When you loser your taste in music to old age...

[GringoTex]

So I've gotten into Alejandro Sanz. For those of you who don't know, Sanz is a Latin balladeer. A person like myself who was raised on hard core country and underground rock is supposed to hate him. And I did hate him at first, but after the dozen times my wife forced me to listen to him, I bought everything he's put out. I now think he's a genius. I can't stop listening to him. I don't know a whole a lot about music, but his chord progressions blow me away. He builds this amazing wall of sound that I discover something new about with each listen (unlike most latin balladeers, he writes all of his songs)

So my question for those who know music and Sanz: am I officially over the hill and falling for the easy sugar, or does Sanz really have something?

********- I'm only 33. Has anybody else felt like they've bowed out to the easy stuff?

[ThrashBoy]

I'm 26, and I listen to Alejandro Sanz.
I listen to mostly metal, but I do have a lot of softer stuff on my iPod.

Some nights I'll drive home from work listening to something like Chimaira or Bleeding Through, then come home and immediately pop in something like Thelonious Monk, Tchaikovsky, Norah Jones, etc.

[655321]

Yea...I've become so old that I actually go out of my way to make fun of indie kids now, knowing full well that I probably have just as many white label, one sided 7"s as they do.

I also immediately frown upon any band that is really, really good looking.

I'm only 32.

[Samarkand]

On more than one occasion, I've heard jazz referred to a music for grown ups. Considering how long it took me to come to it, I'd have to say, I'd probabaly agree with that. Not that I'm necessarily claiming to be grown up :) - just have listened to so many different types of music, and jazz was probably about the last one to make sense to me.

[The Double]

I listened to Sanz when I was living in Peru.

[Haole]

The challenge for me at the age of 56 was to find something to engage me like jazz once did. Hip-hop does that for me know. Skip the g-rap stuff and head to 'conscious' style artists. So much going on there. A revelation these past 5 years. Motivates me to get involved again.

Jazz, unfortunatly for me, has ended. I remember the buzz of a new Miles, Herbie or Wayne recording - they were events. Now, it all runs off of their lead and it just doesn't cut through the past and move on. After listening to the same albums for 35 years it gets hard for me to get involved like I used to. It sucks but, that's life. Moving on.

[chapulincolorado]

So I've gotten into Alejandro Sanz. For those of you who don't know, Sanz is a Latin balladeer. A person like myself who was raised on hard core country and underground rock is supposed to hate him.

So my question for those who know music and Sanz: am I officially over the hill and falling for the easy sugar, or does Sanz really have something?

********- I'm only 33. Has anybody else felt like they've bowed out to the easy stuff?


A) On your first question, no. Sanz does have something.

B) No. He is not Kenny G if that is what you are alluding to.

C) The key here to your appreciation of course is your love of country. I don't know what you define as hard core country, but if you appreciate someone like Willie Nelson or The Carters or what not you lear to appreaciate the attention to melody and lyrics.

D) If you have a mexicana wife, of course that always helps to erode your walls of Latin balladeers.

E) Of course, he can't be that bad if he can appear in a video with Shakira:

http://www.shoshan.cl/images/moviles/shakirayalejandro.jpg

http://musica.planetatv.com/mm/image/Planeta%20Networks%20Inc/ss_video-la-tortura.jpg

I wanna see Kenny G. pull out something like that.

....ooooh....let's rewind that videon again:

http://usuarios.lycos.es/ondestakn/shakira_tortura_popg.gif

[taosjohn]

C) The key here to your appreciation of course is your love of country. I don't know what you define as hard core country, but if you appreciate someone like Willie Nelson or The Carters or what not you lear to appreaciate the attention to melody and lyrics.

And if your definition includes "Western" music it presumably includes a considerable "cowboy music" influence, which has itself as major constituents the contributions of Mexican ballads and the enormous influence of Jenny Lind on the early development of the genre...





But who cares anyway-- I haven't heard the fellow, but "good" is a quality, not a genre...

Maany years ago under the influence of an exposure to the Lawrence Welk show I expressed an opinion to some college friends that the accordion was a worthless instrument. In just seven days immediately thereafter the lords of karma exposed me to the works of John Kirkpatrick, Flaco Jimenez, Frankie Yankovic, and a live show by Mr Nathan Abshire, and I will never say anything of the sort again...

If its good its good; if you start liking Tony Orlando seek medical attention not a rest home-- it can probably be cured.

[CHICO13]

You're never to young to expand your musical horizons.

[nancyb]

You're never to young to expand your musical horizons.

Some people are always looking to do that, others are comfortable with listening to the same old same old. I'm always looking for something I haven't heard yet that will blow me away. I don't care if that something is 30, 40, 50 years old or 3 months old. My husband just wants to listen to things he knows from back in the day.

[MeridianFC]

Do you like the music? Well tell everyone else to ******** off.

I find as I've gotten older I have lesser tolerance for some of the noiseniks I used to listen to (and they're more contemporary counterparts) but that's the way it goes sometimes innit? I don't listen to as much metal, punk, and what not as I used to, and folk, country, jazz, classical, and (gasp) even big band and what not is on the up but that's just the way of life I guess. I've also found I care a whole lot less about what other folks think about what I listen too.

Now as relates to Mr. Sanz, I'll have to go give it an ear.

If it's shite you're definitely getting old. ;)

For me I've been perfecting my angry old man routine since well before I crossed the "never trusted" threshold. I've been relishing the day I could tell some snot nose punk "that's not music it's just noise", "I can't understand the crap kids are listening to these days", or "in my day punk was good". I think that day is here.

The O.A.R/Maytishaywhateverthe********hisnameis thread makes me feel old.

[oman]

I am solving the age problem by just internationalizing my taste.

I think the biggest hint that I am aging is that I am much more willing to be interested in "standards".

I was listening to some jazz station in LA when I was out there and I got absolutly captivated by some woman's version of "Waters of March". Being old means that when Waters of March or Girl from Iphanema comes on you are always interested. So while I still like pop, I am willing to give the crooners more time.

Being older also means that you have lots less time to just sit and listen to music. I realize that ipods etc have allowed people to travel with music, but the only way to get into music is to really listen to it while the lights are out and you aren't driving somewhere or riding the train.

When you are young, you have all kinds of time. When you are older, you not only have less time, you often times have less access to other young people who can share music with you.

But it's good to keep up with music and film and books because loaning them to married women can sometimes get them into bed with you.

[minorthreat]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Alejandro Sanz. How can there be? He is madridista.

[Metros Striker10]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Alejandro Sanz. How can there be? He is madridista.
Yeah..he's actually European, not Latin American..but appears to be fameous in both continents. I think he's got some good stuff. No shame in listening to him.

[bojendyk]

The point in which it happened to me was when I came across Hall and Oates' "She's Gone" and realized, "huh, that's a really good song."

[hangthadj]

I also immediately frown upon any band that is really, really good looking.

I'm only 32.

If I'm 28 and do the same does that mean I am insecure, or mature?

[Smiley321]

Old age really slapped me in the face when I heard Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin muzak in the supermarket.

Or when I see a Stones concert on the tube and it resembles "The Night of The Living Dead"

[bigredfutbol]

One thing that has changed as I've aged (I'm 38) is that I no longer have any tolerance for 'tortured artists.' We've all got problems--shut the ******** up and play.

Oh, and I actually like some contemporary jazz now--when I was younger, jazz started in the mid-50s with Miles Davis and ended in the later 60's with John Coltrane...and Miles Davis. Now I appreciate some newer artists, as well as a lot of the old stuff.

The punk and underground stuff I used to listen to still holds up pretty good for me, but for the most part I feel no need to keep listening to them. "Zen Arcade" by Husker Du used to be a really important album for me. I listened to it recently, and it still holds up for me...but I have no need to hear it again, at least not for quite some time.

[chapulincolorado]

Old age really slapped me in the face when I heard Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin muzak in the supermarket.


It slapped me when I used to listen an oldies station. They used to play 70's music. I used to say "Ah. The Oldies." Unbeknownst to me, they tweaked their format. One Friday evening they started playing 12" remixes. I turned it on and they were remixing a Human League song that I used to listen in High School. I knew then that the bells of old age had arrived. :D

...and oh yes. I knew my tastes started to broaden when someone recommended Louis Prima and I actually listened to the CD from start to end....and enjoyed.

[Matt in the Hat]

The point in which it happened to me was when I came across Hall and Oates' "She's Gone" and realized, "huh, that's a really good song."
That exact thing happened to me last year