FEATURE:
Old Ideas
PHOTO CREDIT: @raflfc/Unsplash
The Ways We Pigeonhole Music Lovers of a Certain Age
___________
I was listening to Lauren Laverne’s BBC Radio 6 Music…
PHOTO CREDIT: @tkirkgoz/Unsplash
show recently, and she had a guest on in his eighties that was invited to select songs. During the conversion, it became clear that we judge music fans of a certain age. The caller explained how, even though he was older, he enjoyed music from different years and artists. I guess, technically, older people are getting younger in terms of their tastes. What I mean is that someone in their eighties now would have grown up on newer music than the generation before - so it means a lot of the old-age clichés are redundant. I think we feel older people like easy-going music and artists like Frank Sinatra. That is true for some but, in a wider sense, why do we assume older people only listen to music from the 1940s and 1950s and do not have any consciousness of music since then?! In the same vein, we do not pigeonhole young people when it comes to their tastes. Maybe some feel that younger people only listen to BBC Radio 1 and middle-aged solely BBC Radio 2. The sort of ageism prejudice persist to this day, and it makes for interesting exploration. I do not think any artists explicitly markets their music for a specific demographic. Maybe a lot of the fresh Pop artists aim for a younger market, but even they would say that their music should not be limited in such a way. In the same way, artists who appear on radio stations with an older demographic are not limiting themselves to that age band.
IN THIS PHOTO: Rhianna/PHOTO CREDIT: James Devaney/GC Images
It is a shame that there is still this sort of patronising attitude around. I shall explore older people and musical tastes soon. There is some rationale as to why people rigidly define older people and their tastes. Drawing from an article in The Verge from 2018, and they discussed research that revealed when our most important age is when it comes to musical exploration and admiration:
“A New York Times analysis of Spotify data has found that the songs we listen to during our teen years set our musical taste as adults.
For men, the most important period for forming musical taste is between the ages of 13 to 16. Men were, on average, aged 14 when their favorite song was released. For women, the most important period is between 11 and 14, with 13 being the most likely age for when their favorite song came out. It also found that childhood influences were stronger for women than men and the key years for shaping taste were tied to the end of puberty.
The NYT analyzed every Billboard chart-topping song released between 1960 and 2000. Citing Radiohead’s “Creep” as an example, the NYT found the song is the 164th most popular song among 38-year-old men. These men would have been around 14 years old at the time the song was released in 1993, making that selection consistent with the analysis. “Creep” isn’t even in the top 300 songs for those born 10 years earlier or 10 years later. Meanwhile, “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure was released in 1987 and is popular with women aged 41, who would have been 11 at the time of the song’s release.
PHOTO CREDIT: @kurbanova/Unsplash
There is some very interesting data that discusses why we gravitate towards certain genres depending on our age:
“"Whereas the first musical age is about asserting independence, the next appears to be more about gaining acceptance from others."
As we settle down and middle age begins to creep in, the last musical age, as identified by the researchers, is dominated by 'sophisticated' -- such as jazz and classical -- and 'unpretentious' -- such as country, folk and blues.
Researchers write that both these dimensions are seen as "positive and relaxing" -- with 'sophisticated' indicating the complex aesthetic of high culture that could be linked to social status and perceived intellect, while 'unpretentious' echoes sentiments of family, love and loss -- emotionally direct music that speaks to the experiences most will have had by this life stage.
"As we settle into ourselves and acquire more resources to express ourselves -- career, home, family, car -- music remains an extension of this, and at this stage there are aspects of wanting to promote social status, intellect and wealth that play into the increased gravitation towards 'sophisticated' music," said Rentfrow, "as social standing is seen as a key 'life challenge' to be achieved by this point."
"At the same time, for many this life stage is frequently exhausted by work and family, and there is a requirement for relaxing, emotive music for those rare down times that reflects the other major 'life challenge' of this stage -- that of nurturing a family and maintaining long-term relationships, perhaps the hardest of all”.
PHOTO CREDIT: @vladizlo/Unsplash
Given that most of us lionise and preserve music of our teenage years and return there, there is some sense in thinking that older music fans would gravitate towards music from their youth. I think the misperception of the older person shaking their fists at new music and chiding youngster for their rubbish tastes needs to be evaluated. I think, as radio stations and the Internet exposes us all to more music and new avenues, it does mean that many older music lovers are as inquisitive and broad-minded as younger people. Stations like BBC Radio 6 Music provides an eclectic playlist. It has no business model when it comes to age and the type of listener it wants to attract. It is open to everyone and, for that reason, listening to Lauren Laverne’s show and her conversation with an older caller with cool tastes was no shock. There is definite ageism in the music industry and, to compound that, I think many radio stations are ageist regarding including certain artists. I feel we need to have more respect for older artists and older listeners. Consider how important music is regarding memory and keeping out past alive. We all, consciously or not, soundtrack various years and moments with songs. For those who suffer from fading memory, music can provide an invaluable key to unlock their past – without music, there is debate as to whether we would store so many memories. I have explored the connection between music and memory before. A lot of older music fans have a much wider passion and sense of musical knowledge than we could appreciate. Modern music offers so much choice and quality…so it is natural that listeners of all ages would open their eyes and ears to it! When it comes to older people, we need to get out of the mindset that they only love old music and have limited tastes. They are, in fact, as cool, passionate and surprising…
PHOTO CREDIT: @brett_jordan/Unsplash
AS music lovers of all ages.