as you all, I’m interested both in music and Hi-Fi systems so I take for granted that music is an interesting topic. But is it the same for other people? Music should be an easy and universal topic, but is it really so?
I suspect most people aren’t really interested in music, they don’t talk about it, they use it just to fill time and space without thinking about it, so they don’t even want to explore it and develop a personal taste. There’s a general lack of culture especially among young people as they just go with the flow, listen to whatever is on the radio and go no further (at least in my country). Last but not least few people are keen on learning how to play an instrument.
What are your thoughts about this? What’s the situation like in your country? Are young people so indifferent to music?
@HungryHalibut I am from Italy. As far as I understand, there’s a stronger music culture in the UK (eg. you have many music stores, here they are pretty rare unluckily).
I think we’re ok; this is the queue of people waiting to go into a record shop in Southampton for a listening session of the new lp by Mitski - they seem to be pretty young on the whole.
Thank you very much! By the way I just noticed that we are both Nordost cable lovers.
Music means a lot to me (as I guess to many other people in this forum). I find it pretty sad to see such a general lack of interest in music. It somehow means that there’s something missing in our culture and society.
@robert_h you are more than ok there in the UK! I can’t even imagine such a queue of people outside a music shop unless there’s a famous mainstream artist. Last week I went to a music store in my town and I was quite surprised to see a young couple in their 20s looking for jazz vinyl records. Quite a rare thing here. Most young people just listen to music through in-ear headphones plugged into their phones. They can’t even think of a different approach.
In this 21st Century there is so much variety in the way that young people can fill their leisure time.
A single dimension form of entertainment, such as music, seems not to engage the larger percentage of them.
My son is 30 and though he enjoys music at times he is much more interested in a multimedia and interactive experience, such as gaming.
He enjoys movies and general visual entertainments and will comment on good soundtracks etc, but other than in the car I don’t think he listens to music anymore. This holds true for his entire peer group as far as I can tell.
I, like many others on this forum, grew up in the mid to late 20th century, where music was a much more prominent form of entertainment and listening was how we spent much of our leisure time.
That’s progress for you…
@QuickSticks why isn’t music engaging for most of the young people in your opinion?
I’m in my 30s, I grew up in the era of gaming and I’ve been playing them for a few years. Eventually I got bored and had no fun. I’ve always enjoyed movies too. Despite that, I’ve become more attached to music and I find it by far more fulfilling than many other activities. Maybe it’s just me…
I wouldn’t say it’s ‘just you, but generations gravitate to the trends and technology of their day.
In the 21st century music streaming is the dominant trend, but there are still many that gravitate to CD, Vinyl and even Cassette, as many on this forum will attest to.
Younger people, such as yourself, do still listen to music. However, many more find their leisure diversions in other media that is more en vogue, IMO.
It’s just like social media has replaced for many the meet up for social interaction. As a result I find the art of conversation is almost completely lost to my sons generation. YMMV…
It’s not just ‘the youth of today’. The conductor Thomas Beecham, who died over 60 years ago, reputedly said ‘The English don’t care for music much but they do like the noise it makes.’
Apart from my brother who is a professional guitarist, none of my family listens to music much, if at all. Not even in the car, kitchen, as background, nothing. No music systems at all - barely a pair of headphones to connect to their phones. It’s not that they actively dislike music, just that it never occurs to them to listen to any. They feel no gaps in their lives as a result.
It used to make me sad, but I made my peace with it a while ago.
@QuickSticks I do enjoy streaming (locally) and I use my Naim streamer on a daily basis. However I started buying CDs, I prefer having a physical media and some CDs seem to sound better than what I stream from Qobuz and Tidal (of course it’s a generic statement and we could talk about that on a different post). I agree about the art of conversation. Many people can’t really talk these days! There’s no substitute for real human interaction.
@Ebor somehow I feel a bit better, I’m sad about the whole situation but have to live with it whether I like it or not. Maybe most people haven’t experienced a decent level of engagement with music so this has resulted in a general lack of interest in music. I wonder how our world would compare to the world of 60 years ago.
There is. I still need to decide what to do with the youngest one who’s just turned 7. I really should put him on a choir / school like they have in the UK but he’s doing well at his current school. A dilemma.
Which country are you from? He should do what he enjoys the most, surely that takes a bit of time and effort. Does he prefer any instrument or does he enjoy singing? Only time will give you the right answer. I’m sure it’s a dilemma.
