Don't You Think You're Too Old To Be Listening To That Music?

I'm 48 and have been into punk since 1985 when I first heard Suicidal Tendencies with their first album. Mature and mellow? Define mature in this day and age. There are so many so called adults who act like kids, it's ridiculous. I'm still pissed and how can you not be in this cesspool of a so called democracy. Hooray for USA, what a joke!

 

I got that shit already in my early twenties haha. Now I'm approaching 30 and my taste hasn't changed that much in the years. Maybe nowdays I can enjoy different genres and don't care so much about being "correct" or particularly cool. but I enjoy the same shit as when I were young.

one the flipside quite a lot of of my friends "grew up"

 

I wasn't aware of the fact that when I reach a certain age, I had to stop listening to, or playing punk rock.

Seems like Charlie Harper, Knox, Steve Ignorant, G.B.H. Dick Lucas, Joey Shithead, Greg Ginn, Keith Morris, Jello Biafra, or Vinnis Stigma didn't get that memo either.

 

VINNIE Stigma. Lead singer for Agnostic Front! He's 65!

 

There's a new product on the market that all the young kids are talking about IT'S CALLED A SENSE OF HUMOR!

Geez! If you really took that seriously, you probably think The Hard Times is hard hitting punk journalism in the same vein as Maximum Rock and Roll, or Profane Existence!

Why am I all of a sudden reminded of the song "Mickey Mouse is Dead" by the (British) Subhumans?

 

I'm 38 and just got a Discharge back patch (the one with the 3 red skulls) that I stapeled to the back of my jacket along with Citizen Fish patches and Horror Vacui buttons ect ect. So to me age is not important in punk. I see some older anarcho-punk bands who are much older in age yet some of their members still dress the same as they did when they were young.

 

I'm 54 and I couldn't give a shit if other people think I shouldn't listen to the music I like. My tastes have changed a lot over the years and I listen to much more aggressive music now than I did even 10 years ago nevermind when I was a kid.

 

I'll be 55 in December. Nice to know I'm not the only geezer or old fart here.

 

My tastes in music have always been pretty eclectic. With age they've broadened (I'm 57). I listen to punk, hardcore, anarcho and jazz, classical and experimental/noise. Opera and country are about the only things I won't listen to. My parents didn't get my taste in music back in the day. But did I give a flying one? Nope. My ears, like my mind, are. Open to new things. When I read comments on YouTube about "there's no good music these days compared to whatever they listened to in their day" it makes me think that they're not only wrong, but stuck in a nostalgic rut, pining for their long lost youth.

 

I definitely agree with your take about the You Tube comments. Every generation's gonna be like that. I try my best to stay open minded to new bands and the type of music they play, but more often than not, I find myself remarking that they're not re-inventing the wheel. (I also try to find something GOOD in what they're doing, and not easily dismiss it with "It's been Done" but, being that I just turned 55, it's not as easy as it once was. Doesn't mean that I don't enjoy it, but I start making comparisons to what I'm hearing to what I heard in the past)

Opera is very difficult to listen to, and I really have to be in the mood to do so. When I do,I usually deconstruct in my head what I'm hearing, like how is it being sung, who's singing it, rhythm and time signatures. (Us musos have a very nasty habit of doing that) I actually like country music. I understand that there's something in the presentation of the music that people can't handle, but a lot of good rock and roll in the beginning was based on country music, and some of it had good things to say. Hell, I'd even go so far as to say, some of it borderlines on punk. Still can't get my head around industrial, techno, EDM or club/runway music, though, but I've learned in recent years to appreciate some early disco.

 

I can't cope with opera because the really high notes cause me actual physical pain in my ears. I also associate it with being music for the rich and privileged. Country music here is a pale imitation of what's done in the US. If they sang about the oz countryside, maybe I could relate more. I associate it with being redneck music because that's what it is here.

I've been listening to industrial since the late 70's and consider the 1st gen stuff like Cabaret Voltaire, SPK and Throbbing Gristle to be rocks equivalent of free jazz, which I was exposed to at an early age by my father [so my ear was trained to hear it]. Not as keen on the 90's crossover stuff like NIN though.

Music is always going to re-invent the wheel given the limitations of the scale. The variables to me are instrumentation, arrangement, tones, harmonies and rythyms. Only rarely does a pioneer appear who changes the ballgame. But I'm not a muso and know sweet fa about theory. I began learning the bass but braking my neck meant my fingers no longer work as well as they should. I used to accompany my wife when she sang and played guitar. We did a lot of political tunes as well as her own compositions. I should pick it up again really as I'd really like to form a semi-acoustic folk-punk band

 

I can understand not being able to handle the singing. Considering what you've been through, loud, high pitched voices probably hit you in a way that can be physically painful, or at the very least, hit your nerves in a painful way. There are a few soprano singers I can't listen to because of that, and it's sad because they have such beautiful voices, but when certain noises cause a physical reaction it's best to not listen.

I'm surprised that there are no country singers in your country that sing about Australia, considering that, from what I understand, Aussies love Country music. When Olivia Newton John first broke in the U.S. it was because she was doing Country music, and was good at it. She hasn't been popular here since the 70s, but when she was popular, everybody loved her. Unfortunately Country music is listened to by rednecks, and associated with rednecks in the U.S., which in some ways is ironic when you consider that some of the more popular Country artists here were more like hippies than rednecks. Willie Nelson is a good example of a hippie what with his advocating legalizing pot, and his history of smoking it, and you have "Outlaw" country music stars like Waylon Jennings, Merl Haggard, and Kris Kristofferson. But some of the newer country music bands and stars are leaning towards the left of center, and some even get in trouble for it. The Dixie Chicks no longer get any airplay or any sort of promotion because they spoke out against the war in Iraq before it even started, claiming at a concert in London that not only did they not support the war which was only days away, they were ashamed of being from Texas, which is where the Bush family resides. And there's a new all female country band called The Highwaywomen who are outspokenly LGBTQ friendly, and pro feminist. No Tammy Wynett Stand By Your Man bullshit for these women. And quite a few punk bands have not only inserted some country into their music, for a time there was a genre of music called "Cow Punk". It's not as prevalent as it once was but you still have a few bands out there. The Meat Puppets dabbled in some country music especially on their second and third albums, as did The Minutemen with Corona (The theme to Jack Ass) The Vandals, and Social Distortion also dabbled in Country music. Three of the better cow punk bands you might want to check out would be The Screaming Sirens, Tex and The Horseheads, and Rank and File who at one time were a punk band from California known as The Dils. John Doe and Exene from X had a side project called The Knitter which were good.

As far as folk punk goes, it was quite popular in the U.S. for a while, but it's not prevalent as it used to be. Johnny Hobo and The Freight Trains, and Defiance Ohio were two of the more well known ones. A lot of people are experimenting with instruments not usually associated with punk. There's a band out of England called The pUKES who play all the punk classics on ukulele, and there's a band out of Chicago called Sparkletears that features an electric ukulele, but she plays it like an electric guitar. I, myself, am in the process of building a cigar box guitar, and plan to teach myself that, and introduce it to punk, or at least hop on board if somebody else has already done it. If you feel comfortable picking up a bass, or any instrument, and accompanying your wife again, by all means do so. Music was a life saver for me.

 

Some skips love country music, generally the more conservative redneck types. A lot of the older 1st nation peeps do as well. Go figure. Was never really keen on X or Exene for that matter but the Dils on the other-hand were brilliant. Heard some UK cow punk back in the day and it just seemed desperate to me [though I was going through my Black/Death metal phase at the time]. The outlaw country thing left me cold. I remember a story about Waylon rushing back into his house that was ablaze to retrieve a guitar case. People thought he was rescuing his guitar but nope, it was full of weed. That stuck with me.We had a cow punk outfit here in the 80's called the Johnnies [slang for condoms]. They were basically one hit wonders with a tune called I Think You're Cute. It didn't really grab much traction here. I've heard of the Pukes and think they're hilarious. Going by the youtube there are plenty of people doing punk covers on the uke. Thanks for the tips on the folk punk, I'll check them out. Good luck with the box guitar, it should sound great. I'll have to be a sitting bass player due to my spinal injuries. But I need to find some outlet and the bass is as good as anything I can think of.