Did your taste in music change...

[oldbuckster]

I just noticed you're a Jubilee owner, .................... nuff said ........

[rcarlton]

My tastes have shifted from classic rock to a sprinkle of blues and jazz, even some classic organ music. Surprisingly my interest in classical music has waned somewhat. Can't recall the last time I played a classical CD.

[Chris A]

My tastes have shifted from classic
rock to a sprinkle of blues and jazz, even some classic organ music.
Surprisingly my interest in classical music has waned somewhat. Can't recall
the last time I played a classical CD.

That's interesting - I've found the same thing
actually. I thought my waning classical interest was related to the lack
of an "in the room" feel that smaller venues like those of blues and
jazz have. Maybe it's also related to the large number of mediocre
classical recordings that really don’t distinguish themselves from each other (…and
this, coming from a former music major…). Note that I still play classical recordings, just not as many now. I have a row of classical vinyl that I collected in the 70s and 80s, but I really don't listen to them much.

I’ve always been a sucker for organ, but maybe that had
something to do with my mother’s Masters work (organ performance) in the 1960s.
I listened to a lot of Bach and Buxtehude up close
as she practiced
many hours per week.

It’s like they say –
if you get ‘em early, you’ve got ‘em for life…

[dhtman]

Chris, thanks for pointing me in the direction of this thread.

I think of my music collection as a diary - specific albums are related to events in my youth and it's great to go back and play them, just as some folks like to get out their old photo albums.

I'm finding that some of my old rock stuff doesn't move me as it used to - and that's partly because my tastes are more sophisticated now. With my current system, I'm conscious of poor recordings and bad mastering - the lack of dynamics and where the bass has been cut to squeeze more music onto each side of the record. An example would be the bands Mott the Hoople and Sad Cafe which sounded great on an entry level stereo but sound flat and lifeless on my current rig. I think the reality is that we tend to think that the system we own is "good" and we enjoy our music at that level of reproduction, even though it may be colored and smeary. As we improve the quality of the components we own, the better records stand further ahead of the average.

I have also found that some records sound way better that I remembered them - the detail is revealed in songs that I now enjoy which I dismissed as boring "filler" tracks on earlier systems. Examples are Kate Bush's first album and Emerson, Lake and Palmer's first LP. The old cliche about hearing things you hadn't heard before in familiar recordings is true.

With classical music it depends on the recording/performance. I have a great version of the Rite of Spring (Barenboim on DG) which is thrilling to listen to but there are also a few classical records that are gray and lifeless that I can't play.

Finally, I now play music that I would have run a mile from. Travelling regularly to the US I made an effort to understand bluegrass (because I have friends who rave about it) and I now play and enjoy the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - their records really come to life on a good system.

[stan krajewski]

Since 19 years old - none whatsoever. However, I'm appreciating it more now due to superior equipment.

To Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Stravinsky, Bartok, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Dvorak and Glass - Good Job!!!

[seti]

...when you significantly upgraded your system, i.e., acquired much better speakers?

I find myself listening to jazz, blues combos and small groups but my taste in rock, etc., declined rapidly probably due to the lack of dynamics and musical "realism" on much popular material. I also find myself listening to "live" classical recordings of the American- versus European-engineered taste.

Did this happen to you?

If it didn't, what did your tastes change toward?

Chris

When I first got into highly efficient horns I focused on great source material. That doesn't happen anymore. I just listen to what I like and when a truly great recording comes on it makes it that much better. Last night I started with T-Rex then Thelonious Monk then Mancini then The Plastics(japanese 80's new wave) then Magnetik then a collection of rare Calypso recordings from 78's a guy in Finland sent me.

Ralph, Yeah Kate Bush's first couple records are great.

[Ray Garrison]

Not so much due to updgrading equipment, but upgrading family. Addition of small son has resulted in shifting my listening hours and conditions from daytime rock out rock and roll to late night volume reduced so as not to disturb rest of family listening. While I still enjoy listening to ELP even at reduced levels, I have found myself enjoying types of music I didn't spend much time listening to before. Example - I listened to Famous Blue Raincoat last night, and really, really enjoyed it. I have a feeling that I would not have found it nearly as enjoyable if I'd popped it in the CD player and pumped it out of the CF-4s at 110dB. Late at night, quietly played (well, relatively quietly... house wasn't shaking) Jennifer Warnes voice just hangs in the air, wrapping around you... cool.

[kaiser SET say]

I like Josh have always been eclectic in my musical taste though I do lean heavily on my rock genre from my HS days 72-75 but I like just about anything well performed especially recorded well[]

So my tastes have not really changed but I have expanded exponentially in 51 years! I can still remember my first musical treats via mom's counter radio as a kid. Percy Faith's theme from "A Summer Place" will forever be an fav[]

..........Taste no, appreciation yes[Y]

[garymd]

In early 2003 when I joined this forum, I was still listening to The Grateful Dead quite a bit, a little Bluegrass but was tiring of classic rock in a big way. By the end of 2003, Allan had turned me onto Jazz in a big way. Not the smooth stuff. Can't stand it but not the REAL hard stuff either. Larry got me into Classical not long after and I find myself listening to that quite a bit also. I would say I now listen to Jazz about 60%, Rock (including The Dead) about 20%, Classical about 15% and "All Other" about 5% (musicals, bluegrass, etc.).

I do find myself listening to albums more often if the recordings are good. If recordings are bad, I'll use them for background music when I work out or in the car if it's a CD.

Mark makes a good point too. I changed my upstairs system to accomodate my newly acquired love for Jazz and now have a "mono only" setup for my old mono Jazz records. I never would have considered a mono turntable otherwise.

[Klipsched with Yamahas]

Not necessarily changed, but moreover, BROADENED.

Seems much of the smooth contemporary jazz is to my liking these days. Began about 8-10 years ago, and a very slow transition.

I'll always be a R&R "head banger" at heart

[Audio Flynn]

Not necessarily changed, but moreover, BROADENED.

Seems much of the smooth contemporary jazz is to my liking these days. Began about 8-10 years ago, and a very slow transition.

I'll always be a R&R "head banger" at heart

Kind of how I see it.

I listen to classical, Celtic, Rockabilly, non acid Jazz and Blues.

On my 2 channel system WHO and Jethro Tull sound worse as my system sounds better. Jethro Tull DVDs sound good on the HT though.

[skonopa]

I used to listen to mostly whatever was thrown up on the radio. However, I've listened (and still do for the most part) a lot of the older "classic" rock, especiallly the more progressive type stuff like Asia, Styx, Yes, Kansas, and so forth.

Unfortunatly, I never cared for what the so-called "alt-rock", etc, ala Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and so forth. Yeah, I've listened to it but it was just "there" - just did not really grab me.

But then I got turned onto power and progressive metal! Holy crap! I am not talking the old "hair-metal" and the like that I also remember listening to when I was growing up. Much of what I listen to is very complex musically. Often combining symphonic, orchestral work, ala classical (Nightwish, Epica, Lunatica, etc - in some cases, whenever possible, using actual full orchestras, such as Rage, and the current Nightwish albums), other times, a lot of Jazz phrasing, such as Zero Hour, Thought Chamber, some Dream Theater, and others, and often times, a combination of the two. That Suspyre album that I played in Indy last summer is an awesome example of what I am talking about, if anybody here that was there remembered.

Not only that, much of this material is actually recorded very well. For example, the Aryeon album that I am listening to right now is an excellent example!

I've also seen a number of these band in an actual, live setting, and have personally met a number of them - some of the, multiple times (and pretty awesome that they actually remembered me from show to show!). These guys have always been really cool and show a real, geninue love of the craft that they are masters of.

So, yes, I would guess that some of my musical tastes have changed somewhat, exploring much more in the underground power/progressive metal, which I find much more satisfying and viscerial from an entirely musical point of view. Yes, I still like to dig out the old Rush, Kansas, Yes, and so forth now and again, but find myself constantly exploring for exciting new music. Having the kick-butt Klipsch setup only makes it that much more enjoyable. I've been doing this when I still had my old Yamaha/Infinity setup from a few years back.

[bigdaddy]

I'll go with broadened. While I don't have the incredible systems some of you guys have I'm working on it. With a baby you have to do everything on a budget, and my budget is small. I still listen to the hard Rock that I always liked but I also listen to a lot of other stuff as well. I'm surprised, I'm actually listening to really old school rap not the angry hateful stuff of today. But really old school like sir mix a lot. It's fun and I enjoy putting it on while we clean the house. I also have started listening to some old hillbilly stuff my mother had, not really bluegrass but more mountain music. I picked up my first Jefferson Airplane yesterday. I also just listen to a lot more music than I have for years. I've always liked classical and I am starting to build on the collection.

Not much on country.