As someone who is aging. Late thirties. How can I keep my finger on the pulse of current trends, particularly in music?
As someone who is aging. Late thirties. How can I keep my finger on the pulse of current trends, particularly in music?
As an example. I grew up in hip-hop but at a certain point I stopped listening to new people and realised recently that I’d slept on some bangers. Like Kendrick particularly, but even people like Juice WRLD and Xxxtentacion.
The same for the Kendrick and Drake (the nonce) beef which has given some rabbit holes to go down.
So I’m wondering what I can do to keep in the loop with my younger brothers and sisters?
Is it something as simple as watching trending videos on YouTube (somtheing I’ve never done) or are there people to follow etc. I don’t like Twitter though so hopefully it’s not that.
Edit: Man I got so many replies. You guys are awesome. I am going to work my way through them all today, but I’m hella tired and off to work so may take a while. I will reply to you all.
Edit part deux: God damn I think I got all the replies.
You can only sort of ever keep up.
The main issue preventing you an Old, from finding more about people who are Young, is that the Young don't exactly love the old filling up their spaces, trying to remain hip.
This is exemplified by the slow death of social networks as they grow in popularity. A new social network pops up, its quickly populated by the youth. Slowly, as it becomes more popular, Olds start creeping in, until there are so many Olds that the youth want to go somewhere else because they no longer have privacy.
When Mom and Uncle Jim are in the conversation, everything is suddenly less cool.
Happened to MySpace first, and it's happening to Facebook right now. It's basically ghost towns of people who will be dead soon.
We are limited because the youth will always want their own private spaces where they can truly be themselves without their weird expectations of the older generations. If you're older with zero expecations for the youth, congratulations: you're unusual, so don't hold it against the youth that they assume you're just another boring old person who is going to judge them for something. Most adults are out here judging them, so give them a break on assumptions they might make about you.
I used to keep up with music through YouTube channels, but even the ones I used to follow are aging up and soon enough those people I was listening to are Old now too, and they're doing the same thing as me, trying to keep up with what's hip and good.
I understand the desire to do so. New music is often so good, and I really get sick of people who act like the music they grew up with is the best in history. It's not, and it never will be. Music is always growing and making music is more accessible than ever, which means its really exploding and evolving. There's never been a better time to love music.
However, as Olds, we're just going to miss a lot of what's cool with the kids simply because we're Olds. So much is just going to naturally be hidden from us.
Thanks for this throughout and measured response it really does make sense now you bring these points to my attention I was the same when I was younger.
I guess I don’t want to invade their space as much as understand what they like and what they care about, not in a creepy way, more because I think the older generation should do this.
The part where you mentioned you would be unusual to have no expectations of young people. Well I am unusual as I think the youth are alright and a part of my thinking in this post is that we should celebrate the future of the world as they’ve got longer here than me and so they should have a larger part in shaping it.
It’s sad that we have this divide now where it’s us (not literally) against them when really they can learn from our mistakes and we can learn from their new perspectives.
I imagine it goes without saying that I’m not afraid to admit that I don’t know everything and even that we can learn from younger people and I don’t really blame them for thinking all older people are against them or whatever as I am self aware that I would have this mentality towards boomers when there are some great boomers out here that would be with me at pro-Palestine marches and stuff.
Apologies for this being all over the place. I literally just rambled on, and now too lazy to go back and format it better.
It's fine, no worries on your thoughts being all over, it's the internet. Who cares? You got your points across fine.
I don't think trying to know what the youth are into is creepy at all! I think the real issue comes from the youth being used to adults being shitty and judgy to them. Like I said, it's great if we're not shitty and judgy, but we have to be patient with the youth and their expectations of older people because they're absolutely colored by the fact that most older folks are weirdly judgy. So it's more that we have our work cut out for us because most older folks could give a flying fuck about being interested in the art of the youth, and the youth know that and feel it viscerally. It takes time for them to feel "safe" and open up. Like you said, how we grew up with Boomers and most of them are just dogshit and judgy people when it came to the youth. We like to think our generation is better... but it's not, sadly.
Anyway, it's not impossible to make inroads with the youth, but you have to be okay with them ribbing you and smile and laugh when they joke about how out of touch you are. They're going to assume we're just like any other jerk of an Old, so it just takes more effort on our parts to prove we're not just some judgy jerk.
I am thankful for every old person who has genuine interest in what the youth are doing and what kind of art they are creating. You're right, it IS a good thing to be interested, and it's a good thing to pursue, because it helps break down the very generational barriers we dislike so much.
I don't think MySpace died because The Olds invaded in the same way as Facebook. I think Facebook genuinely out-competed MySpace in features, especially having its own messenger. Facebook absolutely died when The Olds joined, what's remarkable to me is that Facebook...still exists?
And Facebook succumbed to the olds many years ago. I remember in the mid then late 00s when it expanded from just college students to include high school students, and then suddenly my Aunt Joyce was on it too. Seriously, we're talking 15 years ago now
Reddit had too many Youths so all us Olds came to Lemmy 💪
And since we're not Youngs, how the music appeals (or doesn't) is really not part of our experiences.
Pop music is a thing of the moment. Not to criticize, just an observation. Because of this, I don't really get why an Old would want to try to stay hip with music. You're not young during that time, not part of what the coming of age experience is like at the time. It's not your time.
Plus pop music, by definition, appeals to the broadest group possible by being less complex - this is true of anything. I always use Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" (a massive avant-garde jazz hit in the 60's), compared to something by the Beach Boys, Elvis, The Beatles, etc.
Everyone can grok what Elvis is singing, but even as someone who studied music theory, I find Kind of Blue challenging to grasp. And I hear/learn something new every time I hear it.
Even if you're not personally experiencing the things pop music is currently about, there's still plenty of really great stuff coming out all the time that you'll miss out on if you stop listening to new things. For example, NPR popped up recently with a Tiny Desk Concert (which feels like a very Old way to find new music in itself) from Chappell Roan, and I would've been missing out big time if I'd skipped it just because she's 15ish years younger than me and in a different phase of her life. A lot of it feels more nostalgic (fucking Casual, man, so many of us have been there) than current to my life, but it's good music. And as a queer woman, gosh it's great to see these queer artists who are able to write their feelings and experiences without having to keep plausible deniability in the lyrics.
I enjoy listening to college radio stations. They're usually varied in music genres and tend to reflect what college students want to put on the airwaves.
I'm a fan of 88.3FM Central Carolina Community College Radio.
Underrated suggestion.
TIL CCCC has a radio station.
I’d never have thought of that. I’ll find an app with radio stations and give these a go too. Thanks.
Never take a break from culture. As soon as you take a year off you will be irrelevant. If that sound exhausting (it is) then congratulations; you have discovered why older people are never on top of pop culture.
"You will be irrelevant" to who? People whose identities are so wrapped up in popular culture they can't conceive of someone liking something from 30, 50, 80 years ago? Lmao
Thanks. I’m not sure about being irrelevant but I do see that you have to put effort in to stay on top of the current culture or zeitgeist.
Start paying attention to the top new & trending Spotify playlists in genres you're interested in.
That’s a good shout. One thing I do try is the create station on Apple Music, but it really seems to not stick to the same kind of stuff a lot of the time. Even when starting things you enjoyed and not for the ones you didn’t.
Aging? At 30? Kid, are you mocking us?
That's one of the reasons I spend a lot of time in forums like this. To keep up with the latest stuff.
But then the latest stuff started being hella weird and I still couldn't follow it even knowing the origins and context of popular trends and now I'm grumpy about kids on my lawn. 😬
Yeah some of the latest trends will whoooosh me.
Listen to music.
yeah, but what if the music i listen to isn't 'with it'? what will the kids thing of me? as an old?
Why would you listen to kids anyway?
Bandcamp is nice, they have a curated genre section that updates frequently. College radio stations as someone mentioned, then just Shazam or whatever or look at their playlist online. I hate Spotify because it just gives you pop shit and doesn’t do anything niche or indie. There’s also SoundCloud, they make curated playlists of new stuff frequently. Sound cloud also has labels on there which curate some of their newest bands. It’s super easy to find niche indie labels I think. Lastly, look at lineups of local music spots. I used to listen to Deezer for finding non-US artists, but haven’t used it in a while since Bandcamp is kinda great about covering everywhere.
Thanks. I’ve not heard of bandcamp so I’ll have a look at that. +1 for the soundcloud shout out too.
Early 30's here. I was at a small gathering my best mate put together about a year ago, and his 19 year old nephew was there. He expressed his interest in anime and we got chatting. While showing me some newer anime-related TikTok stuff (I have no social media myself and haven't really kept up with modern anime), I heard some fucking awesome 'aggressive trap' stuff and asked him who the artist was. It was Lil' Darkie and I was immediately hooked. I went down a rabbit hole searching his best stuff as well as other similar artists, and now have a huge playlist of great music I'd have never discovered on my own.
imo music discovery is a pretty organic process for most people. It's cultural and spreads via word of mouth. Chatting with younger people may be the best way to go, but understand that the youth rightfully don't want us in their spaces lmao
Get a skateboard and go to your local skate park. Walk up to some kids and say how do you do fellow kids? What are we listening to today?
Make sure to wear your favorite Music Band tshirt.
just let the algorithm feed you the cultural gruel
The algos are not all there cracked up to be, they get quite repetitive.
It depends on which algo/service. Pandora and I have never meshed so I just avoid that one. YouTube occasionally tosses a good one in my feed. Spotify does well enough that I pay. SoundCloud is probably my favorite.
Aside from that, I'm subscribed to a few music communities here. That has widened my net. Same with imgur - 99% of the time I'm there for the memes but occasionally someone will post something that helps me find a new band.
I've gotten back into going to concerts. I go by myself and end up meeting bunches of new people and we all end up talking about music, sharing the names of our favorite tracks and bands.
You're going to have to blaze your own trail. There's so much new music being made every day that it's very much a "needle in a haystack" thing.
Plus, don't automatically rule out a band because they're not new. That is, Alien Ant Farm was never on my radar until last year. Their cover of "Smooth Criminal" hit my SoundCloud recommendations. It's from before MJ died...anyway, I've listened to some of their stuff and added some to my playlists.
Keep your ears and mind open.
Yummm it gives the feeling of rebelling without actually doing anything or stopping working for even a moment 😋
What could be more current than the beatles?
Pink Floyd
Fucking love Pink Floyd, but it don’t hit the same if you ain’t off your face.
There is always more current in ACDC.
JS Bach?
As someone else said, bandcamp is pretty good. Their articles are, so far as I can tell, written by actual people and thus have more soul to them. I'm sure some asshole is plotting to replace them with LLM, but until then!
Also, go to shows. Go see live music. Usually folks have opening acts. Sometimes you can even make friends.
Thanks for pointing out bandcamp, I’ve not hit the other comment that mentioned it yet.
College/independent radio
I just take older bands/artists that I like, and look up "artists similar to...." On Google, and start from there. Easy enough.
music-map.com works great too.
Yes I've seen this before but never saved the link. Thank you.
My dude, I'm the same as you and I just keep radioing shit on Spotify and shazaming shit I hear and doing the same for TV shows and movies and tapping into the Spotify premade playlists from time to time. Works aight enough.
Some good one here. Thanks.
Just my opinion, but I feel like you're far to concerned with being "current". No offence.
I'm 48 and when I was younger I swore up and down that "I wasn't going to be like my parents, stuck in my ways musically, blah blah blah." But you know what, it doesn't actually matter. Literally at all. It's vapid pop culture stuff that in adult world, no one actually cares about. Your friends aren't going to be your friends simply because you like the same music as them. You're social circle isn't going to rise and fall based on how "current" you are because outside of highschool, literally no one gives a damn.
Like what you like. Listen to what you want. and don't worry about staying "hip" because the entire concept is subjective and meaningless in the actual day-to-day world. No one is going to shun you for not knowing what's happening between Kendrick whats-his-face and The dude from Degrassi. And if they do, they're not really the kind of vapid social media obsessed people you should be associating with at your age anyway.
Again...just my opinion.
I think you might have my motivations a little confused.
I don’t want to be current myself. I want to keep up with current art, as it’s fascinating. Should I have not gotten in Beethoven and Chopin because those were before my time?
I don’t listen to vapid pop, pop music and what’s popular in different genres are two different things. I know I’m flogging this horse in a few comments, but Kendrick is certified lyrical genius and I never would have found him hadn’t I put the work in.
It’s not to make friends, hell I’ve got too many friends and I don’t need anymore. I don’t even share the new stuff with them as they don’t care, which is cool.
I do like what I like , hence I want to find more of what I might like you know.
I know you said it’s just your opinion, but I hope this gives more perspective on my intentions here, this is for me and me alone.
Ah. Gotcha. Makes sense.
From my initial read it sounded as though you were suffering from some kind of pop-culture FOMO, which is what I was responding to. If you're just looking to find new stuff for yourself, than more power to you. But I still think you're giving it a little too much thought. New tastes, new likes tend to come quite naturally without really hunting. Very much like you discovered Kendrick. You didn't go out searching, it just came up.
To use myself as an example, at 48, most of my new music has come from just hearing something I like on the TV and looking it up. I discovered "The 88" through How I met your Mother and Community. I loved the theme music from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and was pleasantly surprised to learn that not only was it an actual band with MORE music, but it was literally a side gig for a comedian that I had already been enjoying for years. (Valley Lodge, if you're interested. They don't get enough love.) I discovered the Decemberists and Hawksley Workman both because I was trying to impress a girl at two different times in my life, but it turned out I really dug it.
My point is, don't go looking for what's popular, just keep your ears open and listen for stuff you like. Just looking by studying what's popular at the time would have made me miss most of the bands I just mentioned.
I would start reading Rolling Stone and similar stuff. The radio should also help.
Or are you looking specifically for only hip-hop?
Rolling stone is a good shout for general music, but I am more interested in Hip-Hop.
44 year old, lifelong metalhead here. I refuse to listen to a bands current album if it isn't my favorite of theirs. Too many bands phone it in after only a few years. So, I definitely need to find the latest music available. Metal Injection has a ballot every year of about 200 albums. Of course it isn't a definitive list, but it's enough for me to keep up with everything.
This is helpful as I also like a bit of metal. System of a Down are probably my favourite so I’d love to find bands like that. It’s Serjs lyrics I like, like the conscientious hip-hop genre I feel lyrics more than the music although being a banger doesn’t hurt you know.
Thanks.
Unfortunately, I'm the total opposite. I choose the music over lyrics, but I know where you're coming from. Most people value lyrics.
This is going to be weird because I'm about to recommend someone that isn't metal at all, but the lyrics I find are amazing. Meg Myers. She is a straight killer with her lyrics.
The Morning After is a strong suggestion. The cool thing, it's not one of her more popular songs, so if you like it, you'll find a lot more from her.
I like to listen to a new album every Friday. You're streaming platform will recommend "New Albums for you" and just listen to one. Sometimes it's great,sometimes it isn't, but it is new and fun to explore.
Very good point. I’ve often ignored the recommendations from Apple Music as it was heavily skewed to classical but I’m not really down for finding new classical, but I’ll see if I can coerce it to offer more hip-hop or even conscientious hip-hop which I didn’t know was a think until this thread but it seems to be the stuff I gravitate to more. Kendrick and Akala seem to fit that bill.
Sign up for email lists to smaller venues (<1000 capacity) and check out the bands getting booked. Also, sign up for record label mailings, indie labels tend to have bands with similar vibes. Spotify and algorithm recs are not the way to go
Yes! This is what I was thinking. You'll have a finger on the culture and be more into it than most without having to pay Taylor Swift prices for everything.
If you live in a decent sized city go see the up and coming acts at the bar venues before they hit stadium appeal. The rest will come through the grapevine. Like who gives a shit about what Drake is doing and I say this as someone who knows Toronto inside out.
I live in a major city so I have many choices, but realistically it works for any nearby city with hip smaller bands that you like. Not everything is great but it's pretty easy to dial in your tastes by venue and labels. If you aren't getting enough to check with that, just add another city's venues. See who's playing & check them out on bandcamp/youtube/etc...then go see them live. Lee's Place is dope, I caught several shows there when I contracting, but that was 7-8 years ago
This is a good idea. I’m not sure what the scene is like in Manchester UK for hip-hop but there must be more than when I was a young un.
Late thirties is aging? That's like peak life. You have money and family (at least a chance of that) and purpose in your life. You have confidence and you know who you are.
You are still a bit dumb, but less dumb than twenty somethings. I liked my late thirties.
I meant relative to teens really, sadly I’ve got another 40 years to go before my forever nap.
I should have money, but I was very irresponsible and only the last 5 years have I started to progress at life. No family ever, I like being single and I couldn’t look after children I am too selfish with my time.
You’ve made me think now what period of my life I enjoyed and I honestly couldn’t choose. I guess now as I’m on a better trajectory.
I have money and a family?
Find a scene you like and subscribe to the artists and their labels. As for trends and gossip, it's cooler to remain oblivious to that brain poison.
Thanks.
I am curious if you think the current trends and gossip is brain poison or our generations was the same and we just age out of it. As the former seems quite elitist.
I sincerely don't think its healthy for anyone. Is it elitist for me to say "smoking kills"? Maybe. If you like it and it brings you closer to your siblings whom am I to judge? But as a kid who grew up like "The Cable Guy', I feel mainline entertainment fucks up peoples minds.
I think the difference is that as a kid music is forced on you from all kinds of sources: parents, friends, radio, etc. So you don't realize how much time you actually spent just listening to new music.
As an Old, you probably don't have nearly as much random exposure, i.e. you control when you listen to music now. Which means the answer to your question is that you have to consciously set aside time simply to listen to music. It may feel like a "waste of time" for each track you think is shit, but that's just part of the process.
Good luck, and thanks for coming to my Ted talk.
That makes sense and I think you’re right about the exposure as you listen to a lot of the current trends when out in bars and clubs and I’m not cut out for the day after those nights anymore.
I don't know how to help you, but I'll tell you that I have the opposite perspective. The two artists I'd most like to avoid are the ones you mentioned, so if there was a way I could eliminate suggestions from anyone who was like "fuck yeah Kendrick and Drake" I would absolutely do that.
Taste over time is totally divergent and you've probably got your work cut out for you to find your exact niche :).
I can’t help but feel the same as you do. I listen to a lot of political podcasts, and somehow their spat has spilled over into those too goddamnit.
I’m here, trying to listen to a deep analysis of what’s happening with decisions within the State Department wrt stopping weapons shipments to Israel, and some chucklefuck asks Sec. Blinken his take on Kendrick— I’m like, “what the actual fuck?”
Interesting different perspective.
May I ask why you don’t like Kendrick. Is it the style, as he is arguably the Goat of hip-hop and that feels like something not to be missed.
It's the style, or more specifically what it is turning into. Seems like when I got my first tastes of hip hop in the 90s it was more... musical / music forward? and now it kinda feels like just another rap flavor.
Same with greatest rapper and greatest country singer of all time: I would be inclined to steer clear since it's just generally not my thing.
You can't, it's over, let go.
https://everynoise.com/engenremap.html
I'm in my mid-40s and I love searching for new (and old) music. It makes me happy. Maybe I start with an artists I like and just go thru the rest of the label. You just have to break the habit of listening to the same thing and challenge yourself.
This site is amazing. Like I didn’t even think conscientious hip-hop was a think but when I typed Kendrick I also saw Akala linked closely and he is a conscientious rapper so this looks like a good resource for me.
Honestly, just follow some Instagram meme pages or browse SoundCloud's rap playlists. As a young person™️, this is how I've always found stuff, including xxxtentacion and lil peep when I was younger and they were both still around. If you're worried about "invading" our spaces like the other comment says, I think that sentiment is changing. I've befriended some older peeps online just for having anime pfps and stuff lmao.
Thanks dude for the soundcloud req.
Also, for making me feel a bit better about invading spaces, as i honestly only want to learn more about current trends and close the divide between generations.
I went down a Xxxtentacion and Juice WRLD rabbit hole when I found them and man I’m so sad they not here as those were some interesting people with unique perspectives.
Dude. Dude. You're still a kid ;)
Age jokes from an old fart aside, it's about your willingness to go looking.
It does mean you'll end up using some otherwise shitty services unless you are active in a local music related scene (like clubbing). But YouTube, Pandora, spotify, and most of the other music streaming services have some degree of recommendations. They aren't all that great usually, but in the absence of being immersed with real life music explorers, it's the best option.
You can check out the Billboard top 200 and go the route of hoping your preferred music genres chart in the first place, but also being fairly reliable that other fans have vetted tracks for it to get there.
And radio still exists. You can pick a station that's genre specific or a top 40 station and find stuff that's already a little popular that way. It isn't as reliable as it used to be, but you can find newer raising acts that way.
There's forums. I haunt the typical lemmy based music C/s, plus the ones for my favorite genres, which keeps me fairly up to date on new releases as well as some new acts.
And, always participate in your local scene when possible. It's harder with hip-hop since finding local acts outside of cities is damn near impossible, but if you're into other stuff too, it can be a great way to catch acts before they get going, if your local scene is active enough. I'm fairly lucky in that bluegrass is one of the genres I'm into, and I'm not too far away from one of the better known cities for country and bluegrass music. So it's easy to find new bands and solo acts performing at a bar or local festival that end up getting popular eventually. That's an example of what i mean, making use of what's already there locally.
Thanks you’ve provided many avenues I can go down here and it seems inescapable that it takes work and effort to keep ahead of these things.
I do live in a city but sadly it’s Manchester in the UK, so hip-hop is lacking. I do like UK Drill too but those kids are just a bit too wild for me to go seeking those, I’m not keen on getting stabbed up haha.
Small shout out to !askmenover30@lemm.ee
KGRG is world famous among radio fans. Those kids have the pulse.
Thanks. Going to hit this up tonight.
I feel you. I think I'm experiencing the same.
I'd say it's almost summer now, go out and visit some music festivals. That's a place where I found some inspiration and new (to me) artists.
Also having friends with a similar taste in music helps.
I have a Spotify subscription and that helps me listen to a broad range of music on a whim. But I think the Spotify algorithm isn't helping me in discovering new artists. I rarely find anything interesting and new that way.
Seems Spotify is getting so many mentions and many people preferring it to Apple Music for finding new music.
Festivals are an idea too so thanks.
I get all the inside info from my teenage kids 😅
Here’s some in no particular order;
https://open.spotify.com/track/6nWjnyGiPqb5bmkhsyYvLZ?si=lp-B5Ur9TtOEXMIXn5ZLfA
https://open.spotify.com/track/6uU1QhxwtrnOdALd4K1nBs?si=SQiYCxaKRkygirNkBTqq1g
https://open.spotify.com/track/3qX1dqmDdmMvvfMVfsx4Bh?si=nWMONtu_T1Sn_8lHdWKmyw
And a bunch of music from the 00s and 10s which is now old school and cool 😅
Dude you cheated, maybe I shoulda had kids but im too selfish 😂
Check out the excellent podcast “Search Engine!” There’s an episode called “How do I find new music more that I’m old and irrelevant?”
Thanks for this. You’ve actually helped in another way that I didn’t even ask as I am running out of descent podcasts that I haven’t binged.
And online radio station that has no songs older than 36 months helps me.
Best thing is its free. No ads. And you dont need to make an account.
(They are changing to modernrock.ca) https://www.whatwasthatradio.com/
Awesome thanks.
Your welcome. If it helps was a former DJ of 10 years on 91.3 theZone out of Victoria BC Canada
His new station is a licensed SOCAN broadcaster. He has a lot of great interviews you can look through as well.
Hope you find it useful!
YouTube music made discovery worse compared to Google music, but it is still OK.
When I hear a good song on a show or movie, I ID it with my phone and explore others by the artist or genre. I also thumbs up it to get more recommendations from YTM
Same when friends recommended music. So yeah, talk to friends about music. And then do the above two steps with their suggestions and likes.
Hang out with high schoolers.
Shit I thought Drake got murdered last week.
Found Matt Gaetz's account.
Hey now, I didn't say to take them across state lines.
I try to pick up artists from younger coworkers. That's how I learned about 100 Gecs. Saw them live. We were the olds. Skipped PinkPantheress cause it felt like we'd be too olds.
As a software developer in a small company. These people wouldn’t know hip-hop if pac came and slapped em.
Thanks though.
Not music specific but you could join probably a bigger Discord community around a topic which interests a bunch of young lads. For example, I'm in a VRC community, where I usually chat sometimes (I'm 23, not that old) and DC communities usually offer music channels where you could maybe check what they share.
I’ve tried Discord before but I never knew where to find channels I might like.
I will give it another go as it seems like a good idea. Thanks dude.
You could perhaps check out this: https://disboard.org/
Hang out with hip musicians.
See I didn’t even know hips were instruments, I’m so out of touch. /s
You got to ride the youtube algo musical rabbit hole down to the bottom, otherwise it just feeds you the same 10 playlist. Find a song/band outside your norm that is tolerable, then you can choose a direction based off recommended. You can upvote what you like/the right direction to tune the algo. You should get mostly top songs from that artist or similar bubbles, although if your adventurous check smaller artist and explore. There's hidden diamonds.
Eventually you find some random anon artist with a weird cult following and what seems to be a sub-sub-sub-sub genera with artist with the same vibe. There will be bubbles of artist remixing each-other, working together, starting fights and drama, and making good shit. Follow what catches your attention and youtube will eventually lead you to the good shit of a niche. I assume most services would do the same.
There is the Eurovision Song Contest, buuuuuuuut, this year's season has been such an incredible shitshow that I can't recommend it anymore. Seriously, I wish it never got this way.
So... spend some time listening to the entries from 2013 to 2022. Those are the ones that I liked the most, especially from 2021 (spoiler: Måneskin is in there somewhere, and so is Duncan Lawrence, and Rosa Linn, and the Sunstroke Project... the ones with the Epic Sax Guy, you might have heard of all of these guys before, oh, and Flo Rida too)
2012 and earlier (down to 1997 I guess) do have some cool stuff, but most of it is kinda kitschy and unserious. There are some strong entries, but it's being overshadowed by what is basically garbage and political voting. But at least we got a taste of Loreen out of that. You've heard of that Nightcore remix of a song called Rockefeller Street? Yep, that's from Eurovision.
As for 2023 specifically... well, there's a certain green Finnish guy that you might love, and has almost won if it wasn't for- oh God, Loreen again? And there's some other cool stuff I guess.
The 90s, 80s, and 70s all have some fantastic entries, some of then are even from super famous people such as ABBA, Celine Dion, Olivia Newton John, Johnny Logan, Julio Iglesias, Samira Bensaid, in addition to lots of incredibly interesting folks. There's a live orchestra in there too, so you know things are authentic.
And then there's the 60s and 50s. I can't remember anything about them.
So, enjoy my recommendation of the songs, and please for God's sake, avoid watching the contest live at all costs, and especially stay away from its political influence. There's a particular country in there that everybody wants out, and I'm pretty sure you know who it is. They've basically ruined 2024.
I’d never considered the Eurovision Song Contest.
Il check out the recommended ones.
I will avoid the live show at all costs. I always thought it was less about the singers and they vote for their friends.
Well, yeah sort of, but they don't REALLY do it anymore.
Apart from usuals like spotify or bandcamp, I'd also like to introduce gnod here: https://www.gnod.com/
I do not use it very often, but it's quite nice to browse the recommendations based on what you were recently listening once in a while.
Thanks. I’m getting a nice selection of links now.
Switch to Classical music.
I already listen to classical music. Shoutout to the Goats Chopin and Beethoven. I’m a sucker for a minor key. All I hear in my head here is Kendrick saying A-Minorrrrrr.
I’m fortunate to have quite an eclectic taste in music genre wise, as quite frankly music is the best thing on this planet.
I'm from the 90s and I've been catching some trends thanks to TikTok and YouTube. Exactly what you said, new videos and keep jumping to suggested videos. Also, read the comments, people often have recommendations (you can even ask and you'll get some new musicians).
So I’m wondering what I can do to keep in the loop with my younger brothers and sisters?
The question is completely weird to me. Why do you care? Why do you think that is important?
Sounds from the example like OP doesn't want to miss out on media they might enjoy just because they're not hanging out with young people anymore. Seems like a reasonable thing to want.
Because I wanted to keep up with changes in art, as well as understanding the younger generation more.
There is huge divide between generations from the elders and it’s usually due to ignorance or superiority and it achieves nothing.
I honestly think your view is weird. Why wouldn’t you want to understand your fellow humans more.
There is huge divide between generations from the elders and it’s usually due to ignorance or superiority and it achieves nothing.
Preferred music doesn't do much about it. Your focus in it was the main thing that confused me.
If you had mentioned having discussions about ideas I would understood better.
I honestly think your view is weird. Why wouldn’t you want to understand your fellow humans more.
Again, you mentioned music, which for "understanding my fellow humans" is fundamentally irrelevant to me. Discussions about philosophy, ethics, or politics are much more relevant.
Or maybe you just want to understand why they like the music they like and nothing beyond that, which is valid, but painting it as "understanding fellow humans" is a little too grandiose.
Because they want to keep in touch with and still feel like a part of their community?
Because they want to keep in touch with and still feel like a part of their community?
By keeping up with music? Come on!
Just listen to what you like, don't be a creep
Hey, yo, the music's not yours m8. you didn't make it, so who's being the creep
This is a weird take. It’s creepy to want to keep up to date with current trends.
Kendrick Lamar is a certified beast and my life is better having found his music than not.
Anyway, what does it say about a person if they don’t want to continually learn, grow, and move out of their comfort zone.
I hope you’re not projecting.