# Is this a common occurance in getting old? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 30, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008 "2014-09-30T20:32:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/21 "2014-10-01T12:47:12Z")
My brain is full, has been for a while. I’m 44. If I do feel like hearing some less familiar music, I’m more likely to go back in time to the forties or fifties. That way even if it sucks, it’s still somewhat interesting as a piece of cultural history. Movies as well. I would theoretically be open to seeing a new movie, but nothing catches my interest. That Tina Fey comedy thing that’s out right now…I’ll see it when it’s on TV some Sunday afternoon when I’m doing the laundry. Or not, whatever. > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > But as for almost any kind of cultural ‘thing’ I feel like there’s a social tipping point it must reach before I can ‘be bothered’ to look into it. Game of Thrones? It took four years, a South Park trilogy and Robot Chicken\* references before I gave in. Now as for this “social tipping point” thing: the more popular a thing is, the more everyone talks about it, the more I feel it’s being pushed at me and I develop a block against it. When I first heard about Game of Thrones, it didn’t quite sound like my cup of tea. Now that everyone’s jacking off about it, it’s a near certainty that I will never even give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/22 "2014-10-01T12:56:10Z")
> [@MrKnowItAll](#): > > I think it’s common, but I don’t think it _has_ to be. The problem is that people have a tendency to think very unrealistically highly of the stuff from when they were young. They forget just how much pure, grade A crap there was back then or become more forgiving of it as they get older. Actually, now that I am getting older, I’m become much more aware of how much crap we used to listen to. I’ve got XM and occasionally I’ll hit up the Sixties on Six, because that was my formative era. And it’s 80% crap. Every once in a while, I’ll get some CCR or early Beatles or Jim Croce, but mostly…crap. Saddening, in a way. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/23 "2014-10-01T13:20:53Z")
> [@MrKnowItAll](#): > > They forget just how much pure, grade A crap there was back then or become more forgiving of it as they get older. Beat me to it. I have already personally sifted through 3 decades worth of turds to find the odd peanut. I figure with that and the dilligent efforts of others who have done a fairly decent job of sifting the 3 decades before I was old enough to participate, I now have enough of a buffer that I can wait until today’s offerings have been combed through for a few years and then investigate what’s in the ‘good’ pile. Kids these days, listening to crap like Justin Bieber! When I was their age, the charts were full of proper music like Milli Vanilli :smack: and 2Unlimited :smack: and almost the entire cast of Neighbours :smack::smack: Seriously, just beause glancing at the list of massive hits for any one year shows stuff that is generally not TOO dreadful, people blank on the vast amount of crap churning through the Top40 at any given time. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/24 "2014-10-01T13:54:33Z")
I still enjoy movies, new music, books, etc… but I am a hell of a lot more discriminating than I used to be. Sturgeon’s Law and all that. When I was young I consumed everything because my tastes weren’t formed and I knew less. Now that I’m older I have a better grasp of what I do and don’t like and am far more likely to discard something that doesn’t appeal to me early on. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/25 "2014-10-01T15:36:52Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > I’m young and I don’t watch new movies anymore That’s only because nothing has been released on laser disc in a decade. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/26 "2014-10-01T16:42:00Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I find myself falling behind in music, but that’s not really a reflection of music quality. It’s just that as you get older, most people just can’t dedicate as much of their time to following music. There are only 24 hours in a day. > > Heck, I don’t watch as much TV as I used to, despite the fact TV’s significantly BETTER than it used to be, so you can’t chalk that one up to a lack of quality. I don’t see baseball games as often as I used to but I still love baseball; I just have to love it more on the radio, because I’m busy doing so many other things. This exactly. Who has time? I have nothing against Game of Thrones, but I’m not going to start watching it. We watch plenty of relatively new stuff - new to us at least. As for music, no new music grabs me, but in the past five years I’ve started listening to classical music which is much more of an expansion of my horizons than any new music would be. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/27 "2014-10-01T16:59:31Z")
It’s not that I don’t like new music even though 95% of it is pure crap, but that’s always the way it’s been. As I get older I tend to be more selective on what I spend my time on. I still like a good single person shooter video game and believe that the graphics that they have now are awesome, but I don’t have hours and hours of time available to get really good at them anymore so I don’t bother. New movies, same deal; 95% of them have always been a waste of time. I suspect that most older people define new as what the kids today are watching and talking about. Myself I never really cared much about what other people liked or who the star of the moment was and what they were doing. Never affected my life then and it still doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/28 "2014-10-01T17:16:16Z")
My [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=469629) from 6 years ago. > [@](#): > > At some point in your life, you will start to disregard pop culture > I guarantee you. > > After reading a lot of the music, television, and movie threads sprinkled throughout these boards, I have come to the conclusion that I, at age 45, am completely out of touch with pop culture. > > I remember my dad, in the 70s, being totally afflicted with the same ailment. Oh sure, he loved music, movies and references from his time, but couldn’t give a damn about the newfangled music groups or actors, although he embraced “Laugh-In.” > > It will happen to you, as it has happened to me. I don’t know, nor do I care, who most of the popular musicians and actors happen to be at this time. And I’m very, very comfortable with that. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/29 "2014-10-01T17:57:24Z")
I “rediscovered” music several years ago thanks to the miracle of the Ipod classic\*, and about two-thirds of my music collection\*\* is totally new (to me) stuff. I go to movies, just not the Fantastical Sci-Fi Imaginary Humans Battle Even More Imaginary Menaces Movies\*\*\*. I read several newspapers\*\*\*\* and books (mostly history, true crime and detective fiction\*\*\*\*\*), and I tend to see a couple baseball games\*\*\*\*\*\* a year. My brain is not “full”. \*obsolete technology, sign of old fartdom \*\*age giveaway, you’re supposed to rent music, not own it \*\*\*codger tell \*\*\*\*newspapers? bwa-ha-ha \*\*\*\*\*categories suggest brain-hardening; lack of reference to e-books is confirmatory \*\*\*\*\*\*_BASEBALL_?? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/30 "2014-10-01T18:09:34Z")
I should love all the new blockbuster movies, but every one of them looks and sounds the same. The only changes are exactly who the good guy is, and how he beats the crap out of the CGI bad guy. I am watching many more films DVR’d off Turner Classic Movies than anything in the theater. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/31 "2014-10-01T18:29:22Z")
e-books. My wife has a Kindle, and I read a novel on hers. I like it fine - but I have north of 1,000 books in my collection which are unread, and if I want something else I can go to the library and find something, so what do I need with e-books? When I run out of stuff to read that I already own I’ll get one - but by that time I’ll be dead or they’ll beam the books right into your brain. ---
**Author:** ![Stana\_Claus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stana_claus/32/13874_2.png) [@Stana\_Claus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stana_Claus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/32 "2014-10-01T18:40:06Z")
Once you realize that you are not the target demographic for whatever movie, music, TV show, etc. that you find objectionable, life becomes easier. I still often wonder exactly what the target demographic is for some of the unmitigated CRAP I see out there in abundant plenitude, but it for sure and certain isn’t me. So it’s not that my brain’s full, it’s just that I ain’t buyin’ whatever it is they’re sellin’. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/33 "2014-10-01T18:42:35Z")
I thought I would always keep up with the latest music. I was wrong. My decision making process for whether to go see a live band now starts with the question ‘Can we get seated tickets?’ ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/34 "2014-10-01T18:56:16Z")
> [@](#): > > I thought I would always keep up with the latest music. I was wrong. My decision making process for whether to go see a live band now starts with the question ‘Can we get seated tickets?’ And ‘Is it a weekend nite? No? Ok, what time does it start?’ ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/35 "2014-10-01T19:00:00Z")
Well, put it this way. Go look at the Top Hits of 1976 thread in Cafe Society. I was 14 that year. I don’t like any of that music and I didn’t then either. Most of the music I like wasn’t ever top of the charts. I found it through friends, rarely from the radio, sometimes recommendations on message boards, sometimes through duets and guest appearances\*, etc. Yes, I still find new music I like. - "Hey, Peter Gabriel sang on a Afrocelt Sound System album. He also produced it. I should check it out. Hey, that was good. I wonder who else they’ve worked with. I wonder who else does similar music. (etcetera) ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/36 "2014-10-01T19:11:39Z")
I sometimes think that it’s an age thing until I remember that the typical top 20 stuff today sounds like a lot of stuff I despised 30 years ago. AFAIC, Madonna of the 1980s sounds no different from Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey of any other time. And Justin Beiber to me is no different from any other boy-band stuff. I’ve always hated that stuff, whereas 30 and 40 years ago I listened to Black Sabbath and over the last 20 years I’ve been listening to Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains etc. I think it’s a function of standard FM radio, which I never listen to. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/37 "2014-10-01T20:09:23Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Well, put it this way. > > Go look at the Top Hits of 1976 thread in Cafe Society. I was 14 that year. I don’t like any of that music and I didn’t then either. Most of the music I like wasn’t ever top of the charts. I found it through friends, rarely from the radio, sometimes recommendations on message boards, sometimes through duets and guest appearances\*, etc. > > Yes, I still find new music I like. > > - "Hey, Peter Gabriel sang on a Afrocelt Sound System album. He also produced it. I should check it out. Hey, that was good. I wonder who else they’ve worked with. I wonder who else does similar music. (etcetera) Without looking…76 is just a flat out bad year. When people rip on the 70’s they usually pick around that year because you’ve got the good bands before then on hold, disco ascending, easy listening going nuts, crossover country songs that weren’t so hot. It’s just a bad year. Okay, now I’ll look at the top 20 for 76. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/38 "2014-10-01T20:15:11Z")
Hunh. A lot better than I thought. Maybe I was thinking of 77. Keep in mind no matter how pablum some of these songs may be, at least most are performed by people who use their actual voices and can play instruments. And they aren’t all about clubbing and getting my mo-nay. 1. Silly Love Songs, Paul McCartney and Wings 2. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, Elton John and Kiki Dee 3. Disco Lady, Johnnie Taylor 4. December 1963 (Oh What a Night), The Four Seasons 5. Play That Funky Music, Wild Cherry 6. Kiss and Say Goodbye, The Manhattans 7. Love Machine, Pt. 1, The Miracles 8. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, Paul Simon 9. Love Is Alive, Gary Wright 10. A Fifth of Beethoven, Walter Murphy and The Big Apple Band 11. Sara Smile, Daryl Hall and John Oates 12. Afternoon Delight, Starland Vocal Band 13. I Write the Songs, Barry Manilow 14. Fly Robin Fly, Silver Convention 15. Love Hangover, Diana Ross 16. Get Closer, Seals and Crofts 17. More, More, More, Andrea True Connection 18. Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen 19. Misty Blue, Dorothy Moore 20. Boogie Fever, The Sylvers 2 instrumentals (!) Silly Love Songs is pure pop, but 1 billion times better than “All about dat bass”. Some disco pap to be sure. Some classics in Kiss and Say Goodbye, Bohemian Rhapsody, and 50 Ways to Leave your Lover. There’s got to be at least FIVE Rock and Roll HOFers on that list. As I’ve said before, the real test will be if anyone is playing today’s top hits in movies 20 years from now. I seriously doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/39 "2014-10-01T20:15:27Z")
I listen to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd , James Taylor, Carole King, Bob Dylan, Dire Straits, Bruce Springsteen and … Adele. So I’m up with modern music. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008/40 "2014-10-01T20:28:17Z")
I used to watch a lot more TV. One day it struck…I’m no longer in their demo. Advertisers prize that 18 to 45 spread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurance-in-getting-old/700008.md?page=3)