Pop music and age

I don't fit this rule, if it is a rule, since my favorite period for pop music is the years from when I was about 4 or 5 through when I was 11 or 12. (I'm not sure a look through my collection would back this up, but for a while there I was more interested in buying new things.) I largely opted out of pop music during my teen years, though as some British bands which might be considered pop were played on non-commercial college radio, I was exposed to them. A lot hinges on how narrowly "pop" is defined, but I certainly didn't listen to much mainstream pop or rock during this period, and didn't particularly like most of what I heard.

Aside from some Latin music, a newish discovery for me, there isn't any pop I really try to keep up with currently, but although my preferences in (Anglophone) pop music are for late 60's/70's stuff, after my teen years I did start listening to more current pop again, particularly hip-hop, but then kind of lost interest again around 1993 (though I latched onto some Arabic pop at that point).

Reasons why most people. . .? I don't know. Maybe because given the hormonal things going on at that time, music makes more of an impression? Because that's when pop gets connected to actual romantic and sexual experiences? I find it hard to believe that most people consider their teen years the happiest. Most people I have known don't seem to describe them that way, but then, I may simply be attracting people like myself.

We did this before, by the way, so I'm not sure how many answers this will get--not to mention that with the server going up and down some regular posters may no longer be bothering with this site.

Judging by my music collection, I am a forty-something western-educated Arab, who spent some time in Latin America or Puerto Rico.

You mean you're not a hobbit with a taste for black leather? DAMMIT! *cries*

DeRayMi and Ned, Thanks for your answers. I guess it is the hormonal thing which makes us respond to pop in our teens more than at other times. Also the excitement of everything being new then. I am new to this site and didn't realise that this question came up before. If I have bored some of you, I apologise. By the way, I am not a hobbit who likes black leather, I am a baby boomer from NZ who loves much 60s pop (of course!) I also like Classical music. Dale.

''I often wonder why people nearly always love and remember the pop music which is around when they are in their teens''

becaues it's everywhere so (unless you have a relative who is into 'all sorts') then this is what you're gonna hear. I listened to pop around the ages 5-10 (on the radio). I didn't buy anything unti' i was 13.

''You can tell most people's approximate age by what pop they have in their music collection.''

no i don't think you can. However I think you can tell what 'sort' of music someone would be into by age (i'm not restricting this to pop).

Dale, I know that there was a thread or two on related subjects, but I still couldn't find them after doing a search; so I wouldn't have expected you to find them. (In other words, I definitely don't think there's any need to apologize.)

Thanks, DeRayMi and Julio. I guess that is right about pop music being everywhere, you are exposed to it and absorb it. I agree that you can also probably tell someone's approximate age by what music in general they collect, not necessarily pop. Most pop from the mid 70s onwards has passed me by because I was not listening to commercial radio, I was tuned in to public (ad-free) Classical radio. Even now I miss most pop, I only hear the occasional bit in public places like shops. What little I hear now doesn't interest me, I will stay with 60s music thanks! Not the Beatles though. I didn't like them much and their music has been thrashed to death. Dale.

Another answer would be the social pressure of pop music. You can sell anything to a teenager because they are very concerned about what other people around them think. I think that if you are still very interested in music after your mid-20's you are enough of an individual to seek out music that speaks to you personally.

I think a lot of teenagers like pop music because they are supposed to like it. It is supposed to speak to them and for them. They are it's target demographic. After a certain point a person starts to outgrow the content of pop. If you have a car payment and rent and a kid and a... do the simple two dimensional problems of a pop song speak to you? Once you are out in the "real" world, life takes on shades and nuances that chart pop just cannot express. I don't know about you Dale, but I cannot be bothered with what kind of pants Kid Rock is wearing in his new video. I have real problems to deal with.

Also, I think pop is a distraction for a segement of society that is just being warehoused because there is no real need for them anymore. In the west we stunt our children's growth for 10 years and they need something to kill their time with. Pop is just like any other consumer product, it is like jeans, cars, and laundry detergent. After a certain point in time, people have real needs they need to accomodate, luxuries like pop do not really fit into the equation anymore. My kids do not need denture cream, and most 70 year olds dont buy chart music. Disposable time is another aspect as well...

weird freudian slip, "My kids" should read "Most kids"

I do not have children, thankfully. Perhaps my subconscious is trying to tel me something. Usually, it just tells me that it is time to have dinner...

I like your answer to my query, mt. That makes a lot of sense to me. Teenagers are certainly very sensitive to what is fashionable because of peer pressure. As you say, pop music is aimed at them. Dale.

I suspect many people on this board are the exception proving the rule. If you never stop listening to as much music as you can, you'll always have some pop (whatever that means to you) as a part of your life soundtrack.

That is a sensible answer, Matt. I agree it is a good idea to listen to as much music of different types as possible. You never know what you will like until you try it! I also like the "sound track of life" idea. Regards, Dale.