idea what she listens to on spotify.
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

Post by Arjen »

Interesting contributions by Pete, Thomas and Charlie. I wonder if there are others on this forum to share their experiences with listening to music and being involved otherwise over the years, depending on age, on zeitgeist, probably influenced by developing technical music carriers/sources. Or is it only improvement of sound that we are interested in in this forum, delivered by ever sophisticated devices? Just asking.
Ps. Last night I was at a concert in early middle age church in the city of Leeuwarden of the Netherlands Chamber Choir and flutist Ana de la Vega. Most visitors were at some age. A wonderful concert, The Sealed Angel by Shchedrin, colorful layered harmonies, whistling and voice exploding in a way imo can’t be be reproduced on even the most sophisticated audio system. I enjoy my Lenco setup very much but some live concerts are hard to beat.
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

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Tonight enjoyed a gig of the Edinburgh based Young Fathers at Paradiso Amsterdam. A gig with hypnotizing rhythmic energy, which reminds me of The Clash, Specials, Therapy? With a hint of Highland, desert and jungle. Audience danced away. A pleasant surprise off the sofa from home. And tomorrow off the sofa again with John Cale, delivering Mercy.
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

Post by Arjen »

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Off the sofa Tonight a brilliant concert of the over 80 aged John Cale in the Amsterdam Paradiso.
Now listening on the sofa to his Guts album. Appreciating both tonite’s live gig and old vinyl album.
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

Post by donuk »

I think it is very difficult to judge one's appreciation of the music of one's younger days. Especially if, like me, you were a teenager in the 1960s - a time when so much great music was being created and popularised by records and radio stations.

So, for the sake of argument, I suggest that much of the 60s music was fantastic. That is, it is fantastic for me. For example I can remember where I was sitting in a pub when I first heard A Whiter Shade of Pale, and the young lady with whom I was. I was in another pub, with another young lady, when I first heard What A Day For A Daydream.

I love these two records to this day. The musicologists among you may have one explanation; the socio-biologists will have another.

The young ladies concerned have long since disappeared and were probably bored at the time. I would have commented that one could unquestionably hear the influence of Bach on Whiter Shade, and I would not have concealed my joy at hearing an unexpected major third in the second chord of Daydream...

But I survived and found the right patient companion eventually.....

So my memories of much of the popular music of this period is imbued with nostalgia and the joys of youth....

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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

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Astute observations there, Donuk!
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

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Missed Big Thief this time. One of my fav bands for the last 7 years. Listening now parts of the gigs from youtube via bluetooth on my humble Denon set in my summer holiday home. Dimmed light, closed eyes, far away sound like imagine myself in the back of the venue. Not the most sophisticated sound in terms of this forum but maybe even more, at least most thrilling anyway, like the wireless in my younger days.
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

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Last night at a gig in a small Venue PlayRoom, the Eric Boeren 4tet with Eric Boeren Trumpet, Michael Moore AltSax, Wilbert de Joode Bass and Han Bennink Percussion. Well known, aged musicians, they played with the likes of Sonny Rollins, Charlie Haden, Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy. The audience also rather aged. Wow, what a gig, what a sound. Hardly to reach this Live experience at home at my set. Actually, nothing can beat a good live session IMO. After the gig I asked some if they played their records or other jazz records themselves. Oh nay was the answer, this music is for us being ‘in the moment’. At home playing albums, not jazz, they say playing string quartets, like Bartok.
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

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Boi Akih at Bimhuis Amsterdam, Presenting them new Album From and To Infinity.Some fine ‘World Jazz Suite’. Some 18 years back they entertained family and friends at our 25th wedding party, nowadays they play the ‘stars from the sky’ at festivals like North Sea Jazz.
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

Post by lejonklou »

Wow, must have been cool to hear them again 18 years later, Arjen!
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

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For sure Fredrik, and on an international stage this time. Wonderful new album, check it, they should make it a vinyl too.
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

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That does sound cool. I'll have to check it out.
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Re: The value, appreciation of music in younger days and at some age

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Now that Bob Dylan has announced a new tour, I started to play a lot of his vinyl catalogue, like this masterpiece: Blood on the Tracks. Earlier songs like The Times they are A-changin (tonight from Greatest Hits) are more urgent than ever. He, Bob, still lives inside of me, after so many years, actually we ‘ve never been apart. So If you see Him, say Hello!
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