So I’m looking to broaden my music tastes a bit. Problem is I’m having trouble figuring out what to listen to. Since I’m a 32 year old professional, really the only music I am exposed to is bar music (which is a mish-mash of “alternative” rock which hasn’t changed much in the 14 years since I was a college freshman) and MTV (which just…sucks).
Also, is there music which I am “too old” to listen too? Like it’s ok for me to listen to Alanis Morrisette and Sheryl Crow but not Avril Lavign?
So give me some ideas for some mature music thats out there (other than freakin’ Coldplay).
No, no, and no, but that’s not cause they’re immature, it’s cause they suck.
Okay, I got nothin. The bands I like that are still around tend to be liked by the younger set, which doesn’t make me like them or dislike them any less, but I fear they wouldn’t qualify.
The most “mature”-oriented band I like that’s still around is Fountains of Wayne, and they aren’t as much mature as self-consciously and winkingly immature. But they’re nice and fun power pop without the faux angst of some pseudo-emo alternacrap but sly enough to make you think. And freakin catchy. When I saw them in concert most of the people there were definitely adults (in 25-40 yr range,) with a sprinkling of teens who had only heard “Staci’s Mom”. But dont let that song scare you off, Fountains of Wayne has sort of an Elvis Costello complex, in that they tend to release some of the worst stuff off their albums (besides Leave the Biker, which is the best power pop song in decades.)
You have to help me out a little bit here; how do you define “mature music”?
For me (also a 32 year-old professional male), I do feel like I’ve settled into a groove of sorts in regards to the kinds of music I like, and although I like to continually expand my library with different artists within the range of my preferences, I find that sometimes I just like a particular band and not other bands within the same genre. It kind of drives my friends nuts, because I love The Gathering and one of my friends will hear a random Gathering song and think that means “he likes trippy electronica rock” and suggest something like Massive Attack, which I think is technically good, but they just do nothing for me. Or they’ll hear a different Gathering song and think “he likes female-fronted metal” and suggest something like Nightwish, which I don’t really like that much. Ultimately, the best thing you can do it just listen to samples of artists in the genres you like and go with it.
I know the argument has been made that it will “kill” live theatre. I don’t buy it. I have quite a few concert DVDs of various bands. Some I’ve seen on tour, some I haven’t. Still, there is no way they are as good as an actual live performance.
It would be nice to see DVDs of major musicals, perhaps 5 years or so after they open. I think this would actually help ticket sales. People might develop a great interest in musicals.
I don’t think this would hurt local theatre either. First of all, they tend to put on only the true warhorses. Second, most people don’t stop going to hear their local bar band just because they have a library of CDs of great music.
Hard to say. REM, U2, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd I’ve always liked because their music has depth and a sound that is both timeless and yet reflective of the period they were released.
No offense but I figured Fountains of Wayne was basically right up there with Deep Blue Something and Presidents of the USA. A couple of catchy tracks but essentially a one hit wonder that will be forgotten faster than Semisonic after closing time. Then again, Weezer always seems to be a crowed pleaser.
You’re never too old to listen to anything. If you like it, listen to it. Simple as that!
Don’t think I’m alone in advising you against Avril though
I’d suggest searching around for some streaming stations online. You can listen to them while you’re at work maybe?
You can find any number of genres out there with a radio station or three. Give a couple a listen and see if anything strikes your fancy. You may discover you like genres you never would have guessed you did. Listen to some classical. Some indie. Some trance. Revisit some of your favorite bands from when you were a kid.
I tend to lean towards indie personally, and as such, can recommend 3wk.com. I was opened up to a plethora of new artists through that station.
Also, check out Yahoo’s Launchcast. It allows you to rate the genres, bands, albums, and songs you like. Then, depending on what you rate what, it starts to play things it thinks you might also enjoy. And it’s free (until you get sick of the same 2 commercials every 3 songs or so, and shell out the $15).
Have you spent any time at MySpace? I maintain the Happy Rhodes page there and I’ve found so much good music it’s an embarrassment of riches. Sure, there’s a lot of music that sucks on MySpace, but you can spot sample and move on if it doesn’t appeal.
I’d ignore this except for the comparison to [del]Semitalented[/del]Semisonic. Dude, why’d you hafta?
And, why would you base bands on what other people think you “should” listen to and the prospects for the future of the band? That said, FoW has had at least 5 songs of note, beginning in 1995.
In college, I did get into a heated argument with my brother that his Tori Amos CD is so much gayer than my Sarah McLaghlan CD. But yeah, I actually like both as well as Dido, Norah Jones and others. I’m not so crazy about “angry screetching she-bitch” rock (like that Ozborne kid).
So is it ok to say I actually like a couple of Avril Lavign songs? Look, I didn’t mean for it to happen. You share MP3s with a guy from work and somehow his stuff makes it into your collection and next thing you know it ends up in rotation.
Actually I’m just looking for bands that people like and can recommend listening to.
A minor point, but I’d also like to not see my favorite band show up in 20 years as an act on NBC’s Hit Me Baby One More Time 2025. Call me old fashioned but I like my performers to go out in a spectacular blaze of drug-induced glory at the height of their career.
DJ Z-Trip has an album that is not for sale: it is put out via file sharing and, IIRC, meant to be enjoyed that way. It’s called “Uneasy Listening.” Check it out.
My best way of finding music without listening to the radio is itunes because you can browse and listen to clips of things to see what you think and it’s painless to buy singles if you want to give it a longer chance. These days I find a lot of music that way. I don’t think I have similar tastes to what’s described in the OP, so I can’t give any recommendations. Itunes is great though. You can try everything in the world and it gives you recommendations if you get stuck.
I mean, we are all our own kind of mature. I wouldn’t want to listen to Sheryl Crow or Sarah McLaughlan any more than I’d want to listen to Avril Lavign, because none of them are my taste, but I don’t feel ashamed if I like a new song by Usher or Keith Urban or any other lowbrow pop thing. If you try to restrict yourself for the sake of “dinner-party cred” you will only wind up missing out on fun. What makes something mature is that hopefully the mature person has some expectations that are deeper than a kid’s, but that doesn’t mean a grown man can’t like a song that’s not too deep. Just don’t put a poster of Avril up over your toilet and start out each day giving it the thumbs up as you shave. That would be unseemly for your age. And don’t play her at dinner parties. That would ruin your mature image for sure.
If you’re looking for something different, follow along with my Essential Music Library project. The latest thread deals with the blues, and you can find links to all the previous threads in there.
Another suggestion might be to consider satellite radio. I love being able to listen to different types of music depending on my mood. There are some genres which I"m in the mood for at different times of the day or year. This way, I can hear all sorts of music without having to spend money on a CD which I’ll only listen to once or twice.
Aussie station Triple J broadcasts over the web and have just about the most uptodate playlist on earth. Anything you hear that you like you can check at allmusic where if you know one thing you like you can get links to dozens of acts influenced by or influencing or similar to the act you know.
