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.
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.
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.
Start dating a 19 year old.
Bro I ain’t drake.
I am aware that at this age gap is have nothing in common with a 19 year old other than sex.
19 is about 9 years too old for Drake.
By listening to their interests you’d keep your fingers on the youth’s pulse.
True.
I also realise I have no idea why Drake is rated so highly, dudes goofy as fuck and his music is mid at best.
Because he used to be in a wheelchair and now he’s not.
Is that what he meant when he said came from the bottom and now we here. He wasn’t talked economically, but literally vertically.
No, he meant that he grew up in Toronto’s cheap mansions and now he’s in a nice one.
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.
Listen to music.
Interesting, tell me more about this music thing.
Its something you personally enjoy, not something you put an effort to hear of just to please somebody else. Did this help you?
I never mentioned pleasing anybody else. This is all for me my guy.
It’s easy to hear music, not so easy to keep finding music that is new.
Then proceeds to mention this is for my guy.
Have you got brain damage.
My guy is you in the context I used it my guy.
Do you have a damaged self-esteem?
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?
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?
Ahhh to be 30 again
Yep. That was nearly 30 years ago…
I’m in my early 20s. Just how old are you geezers??
Just add your twenties to OPs thirties, and you are close. Yes, I remember the time before smartphones, internet, and influencers.
OP here. I am late thirties to be honest.
Anyway, there has always been influencers. What would you call Norma
JaneJeane.What would you call Norma Jane.
No idea. Who is she?
My apologies, it’s Norma Jeane Mortensen who was Marilyn Monroe.
My nana used to always say Norma Jeane, well to me it sounded like Jane so just assumed it was common knowledge with the older generation
I guess it doesn’t help that I misheard her lol
OK, that name is known. Amazing when you think that she and Queen Elizabeth II are born at about the same time…
Shut the front door. That is pretty wild to think about really.
Shame she died so young.
Obligatory, f to the royal family. As I Brit I can’t stand them or anything they stand for.
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.
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
What could be more current than the beatles?
There is always more current in ACDC.
JS Bach?
College/independent radio
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.
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.
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.
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.
Thanks for the recommendation I’m vibing to this right now. Loving her voice and the minimal production of the music is nice.
To touch on your point about most people going for lyrics. I’ve not found that to be the case, anecdotally, as everyone I know doesn’t care about lyrics and they just enjoy the sound of the music.
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.
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